#017: Call of the Flesh

 CALL OF THE FLESH

Release Date

August 16, 1930

History

After two successful musicals with MGM, Devil-May-Care and In Gay Madrid, Ramon Novarro took on a much more ambitious project-- a musical that would not only be shot in three different languages, but also feature him singing opera. The result was Call of the Flesh, a musical directed by Charles Brabin. Brabin had directed one full length sound film prior to this as well as a part-talkie, but this would be his first musical as well as his third project for MGM. He was fortunate enough to be paired with cinematographer Merritt B. Gerstad who had worked with him a year earlier on one of these projects, The Bridge of San Luis Ray. Brabin would only direct the English language version of the film, however. Novarro would direct the French and Spanish language versions, filmed simultaneously with a different cast and crew minus him appearing as protagonist Juan de Dios in all three versions.

This film was not only an ambitious feat for Novarro, but also for Brabin, as it had several Technicolor sequences featured in the film, including one where Novarro is singing an aria from the opera Pagliacci. Unfortunately, none of these Technicolor sequences survive today, even in black and white copies or audio form, and what we are left with is an incomplete version of the film.

Review

Maria (Dorothy Jordan) is a postulant in a Seville convent, where she was raised because her parents have passed away. Her brother Enrique (Russell Hopton) insists she stay there, telling her that the world outside the convent walls is evil. Maria listens to singer Juan de Dios (Ramon Novarro) perform at the cantina on the other side of the wall every night and feels that the world cannot be as evil as her brother lets on if it can produce music that is so sweet.

Juan is performing at the cantina much to the chagrin of his music teacher and housemate Esteban (Ernest Torrence), who wants to see him flourish as a proper opera singer. Juan's neighbor and costar at the cantina, Lola, is in love with him but Juan does not reciprocate these feelings. When Maria runs away and is found by Juan, he takes her in and moves to Madrid with her and Esteban so that he can pursue life as a serious singer and she can escape local police who are searching for her. He gets an audition at an opera house but is rejected. Esteban pays the opera company to allow him to play the lead in one performance, without telling Juan. Meanwhile as Juan and Maria are getting closer, Enrique, with the assistance of Juan's jealous dance partner Lola (Renee Adoree) tracks them down and wants Maria to go back to the convent. Juan must decide between what he wants and what Enrique tells him is best for Maria, all while preparing for the chance of a lifetime to sing on the stage.

On a surface level this film seems like a silly and over the top endeavor, but what really got to me were the characters, the relationships they have with one another and the moral dilemmas that they face in the film. For example, Juan is as much of a man-child as one could imagine. On two occasions when Lola professes his love to him, he rejects her advances, and when she expresses frustration and vows to never make advances his way again, he leads her on and once again rejects her mockingly (one time going so far as to slam the door in her face). He even steals oranges from the market for the local children and eventually a shawl from an older couple. He needs to be coerced into singing, and when he is having a bad day after his audition for the opera doesn't go his way, takes it out on Maria and her cooking.

Maria is going through her own spiritual crisis from the beginning of the film. She has been raised to believe the world is evil. But still, the way she idolizes Juan and his voice shows how clearly sheltered she is, watching him walking home from the cantina with Lola from the convent wall after they finish performing. When she meets him after he runs away from the market with the stolen fabric (she is also wearing a dress she has stolen) she tells him she will go anywhere with him. Her trust and faith in this man she knows only based on his voice is similar to her faith in God.

At first, Juan is animalistic in his nature, inviting her to a fair, and telling her that she can go home with him, with a seductive look. When her response is a childish "Oh, that would be wonderful!", his seductive look vanishes and thus begins a conflict in their relationship, walking a thin line between an older brother raising a child-like sister, as well as being very attracted to her. For example, after bringing her to his home and feeding her, he gives her a peck on the lips as if he's in love with her, but then insists she go to bed as if she was a child. He even tickles her feet and tucks her in, which is very cute on one hand, but on the other hand seems to be feeding into a pedophile type fetish in the way it is portrayed. 

Juan's relationship with his music teacher Esteban is also very interesting. Esteban is always pushing Juan because he believes in his capabilities, scolding him for drinking and smoking too much, not holding his diaphragm properly, and his rigid body movements as he sings. Part of me wondered if this was a tongue-in-cheek joke in how vocal teachers were at the MGM studio, as it took its musical film department very seriously. Esteban does all he can to help Juan, even when he acts like a spoiled brat during his audition, demanding a different piano player and that the tempo of his piece be played exactly how he wants it. 

