Picture Play Magazine (Jul - Dec 1929)

18 Tkeir Actions Speak Louder Tkan Words When Jeanne Eagels says she can't act to-night, she means she won't act to-night. Again one evening I. was dining with the same friends at a newly opened restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. Tables were in booths. Suddenly, from the next booth, I heard a voice say to the manager, "Do you know who I am?" The manager evidently didn't. So the voice informed him. "I am David Newell. I come here every evening. I'm a good customer. I've asked for sweetbreads for I don't know how long. Never can I get anything I ask for. Why, I've asked for sweetbreads over and over again." Mr. Newell, of course, had to take something else on the menu. And I doubt if the management ever bothered to obtain any sweetbreads — "the smile of the calf," as the French call them. Compared to Barrymore, Mr. Newell's complaint at the restaurant sounded like a grasshopper competing with an elephant, in asking for sweetbreads for I don't know how long. Yes. sir — only the really great can't be ordinary and get away with it ! I have always deemed Ramon Novarro very versatile, though, as every fan knows, he has had little chance to reveal it. Many admirers rank Novarro a genius. I admit that in this talented young Mexican there are the attributes of one. He appears to be an embodiment of a soul seeking both religious heights and theatrical acclamation. "Ramon used to be a great philosopher, writing the truths of life," a fair, young player once murmured, as if saying an "Ave." I looked blank. She smiled dreamily and added, "You don't understand me. I'm talking of Ramon a thousand years ago." Thus you see why Novarro is not an ordinary individual ! Not content, so we are told, with his movie fame, Ramon wishes success as an opera singer. To my ears, his singing in "The Pagan" offered little possibility for operatic triumphs. Maybe the recording was bad. But Ramon's voice will have to be a far greater one, before he bursts forth singing in the spcrrsitze of the Royal Opera in Berlin, where only the world's greatest are heard. Then again Mr. Novarro seeks religious meditation. Does he hope to find any in opera? I can tell him now he won't. What I know about opera companies ! Among religious relics, altars, candles, and peace in his home, Novarro has also his Teatro Intimo, where he stages plays and sings and dances. Mixing these things together seems incongruous. Yet why not ? Saint Augustine patronized the theaters of Rome, where jpL the Cecil DeMilles of their day put \ on huge spectacles, and old first i 4»» ** ' nighters described the million-dol lar shows with all the rhapsody of \ ^X; modern fans. Is Novarro a reincarnation of Saint Augustine ? The gentleman was holy, but evidently admired the theater. His eulogies, in Latin, cannot be quoted here, but they exist as truly as Ramon. He remains a recluse, shunning the crowds and the emoluments of fame. Religion and acting are the dominant factors in his life. I have often wondered if he so desires the first, why does he not eschew the notoriety of the other ? Ramon keeps to both. But then he is no ordinary man. Seeking enlightenment on this genius topic, I went to Jetta Goudal. I felt assured that my visit would not be in vain. And, to a certain extent, it was not. Looking like Cleopatra, and talking like Hypatia, Jetta said, "You cannot compare a — • well, I shall say an artist — with an ordinary person. There is no comparison mentally. An artist — or a genius — cannot be normal. By normal I mean average, one John Gilbert deserves praise for being honest in his utterances, at least.