REGENT THEATRE.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20198, 28 March 1931, Page 9

REGENT THEATRE.

"CALL OP THE FLESH." In Us latest talkie, "Call of the Flesh," which will: begin to-day at the Regent, Ramos Navarro, the actor with the golden voice-, scores a great triumph; (or his impish ways, his overpowering vanity, his extravagance of language and gesture, all assist in'creating a very human and very lovable figure. The rise of a young nomadic Spanish singer -to the heights of . operatic fame as the. result of a vivid love,.affair is the theme of "Call of the Flesh." It starts as a lilting, whimsical little story of Spain, with Ilamon Novarro aa a carefree; clowning boy -—one ■' almost' say ft Spanish version of William Haines,; Then, suddenly, comes the drainatic situation, ana the story emerges' into one of the most flipping, poignant pieces of .acting the screen has seen. ..It is Ramon Novarro's "surprise picture."- : The striking and likeable hero , (alia in Jove with a girl who escapes from a convent. His ambi* tlons turn to - the opera, but bis voice lacks feeling. Then,: when his aweetheart is returned to her sanctuary, he goe» through a period of suffering that makes'his operatic appearance a -triuihpl*—a' triumph paid for at the cost of a broken heart. -But with the happy ending that iollowa he achieves his ideal. ■ ■... Novarro's acting is superb, and his voice glorious. As the carefree tiinger he romps through comicalities, until ; he. reaches the serious side of life——a difficult transition in a few feet of film, perhaps. He does it faultlessly. He is a dramatic actor of fire and power; apparently he is limited by no type of characterisation. His songs are sung beautifully, and : in the opera Scenes, where he sings actual opera numbers, the audience is given a chance to realise just why the Berlin opera beckoned to him not! long ago. He fairly lives the role. . , Dorothy Jordan is the convent girl, whose love the hero wins and keeps, and Renee Adoree and Ernest Torrence are also in the cast. .