Evening star., 1932-01-03

IT<ELL them II they want TO
- see me they'd better
hurry! Two more pic
n lures, and then" Ra-
mon Novarro raised his hand and
indicated, I'm through-fnish-
ed" Then he smiled, laughed
rather, and seemed not at all dis
pleased at the prospect of retiring
gracefully from the films.
What then?"
What then? A concert tour"
"Where?"
Here, there, everywhere. A
concert tour that will take me
around the world. want to sing
want to express myself that
way-and I want to travel and see
things" And Mr.. Novarro smiled
some more, a young, happy
friendly smile - the kind the
cinema public knows he has
and sank deep into the sofa cush-
ions of his New York hotel suite
and looked a trif1e longingly at
the piano.
The truth of the matter is that
Ben -Hur," even when he is on
vacation, as he is now, spends
much of his day singing. If you
look on the rack of his piano you
will see songs in seven languages,
scores of operas Che would like
some day perhaps to do. the
Guitry "Mozart") and if there are
friends at hand-and there is
always a Novarro tribe-he is
most obliging and will polish off
a song and sing just what his au-
dience wants him to-
Mr.. Novarro's announcement
that after two more films he will
leave the screen will perhaps sur
prise those who had imagined
that, like Mr.. TennySon's brook,
he might go on and on forever.
1t is all the more surprising since
he is still very young man.
This, however, being the age of
juvenile retirement rather than
slipping gradually into the valley
of old age, and since announce
ments of this sort are becoming
common, we can rather take oil
our hat to Mr.. Novarro for doing
what he wants to do and not just
stopping-but going on. The fact,
too, that he doesn't want to be
shelved, which he feels is the
ultimate end of most film careers,
Is something which perhaps less
talented people forget to remem-
Der.
Without question he is ar
"arteeste" to the tips of his
fingers. After Polly Moran's glow
ing "song and dance" about him
when she was in Washington.
which opened the skies above
him and rained such eulogleS as
might have cannoniZed him on
the spot, it was perhaps easy to
be disappointed in the idol of ten
million women. But Mr.. NoVarro
does not let you be disappointed.
His personality is so disarmingly
natural and, above all, he is so
intent on being himself rather
than a Hollywood celebrity that
by the time you have spoken TO
him for a minute or so you Won
der, "Well, can this be the young |
man whose name has run riot |
over the cinema world ever since
ne sprang into its middle?"
His versatility is amazing. At
The moment he is particularly in
terested in Mary Wigman, and
his own imitation of her death /
dance, which convulses any au-
1ience with the good fortune to
see it, should be clasSed among
;he best burlesques. He is a great
admirer of Miss Wigman-in fact
ne has told her so-but he can't
1elp taking her a little "over the
Goals" The sight of him, barefoot,
n some kind of a drab costume,
With his assistant at the ''percuS-
sion" (which he supplies by hav-
ng some one tap row OF semi
illed ginger-ale bottles) is some
hing which a movie camera
would do we'll to snap while the
is good.
Women admirers of Mr. No
yarro will find him off the
screen an exact replica of his
,inema self. 1t is we'll worth
While watching a feminine group
It Novarro gathering. His Latin
and perfect courtesy
o every one has not been over