Son of India

Ramon Novarro, MGM's sound era answer to succeed Rudolph Valentino as Hollywood's great lover is cringingly and unintentionally hilarious in this tale of forbidden interracial love. Looking a touch more feminine than Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce and flatly delivering his lines with perfectly manicured arched eyebrows and clear Mexican accent Novarro's career disintegrates before your eyes.

Karim (Novarro) is the diamond obsessed son of a merchant making his way through some lawless terrain of India where he is befriended by a holy man that saves him from a bandit massacre in which he is the only survivor. Reduced to poverty the rag attired Karim attempts to sell the most precious diamond of his fathers collection but is in turn accused of stealing it from an unscrupulous Indian jewelry dealer. A visiting American (Conrad Nagel) saves Karim from prison and gets his diamond back. Karim then enters into a passionate affair with his sister Janice though he is unaware they are related. Janice's aunt is aghast at this blatant act of miscegenation involving the family name and takes steps to prevent it.

Son of India may have had a decent chance in dealing with a social taboo in the same exotically sensual way Frank Capra does in The Bitter Tea of General Yen with a different and more natural lead. Novarro's wooden style is further inhibited by the fact his character has a spoiled surly immature side to him that would make Sabu look like an intellectual. Madge Evans as Janice is feisty and natural as an innocent abroad and holds up her end of the bargain in spite of Ramon. Marjorie Rambeau as a microcosm of "proper" American society gets her racist message across with wide eyed disapproval and inflective disdain.

Cedric Gibbons and staff provide the usual lush and exotic sets while Harold Rosson's camera records some beautifully lit compositions and portraits of minor characters but with Novarro at the center of this weepie no amount of flawless make-up can make up for such a flawed performance.

In India, boyish Ramon Novarro (as Karim) is blessed by holy man Nigel de Brulier (as Rao Rama) while traveling the countryside with father Mitchell Lewis (as Hamid), a jewel merchant. When bandits attack their mountain village, Mr. Lewis gives his son a huge, very valuable diamond. Then, Mr. de Brulier buries him alive. This saves Mr. Novarro's life, as most of the villagers are slaughtered. Rising from his "grave", Novarro learns his father died in the massacre.

In his turban and rags, beggar Novarro goes to Bombay, to sell the diamond. But, the jeweler is crooked; to get the gem for nothing, he yells "Thief!" About to lose his diamond, Novarro is assisted by American tourist Conrad Nagel (as William "Bill" Darsay). Mr. Nagel was in the jeweler's shop, and witnessed the incident. In gratitude, Novarro tries to give his Nagel the diamond, but he declines. Next, Novarro sells the diamond, and becomes a wealthy gentlemen.

Now playing polo, Novarro meets shapely young Madge Evans (as Janice Darsey), who is attracted to the handsome horseman. "I adore precious stones," she tells Novarro. The two begin a romance, which makes race-conscious mother Marjorie Rambeau uncomfortable. Novarro and Ms. Evans want to marry, despite ethnic and religious differences. Nagel, Evans' brother, re-enters the picture. He forbids the marriage, reminding Evans, "You're a white woman!"

While sometimes unsatisfying, this film winds up being more thoughtfully presented than you'd expect. The prejudicial issues are represented surprisingly well for the time. MGM production standards are high for star Novarro, who was assigned these (arguably) inappropriate "ethnic" roles frequently, and Evans is an attractive leading lady. In his last American film, director Jacques Feyder shines, subtlety introducing Nagel's character and staging scenes well.

****** Son of India (8/1/31) Jacques Feyder ~ Ramon Novarro, Madge Evans, Conrad Nagel, Marjorie Rambeau

Handsome Ramon Novarro and beautiful Madge Evans play a pair of unlikely star-crossed lovers in old India, in this pleasant MGM sleeper-romance, Son of India (1931).

Madge plays a progressive American girl visiting India with her aunt as chaperon. She slowly falls for Ramon's character, an Indian prince, trained by his father to be a jewel connoisseur and merchant.

Conrad Nagel plays Madge's American brother, who befriends the Indian prince and helps him out of a jam, thereby turning his life around and guaranteeing him his fortune.

Although there is genuine fondness between the brother and the prince, problems arise when the young couple decide they are both in love with one another and want to get married. The old Indian caste system threatens to intervene and separate the young couple. Will the races mix and love conquer all, or will old world tradition rule the day through the caste system, and send the American girl back home? This is a not to be missed treat for the Ramon Novarro fan. I also enjoyed Madge Evans' performance quite a bit; usually she was in secondary supporting roles, but here she finally has a romantic part she can really sink her teeth into. I liked her chemistry with Ramon.

Shown occasionally on TCM and worth the wait. Recommended. 9 out of 10.

A handsome young merchant prince must fight first for his life and then for his identity. But when he struggles to keep the love of a beautiful young American, he is reminded that he is still but a SON OF INDIA.

This is a decent little film, with good production values and MGM lavished a lot of care in making it look exotic. As regards the plot, Ramon Novarro is practically the whole story. Here he adds another portrait to his long series of ethnic interpretations.

Silent screen star Conrad Nagel appears as Novarro's American friend & a lovely Madge Evans plays his sister, Novarro's love interest. Marjorie Rambeau is given little do to as their unsympathetic aunt, while old Sir C. Aubrey Smith has a tiny role as a wise old English doctor.

Once you get past the first 15 minutes, it's smooth sailing from there. It starts out rather rocky (you might be be tempted to give up), but hang in there. You will be rewarded with an excellent story of love between the "races" and the often mindless sanctity of honor.

Madge Evans is fine. She's quite believable. In the first 15 minutes, I winced while watching Ramon Navarro in the title roll; however, as the minutes wore on, I grew to like his performance and ultimately thought he was quite good.

For 1931, the camera movement is fairly free. During a shot where the camera is following Evans and Navarro walking down a long hallway in Navarro's palace, a chair can be seen lifted out of the advancing camera's way by a grip. This minor error precedes the "rocking hat" mistake witnessed in "Citizen Kane" by 10 years. People often comment how inventive Welles was (he most definitely was), but they mistakenly cite his habit of moving objects in front of and away from mobile cameras as one of his clever tricks. If it's one of "his" tricks, he learned it from Hollywood.

TCM's print and sound quality were generally excellent.

This film is a fine example of one aspect of pre-Code films that is often overlooked, miscegenation. It's well handled by a major Hollywood studio. The strict enforcement of the Hayes Codes prevented this subject matter just three years later.