Gilbert Roland - A Latin Performer Unbounded

[MissGoddess]

Gilbert Roland is one of my favorite "presences" in movies. I choose to use that word
instead of "actor" because in this case, the latter word just doesn't fill the space this
man occupied from his early days as a silent movie matinee star, to his unique contributions
as a character performer. You knew Gilbert Roland was in the house the minute he steps
into a scene. He breathes warmth, vitality, humor and a certain human wisdom into roles
that would lie flat in any other hands.

If you are unfamiliar with Gilbert Roland and don't stick with him when he first appears, you
might be tempted to see only the "flash" the brilliant smile, the swagger and Latin machismo.
You'd be robbing yourself not to look further. Stick with him, he's often one of the best things in
OK films, and in at least one nearly +great+ film (Anthony Mann's The Furies)---his is the most shining contribution

While I continue a mission to find as many photos and/or interesting bits about this
unique actor, I hope all who are curious about or already admire Gilbert Roland,
will take the time to read the TCM Movie Morlock's article linked below.

One of the most frequent and eloquent of TCM's Message Board members is Moirafinnie
who contributes many terrific threads and articles in Movie Morlocks. Her latest
spotlights Roland the performer and the man, an actor who's films did not make it
into the present TCM festival on Latinos in Hollywood. This article makes up for it nicely,
pointing out how Roland managed to maintain a long career in a fickle town by avoiding
one of its most persisitent tendencies: type casting. It also inspired me to start a thread
of his own for Roland. Enjoy:

http://moviemorlocks.com/2009/05/06/gil ... mment-8389

Roland with his on and offscreen amour, Norma Talmage, in the silent days:


And in his more familiar, post WWII days segueing into a remarkable character
performer

[MissGoddess]

The Woman Disputed (1928) with Norma Talmage. I've never seen
any of Roland's pictures with Norma---has anyone else? This picture seems to illustrate
some of that beard growth Roland had to contend with in his twice daily shaving!

[moira finnie]

and thank you!

If it's okay I'll add a few photos here too.

An unposed shot of Mr. Roland explaining life to obscure actress Elizabeth Whitney in the bar car of Virginia City Special train.

This promotional train left the station in 1940. It was packed with movie stars of all sorts--from May Robson to Errol Flynn to Jane Wyman. It went careening toward Virginia City to celebrate the premiere of the Errol Flynn western of the same name and apparently stopped in every town and hamlet on the way to meet and greet the citizens. Warner Brothers' crazed publicity agents were said to have their hands full with the passengers. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall.

You may like to visit the Starlet Showcase blog for more photos of Gilberto. There's one photo from That Lady (1955) about a real life Spanish princess with one eye played by Olivia De Havilland that I'd give anything to see. Paul Scofield plays the King of Spain, so it must be sort of interesting, no?

Here's the synopsis of this doozie from IMDb:

Ana, the Princess of Eboli, wears a black patch over her right eye, where she was blinded as a youth when fighting a duel in defense of her king, the despotic Philip. Thereafter she and the monarch were close friends, although his passion for her was never consummated. She marries one of Philip's ministers, bore him a son, and soon became a widow. Now Philip calls upon her to assist in coaching a commoner, Antonio Perez, for the office of first secretary to the crown.The result is more than Philip bargained for as Ana and Antonio become lovers and create a scandal in court, always the scene of perpetual intrigue. Philip has Antonio arrested on a drummed-up charge of murder, and when Ana refuses to leave Madrid, she too is arrested. After spending time in jail, she is transferred to her home and held in check. Antonio escapes and makes his way to Ana, who persuades him to leave the country and take her son.

April, please do yourself a favor and check out Mr. R.'s Cisco Kid dvds, which you can read more about here. They are not great dramas, but what a presence he brings to the show!

One of my favorite Gilbert Roland photos from real life:

The caption on this newspaper photo read:
ROLAND NEWSPAPER CARRIER -1975- ONCE A NEWSPAPER CARRIER - Film star Gilbert Roland, once an El Paso newspaper carrier, is surrounded by carriers for the Newspaper Printing Corp., Saturday at a luncheon where the establishment of a carrier scholarship fund in Roland's name was announced.

