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?
