as unlucky." Mexican superstition theory An article by John G. Bourke, January 5, 1894, describes the superstition among the Mexican population of the Rio Grande region in the southern United States near Fort Ringgold, Texas: "Numbers—If three men light their cigarillos from the same match, bad luck will surely overtake one of them soon. (Alberto Leal.)" Usage in popular media In the 1937 film The Last of Mrs Cheyney, Robert Montgomery attempts to light the cigarettes of Joan Crawford, William Powell (partnered thieves) then himself when William Powell's character warns him, "Milord. Uh, not three." Montgomery's character thanks him, blows out the cigarette lighter flame, and lights it again before lighting his own cigarette. In Joseph von Sternberg's 1928 silent film The Docks of New York one character offers the male and female leads each a cigarette, then takes one for himself. He strikes a match and lights his, then the male lead's, then slowly extends the match to the woman. She knocks his hand away, claiming he was trying to bring her bad luck. First National Pictures released a film in 1932 called The Match King, starring Warren William; it was loosely based on the life of the Swedish match tycoon Ivar Kreuger and depicts the protagonist creating the "three on a match" superstition in order to sell more matches. The 1932 Hollywood film Three on a Match made use of the superstition, but also had a graphic of a "Believe It or Not" newspaper clip that explains Kreuger's exploitation of the superstition. The character in the film who is "third on the match" does die at the end of the picture and the final scene depicts the surviving two sharing a match. The 1939 Hollywood film At the Circus makes reference to the superstition when Groucho Marx refuses Chico Marx's offer of lighting his cigar, by way of a midget, by saying "Ah ah! Bad luck, three on a midget!" The 1941 Hollywood film Dive Bomber includes a scene during the initial character introductions where Fred MacMurray quickly blows out the match when another pilot attempts to light a third cigarette, then takes a lighter out of his own pocket to finish the job. The 1945 Hollywood film Scarlet Street had this as a piece of foreshadowing in the opening scene. When two men light their cigars, Chris (Edward G. Robinson) is offered to light his as well,