[MissGoddess]

OH wow!!! I'm SWOONING over that top photo!! The way he's looking at her!
Give me a fan! Give me a cold shower!

I love the one with the kids, too, how sweet. How dear.

So "The Cisco Kid" movies are on DVD? Fantastico! I'll rent them ASAP. I also
want to see his films with Norma Talmage, an actress I know nothing about but
what I've read. He seemed ot like ladies of theatrical families, ha! I have never
been able to quite imagine him with Connie Bennett. I really like Connie and
all the better for knowing she once had the good taste to marry him.

Thanks, Moira, for those links---that movie with Olivia deHavilland makes my
mouth water! I never even heard of it!

[silentscreen]

A trifle here, but Bette Davis said in an interview with Dick Cavett that as a young contract player at Universal she had to test out kissing scenes with male contract players. She gave Gilbert the stamp of approval, and so did the camera. He got the part! Poor Bette, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it!

[moira finnie]

Mr. Roland, Vintage 1927

A trifle here, but Bette Davis said in an interview with Dick Cavett that as a young contract player at Universal she had to test out kissing scenes with male contract players. She gave Gilbert the stamp of approval, and so did the camera. He got the part! Poor Bette, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it!

Good one, SS. Ed Sikov in his bio, Dark Victory, claimed that Bette said she felt like a "human vealcake" who "wasn't a woman, I was a mattress!" In one session she had to have fifteen Universal contract players lie atop her during a kissing scene being tested for some forgotten film. " Gilbert Roland told her gently as he approached for his turn, "Don't worry--we've all gone through it." According to Ms. Davis, "I must say, after he kissed me, I thought, 'This is not so bad.'" Alas, the only movie they ever appeared in together was Juarez (1939) in which Bette's Carlotta is smitten only with her husband Maximilian (Brian Aherne, in perhaps his best role on film).

April,
I LOVE that picture with the beard. Brother, get me a fan. Here's what little I know about all the Gilbert Roland-Norma Talmadge movies, which isn't much.


From what I've read, Camille (1926), Gilbert's first movie with Norma Talmadge may never see the light of day. According to Arne Anderson, a pretty reliable poster on IMDb "in addition to the Valentino/Nazimova silent version, we have Norma Talmadge and Gilbert Roland in the oft-filmed romantic classic. The Douris Corporation has three double reels of 35 mm nitrate material, which is assumed to be the complete film. Clips are available from Archive Films. It has never been released to video or television." The Dove (1928) survives as "material are four impeccably preserved nitrate reels at the Library of Congress (#1,3,4,8) our of nine. A film that should be sought after for restoration. An enriching romantic experience. "

The Woman Disputed (1928) is one of those movies that existed in silent and partly talkie versions. Supposedly only "a silent version of the film is known to exist - at the Library of Congress."


A still from New York Nights with Norma, GR, and Roscoe Karns.

New York Nights (1929), Talmadge's first all talkie, was directed by Lewis Milestone, no less, but some commentators seem to feel it was quite poor while others liked it very much. I'd prefer to judge for myself. Since this one actually exists in some commercially viable form, I'll be trying to track down a copy of this one.

Overall, I like Gilbert Roland whenever I see him, but he was a much, much better actor in the post-World War II era than he ever was before.

Btw, did you know that GR made a movie called Méphisto (1930) with none other than Jean Gabin!? Together, in one movie? Both these guys. Gosh!
I suspect that it was made in France when Roland was hanging around the Riviera with Norma Talmadge and her crowd.

In the 1940s, when I think he started to hit his stride as an actor. And a good one, at that.

[silentscreen]

Yes moirafinnie, I had the pleasure of watching Miss Davis in a youtube clip on the Dick Cavett show where she described the ordeal in detail and said Gilbert Roland was the only one she enjoyed kissing. They remained friends throughout their lives, no doubt partly due to his sensitivity. He was such an attractive man as well, and I'm sure that was part of the pleasure to boot. Kind of like a bonus. Bette was nothing if she wasn't forthcoming.

He looks a great deal like John Gilbert in the first photo. I believe Gilbert was one of his favorite actors and that's where his first screen name came from.

