Picture Play Magazine (Jan - Jun 1930)

Enter An Opera Star 67 To say that Tibbett's voice has beauty is being too precisely circumspect. It has a glorious quality and is generally recognized as being one of the finest baritones among the younger singers in the world to-day. Each tone is rich, full, and "has bells on." And since Tibbett is young — in his early thirties — he is still in that first stage of a singer's career during which luscious tone pours forth from the throat like a veritable Niagara. In a few years he will approach that second stage of singing which has signposts all along the path, warning the use of discretion, restraint and kindly treatment to the voice, so that it may last long, and also urging concentrated effort on the artistic phases of song. Tibbett's whole manner of singing at this time is a complete, almost reckless abandon to the glory of song, and in such mood fans will hear him. The story of "The Rogue's Song" was written by John Colton and Frances Marion. Tibbett plays Yegor, son of a bandit prince, and himself leader of a group of singing rogues whose main business in life is barter and plunder, a kiss for fair ladies, a plentiful meal, and a rollicking song while cups are held high. Yegor is a rakish, colorful, devil-may-care blade who sweeps his victories before him and who, in the words of one of his songs, "takes what he wants with pleasure, and often brings pleasure to what he takes" — which, analyzed closely, doesn't always mean the princess' pearl necklace ! No rogue as gay and dashing as Tibbett, or rather Yegor, and possessed of such a voice, could possibly avoid encountering, somewhere along the mountain passes, a beautiful princess escorted by her chaperon, a countess, and her faithful duenna. This happens to Yegor. He meets the princess by plunging through a window into her boudoir. The princess is played by Catherine Dale Owen, who looks entrancingly blond and chaste. To reverse the order of things, Yegor, lusty bandit that he is, merely asks of the princess her hat, which happens to be graced by a plume which he wants for his little sister, Nadja. From the dusky, vampish countess he asks nothing, but she gives him her pearls. The next instant she places a price on his head for thievery. While Yegor is on the road, his sister Nadja is betrayed by the brother of the princess, Prince Sergei, and because of her shame, commits suicide. From there on the plot winds its way over mountain pass and crevasse, and climaxes with Yegor, enraged over his little sister's death, seeking vengeance by killing Sergei, and carrying off the princess to his camp in the hills, and forcing her to do the washing and ironing and other hard labor, just as his little sister was wont to do. This procedure seems a bit harsh for a princess, but to Yegor's mind it is just what is coming to her, because Beautiful Catherine Dale Owen is the princess who first hates and then loves the bandit. i'hoto by Louise Lawrence Tibbett sang for $75 a month a few years ago, with the same voice that brings him $10,000 a week in pictures. she called his sister a "bandit drab" and a "robber trull." Of course, this was only after the princess realized that Yegor had killed her brother. True, Prince Sergei was a wicked voluptuary, but then any sister, even a princess, might be justified in getting mad and using the words "trull" and "drab" when she discovered that even a bad brother had been killed. To get back to the story. The princess, en route to her prison camp, whispers words into the ears of one of Yegor's fellow bandits — played by Wallace MacDonald — which results in his helping her to escape to her uncle's castle. As soon as she is safely there, she orders the capture of Yegor. Yegor is brought to the castle, tied to a stake under her window and lashed cruelly, yet during the merciless inquisition sings ironically his mad song of passion. She cannot escape his voice. It follows her with horror, then pity and compassion and finally love. She orders Yegor released, rushes to him and binds his wounds tenderly, and it is presumed that the singing rogue and the beautiful princess live happily ever afterward.