During the silent era, any number of actors from around the world could star in a movie and, as long as they could act, the title cards in the audience's language would fill in the blanks.
But with synchronized sound? There goes Sessue. Hayakawa, Victor Sjostrom, Ramon Navarro, et al. Their difficulties with English and even their voices meant the end was near. Some people might toss Harold Lloyd into this pile although I think Lloyd's talkies are quite funny. And thanks(?) to Singin' In The Rain, most people include John Gilbert in this group although I insist Gilbert had a fine, rich voice and was 100% manly.
Which brings us back to Navarro. As boyishly charming as his antics are in the silent era, his mannerisms and voice scream ''sn0tty br@t" In Call of the Flesh. And, dare I say, a dubiously hetero brat. Check out the dancing in the cafe at the beginning of the film. And then what he does with the lollipop. I mean, c'mon.
On top of that, the timing of the dialogue is off somehow. As if the director didn't realize it was being released as a talkie and figured it would all be papered over with intertitles. And for such a simple story, it drag on way too long. Maybe they got a volume discount on film stock.
At this point, Navarro's career trajectory was probably set.
But with synchronized sound? There goes Sessue. Hayakawa, Victor Sjostrom, Ramon Navarro, et al. Their difficulties with English and even their voices meant the end was near. Some people might toss Harold Lloyd into this pile although I think Lloyd's talkies are quite funny. And thanks(?) to Singin' In The Rain, most people include John Gilbert in this group although I insist Gilbert had a fine, rich voice and was 100% manly.
Which brings us back to Navarro. As boyishly charming as his antics are in the silent era, his mannerisms and voice scream ''sn0tty br@t" In Call of the Flesh. And, dare I say, a dubiously hetero brat. Check out the dancing in the cafe at the beginning of the film. And then what he does with the lollipop. I mean, c'mon.
On top of that, the timing of the dialogue is off somehow. As if the director didn't realize it was being released as a talkie and figured it would all be papered over with intertitles. And for such a simple story, it drag on way too long. Maybe they got a volume discount on film stock.
At this point, Navarro's career trajectory was probably set.