O Pagão

Henry Shoesmith is THE PAGAN, a happy, handsome half-caste, perfectly attune with his South Seas home. Henry is also the owner of the largest cocoanut plantation on the island, which arouses the greed of an unscrupulous white trader with a beautiful native 'ward'...

Ramon Novarro is charming in this, his final silent film. Once again, MGM has their Mexican star playing another in his wide range of ethnic roles. Here he is a Polynesian, but he plays his part so well, and is obviously having such a good time, that he gives one of his most entertaining of performances.

He is served well by his excellent supporting cast. Dorothy Janis is Novarro's beautiful love interest - innocent, vulnerable & passionately in love. Donald Crisp is superb as the villainous white trader, consumed with lust for the girl he calls his 'Christian duty' and embittered with hatred for Novarro. His final fate is most proper & welcome. Renée Adorée scores as the island harlot, a staunch friend to both Novarro & Janis.

Directed by peripatetic W. S. Van Dyke, the location filming in & around Papeete, Tahiti enhances the story greatly.

Coming as it did at the very cusp of the new talkie era, this is essentially a silent film with an effective soundtrack that includes musical interludes & background dialogue. Novarro croons 'Pagan Love Song' (by Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed) to good effect - giving Hollywood one of its first hit tunes - and his fine singing voice would be heard again in forthcoming films.

In this funny, moving and magnificent film Ramon Novarro again proves that he was one of the best actors of the silent era. Physically he is more beautiful than any man has a right to be, but his beauty also comes from within because he projects a warmth and humanity that few actors can convey. The film itself is brilliantly directed by W.S. Van Dyke, with a witty and poignant screenplay. It is also quite subversive as the Christian is definitely the bad guy, and a life of pagan lust and laziness is held up as the ideal. And it is all superbly shot in Tahiti.

The three other stars are also fine. Donald Crisp is lecherous and loathsome, Dorothy Janis spectacularly beautiful and delightfully innocent, and Renee Adoree unforgettable as the "whore with a heart of gold". Her unrequited love for Novarro is subtlely conveyed and very moving. But Ramon's joy of life, he is truly gay in the old sense of the word, makes this film live. See it with someone you love.

Okay, they over-use the theme tune, but isn't it gorgeous?

Slacker Henry Shoesmith (Ramon Novarro), the product of a white father and native mother has inherited a business he couldn't care less about. He'd rather pass his days taking in the beauty he was surrounded by on his South Sea island. When devious capitalist Roger Slater (Donald Crisp) shows up with his beautiful charge in tow to exploit the island Shoesmith's world is thrown into turmoil. With all his attention on Tito he ignores his business and Slater uses the opportunity to ruin him. Forever the romantic, Henry's is more concerned with the pursuit of Tito allowing him to become vulnerable to the iniquitous Slater whose designs of Christian salvation for Tito have given way to carnal cravings.

This silent made after the advent of sound film clumsily adds some out of sync singing (the immortal Pagan Love Song) to remain au courant but it is a catchy tune and not much of a distraction from the beautiful Tahitian landscape in which the naive lovers reside.

Novarro's disposition of child like innocence and laid back style fronted by his killer looks and smile charm you into his corner from beginning to end. A handsome Harpo, he is more sweet than seductive, displaying a talent for slapstick that makes him impossible to dislike. Dislike is all one can feel for the greedy, vengeful and hypocritical Slater. Crisp picks up where he left off as a racist lout in Broken Blossoms turning on a dime to gain and maim when needed. Bedecked in a white suit, earring and snarling most of the time Crisp's effective silent heavies totally belies the wise patient grandfatherly parts that would mark his sound period. Loudly attired Renee Adoree as a prostitute with principles has some fine scenes and serves as an ironic counterpoint to the hypocritical but respectable Slater.

With the vile Slater as a punching bag The Pagan reveals some ugly truths about western society but Novarro's irrepressible boyish charm keeps it upbeat most of the way. I would also add the warning that for a 48 hour period and perhaps longer you will not be able to get The Pagan Love Song melody out of your mind.

On a picturesque South Seas island, "half-caste" handsome Ramon Novarro (as Henry Shoesmith Jr.) sunbathes on his coconut plantation. Rather than develop the wealth on his estate, Mr. Novarro likes to sing, laugh, and bask in the sunshine. His rendition of "Pagan Love Song" attracts pretty Polynesian Dorothy Janis (as Tito), who is likewise "half white". Ms. Janis tells Novarro, "Your song nice, your face nice, too." The pair frolic romantically, but Janis' guardian is wicked white businessman Donald Crisp (as Roger Slater), who cheats Novarro out of his land, and lusts after his nubile ward...

This late term silent film is nicely preserved, and includes its original "synchronized sound effects" soundtrack. The score, as you'll hear, beautifully matches the lush island location. "The Pagan" found Novarro reaching a new peak of popular appeal, and helped propel him into the "talkie" era. His singing voice recorded well; soon, MGM learned their stars' accents did not concern audiences, who responded to rich speaking voices of all types. Director W.S. Van Dyke and cameraman Clyde De Vinna, who worked together on "White Shadows in the South Seas" (1928), were at their best.

The story seems, in hindsight, to be daring for the time; its balance favors naturalistic Paganism over hypocritical Christianity, but Novarro and the studio easily put "The Pagan" over the top. Of course, the film does not attack religion; the villain is hypocrisy, portrayed as perverted "Christian duty" by Mr. Crisp. Renée Adorée, an leading actress on a career slide, is given a good supporting role as a tarnished white outcast who helps Novarro and Janis. Unfortunately, Ms. Adorée didn't live long enough for a talking pictures success, and the promisingly beautiful Janis soon retired.

******** The Pagan (4/27/29) W.S. Van Dyke ~ Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Janis, Donald Crisp, Renee Adoree

This short and sweet silent film stars one of the brightest stars of the era, Ramon Novarro. Novarro's trademark energy is channeled into a great performance as a half white half native on an island where he is not accepted by everyone. He is a wealthy man but would rather spend his time lounging in the sun eating bananas and coconuts than doing business. He meets a beautiful native girl named Tito (Dorothy Janis), half white and half native like himself. However, she is restricted by her benefactor, a hypocrite Christian businessman (Donald Crisp) who wants to train her to be white. The natives begin to have a love affair much to the chagrin of the wealthy benefactor and a prostitute (Renée Adorée) who is in love with Novarro.

As a silent made after the talkies swept entertainment, this film features a recorded soundtrack with sung music and sound effects. Sometimes the lips do not match the recording, but the track works quite well with illustrating the story.