Sevilha dos Meus Amores

Its an oldie. Ramon Navarro (Ben Hur, Mata Hari) and Dorothy Jordan. he's a singer, she's a nun. she falls for him, but they must decide what is really the best thing for her to do. the whole thing is pretty low budget. cheesy story, cheesy sets, bad fake, foreign accents. things they would say in 1930, but certainly not today. and all before the film production code, so it was okay to do some of these things! he's a singer, so there's lots of singing. some sound and picture issues, but it IS 90 years old, so we'll cut it some slack. it gets better as it goes along. also keep an eye out for Ernest Torrence... he was also Steamboat Willie, with Buster Keaton! Torrence died quite young of complications of surgery. directed by the mostly unknown Charles Brabin. he had made TONS of silent films, and then a couple years more in talkies. the trivia says there was a color sequence that seems to lost.... sad. Novarro was beaten to death at age 69, apparently as part of a robbery. also sad.

"Call of the Flesh" is a musical romance, so I was expecting lots of song (check) and lots of emotion (no). I have not seen Ramon Novarro in any other film, but this one certainly does not promote him, much as he is showcased in song and dance. His dancing was leaden. His singing was okay, but the songs were awful, and nothing to make even an innocent convent girl fall in love with. Ms Jordan's performance was touching and enjoyable. I just could not muster any enthusiasm for the story and gave up persevering through this movie by 40 minutes in.

In a Spanish convent, girlish-acting Dorothy Jordan (as Maria Consuelo Vargas) is thinking about taking her final vows when she hears handsome Ramon Novarro (as Juan de Dios) singing in a nearby cantina. She sneaks away from the nunnery to watch Mr. Novarro sing. The seemingly aroused Ms. Jordan looks like she may never become a nun. Novarro playfully turns down some after-hours bedtime with attractive dancing partner Renee Adoree (as Lola) – proving "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets" is not correct, this time. Next, Novarro sups with operatic mentor Ernest Torrence (as Esteban), steals a few things at the market, and then meets Jordan. The two become mutually attracted...

Hoping to advance his career, Novarro moves to Madrid with Mr. Torrence going along as singing coach. They take love-struck Jordan along to serve as cook. Back at the convent, Ms. Adoree jealously informs Jordan's brother Russell Hopton (as Enrique Vargas) about her association with Novarro. The nuns say Jordan never took her final vows, but Mr. Hopton expects his sister to remain holy – he is understandably upset about her running away with a young man. We're supposed to think there is some danger in this, but there is none...

"Call of the Flesh" is a silly piece of fluff. Jordan was capable of much more – here, she's stuck impersonating a giggling novice. Adoree does better with her role. Sadly, this was the last film for Adoree, who often appeared supporting bigger stars – like Novarro, John Gilbert and Lon Chaney. She became ill during production and succumbed to tuberculosis in 1933. His female co-stars have a fine rapport with Novarro. Greater as a villain, Torrence is out of sorts as Novarro's loving mentor. The cameras adore Novarro. There are clearly times when director Charles Brabin is unable to reign him in, but Novarro is charming in spite of it all. Most important to his new generation of fans, he looks terrific.

***** Call of the Flesh (8/16/30) Charles Brabin ~ Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Jordan, Ernest Torrence, Renee Adoree

Convent-reared Dorothy Jordan falls in love with Ramon Novarro, who sings and dances at the cantina next door. She runs away with him to Seville, where he studies opera singing with Ernest Torrence. But ex-girlfriend Renee Adoree tries to break things up.

Given the title, you expect something more profligately pre-code than what shows up on screen; the title, however, was shifted from THE SINGER OF SINGER after musicals became a drug on the market. Novarro dances well enough, and sings opera well, if a bit reedily -- or perhaps that's due to the sound recording. It's a movie which depends on your tastes in stories. If you enjoy the occasional sugar-coated plot with dewy-eyed Dorothy at her sweetest, then you'll enjoy this one.

By no means a "B" film in budget, but definitely one in story and technique. After seeing this effort, it's remarkably easy to understand why Novarro's stellar career declined so rapidly and dramatically in the sound era. It's not that there's anything wrong with his voice, it's just that his acting seems so ludicrously inept and his personality so colorless and lacking in charisma. Mind you, if you turn off the sound, then Novarro's gestures and even his persona appear quite acceptable. But with sound in this film, he's just ridiculous! True, the script itself is a load of old romantic melodrama that's about impossible to stomach, let alone get involved in. The only way to rescue this sort of operettish stew from the throw-out pot, is to pep it up with flair and imagination. Unfortunately, Charles Brabin is not this sort of chef – at least not here. He did learn his lesson, but here his direction is little more than disinterested and/or routine. Even the sets lack the pictorial qualities we usually associate with Cedric Gibbons. The sound recording of course is poor. But at least the photography in the present wholly black-and-white version telecast by TCM retains appeal.