Mathilde Comont plays La Rumbarita, the landlady for the gang's Madrid apartment, introduced in a humorous scene where she and Juan are haggling over the rent price. She is soon wrapped into their gang and we begin to see a new family form, where she and Esteban are parents to Juan and Maria as their love blossoms. La Rumbarita accompanies them to Juan's audition, and is later as overjoyed as Esteban when Juan and Maria announce their engagement. To me, this was the main message of the film that still rings true today-- family is what you make of it, especially when it comes to a group of friends living in a big city. 

There are some real intense drama moments in the film that sucked me into these characters. For example, when Enrique comes back and tries arguing with Juan to take Maria away and sees he is getting nowhere, he has to resort to reason-- explaining how much work she has already put into her plans of becoming a nun and that letting her go is the most selfless thing he can do. Juan knows the only way to do this is to break her heart and pretends to get back together with Lola. Maria is heartbroken and asks her brother to take her back to Seville as she is now convinced he was right, that the world truly was evil. 

Juan does not want to perform in the opera but Ernesto comes clean about how he paid for Juan to have a chance, and this makes Juan do it out of loyalty. What follows is a very progressive portrayal of depression. Juan cannot get out of bed because he is so sad. He does not care that the performance was a success; he wants to go home to Seville and leave everything behind in Madrid. When Lola finds him and sees how depressed he is, she finds Maria at the convent and sees she is in a similar state, and helps the two reunite.

Another progressive element to this film was the Reverend Mother character at the convent. When Maria leaves the convent and Enrique sends out a search party for her, he confronts the Reverend Mother on how she could let Maria go. The Reverend Mother explains that the convent is not a prison, and that Maria was free to leave-- this woman is not only a nun, but a feminist! She joins forces with Lola in explaining to Maria that dying of depression is not a part of God's plan for her and that she must go back to Juan if it will bring her back to life. I was really touched by this line, and was thinking about how wonderful a message this was for a film from 1930: the purpose of spirituality is to be liberated!

Novarro's performance is wonderful. He is playful, naturally funny, energetic, and a wonderful singer. He handles drama well. When he is in his depressive state, instead of playing it over the top with wailing, he is more subdued, which makes one think that he had experience with bouts of depression before. His vocals are wonderful throughout most of the film-- this was a stretch for him to do a film that required not only opera, but also traditional Spanish music as well as crooning numbers typical of musicals of this time. Hearing him sing acapella is a treat, and his strong voice and vibrato come through crystal clear. Unfortunately, during his big opera performance toward the end, vocals are noticeably flat, and its clear that he is beyond his training in this section.

The other acting performances are just okay. Dorothy Jordan as Maria and Ernest Torrence as Esteban are not Spanish, and their accents are thick as they speak their lines slowly so that they can be understood. Their performances are quite stiff as a result.

There are glances of good cinematography choices throughout the film that can't be ignored. For example, in the opening of the film, we are brought into Maria's secluded world by going from a macro environment to a micro one. The camera starts with a shot of the town square, followed by a shot of the cantina patio, cutting then to a sign illustrating the door of the convent, and finally the last shot is of the convent interior. This brings us into Maria's environment and its many walls from the world before we even see her. 

Novarro's opening number at the Cantina is shot with many cuts from drastically different angles to illustrate the performance from points of view of audience members scattered all over the cantina. In contrast, the number "Lonely" where Juan serenades Maria is done all in one medium shot, and its simplicity is sweet. Sometimes, less is more, and this is the case here. I enjoyed this film, and felt like its pacing, comedy, and script would make me want to revisit it another time.

Home Video

While the Warner Archive released Chasing Rainbows in its incomplete form, this title was unfortunately not released on home video and its unknown why. There is one obvious video fade in the middle of the conversation between Enrique and Juan where Enrique is trying to convince Juan to break up with Maria so that she will want to go back to the convent, but other than this the existing content of the film makes it more than satisfactory to release on home video. It's especially disappointing considering its success at the box office and that the copy that exists is in equal if not better quality than some of the other titles the Warner Archive has released. 

The version I saw was a Turner Classic Movies telecast, evident from the TCM logo that appearaed from time to time. Beyond a handful of printed in splices and some extra noise on the track during Novarro's first number, this video transfer was in great shape. Hopefully this will get a release one day, but in the meantime bootlegs from TCM broadcasts are available.