[feaito]

I recently saw Gilbert Roland in "Juarez" (1939) a superb historical biopic, with Paul Muni, Brian Aherne, Bette Davis, John Garfield, Donald Crisp, Claude Rains, Gale Sondergaard et al, and a rousing score by Korngold. What a treat!

What always impressed me of Roland is that he aged so well. He did not look his age at all, even in his 70s he looked so much younger.

I remember when I was a small child, every Easter I watched on public TV, "The Miracle of our Lady of Fatima", which was for many years my favorite Religious film, and it was in big part thanks to Roland's charisma in the role of the sympathetic man who befriends the three kids who see the Virgin Mary.

[silentscreen]

What always impressed me of Roland is that he aged so well. He did not look his age at all, even in his 70s he looked so much younger.

Good genes.

[MissGoddess]

Hi Silent Screen! I have the Dick Cavett Interviews DVD where Bette talks about that
couch scenario---I completely forgot that Gilbert Roland was one of the "tests", ha!
I'd sign up for that duty.

And yes, he does resemble his "namesake", John Gilbert, but I find Roland much more
attractive personally.

More Moira!

If you find New York Nights let me know; if I do, I'll post about it here. I imagine
his years in the war added texture to his gifts, and sort of weary wisdom

Feo! I forgot he was in Our Lady of Fatima---I like him with children. I feel sad
that he was separated from his own daughters for a while. That was not fair to THEM
or him. I imagine he would have been a great dad.
I need to see Juarez again---it's coming up on TCM isn't it? I think it's one of the best
historical pictures. I'm not always crazy about them, but this one surprised me how
good it was. I agree about Aherne and frankly, I thought Bette was sensational as
Carlotta--I never would have thought that Yankee girl could do it.

Another still from New York Nights

[silentscreen]

As much as I like John Gilbert, I have to agree Roland is more attractive. I need to see more of his films! I have Juarez, but haven't watched it in a long time.

[moira finnie]

The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima was a movie that the nuns always showed us at school around Easter. It really scared me in some ways at the time, but GR was so gentle and protective of the three children, I think he gave an exceptionally sensitive performance without being too icky or sentimental, though I'd have to see it now to really see, (I'm probably more cynical now). Btw, I've since discovered that the school I went to must have been a bit odd. I've never come across another Catholic school that had this as a seasonal routine:
The nuns showed us this movie at Easter, Come to the Stable at Christmas, and just before we got sprung for the Summer, we always saw Yankee Doodle Dandy! All these movies were at least 30 years old at the time, but seeing them on the big screen in the auditorium, getting out of class, and knowing that it meant a holiday was near probably contributed to my becoming a movie fan, huh?

You can see the entire Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima on youtube here.

I think that movie was probably the first time I was consciously aware of Gilbert Roland as a kid after seeing him on High Chaparral.

Here's three other photos to hold you, all from the Constance years:


Together in After Tonight (1933)


With one of their daughters. Awwwww.


"Hurry up, Connie, get in the car. They're taking our picture again. Next thing you know, they'll be asking for our autographs."

[MissGoddess]

They showed classic movies at my school, too! Gone with the Wind, The Alamo (of course,
this was Texas), Tora! Tora! Tora! and others I've forgotten. I was one of the few who
loved the films themselves, while most of the other kids were just glad not to do any
schoolwork!

Thank you so much for those pix witih Connie! I've never seen them, nor have I
seen that movie they did together. I wonder what the daughters looked like when
they grew up?

[silentscreen]

Yes thanks everyone for the pics! They're lovely.

As regards Gilbert's ageng gracefully,in Andre Soames biography on Ramon Novarro, he commented that Gilbert and Ramon were around the same age, but that Ramon ended up looking much older, and in fact had a face lift. They were both from Mexico and friends, but I think it was Ramon's heavy drinking that got the better of him. They were in at least one film together, We Were Strangers(1949), directed by John Houston. Nope,haven't seen it either.

I too remember him from High Chaparral, he was very good in it.

[MissGoddess]

I really need to get back to watching my "High Chaparral" episodes---I vaguely recall that Gilbert was in them, but haven't seen those particular shows since I was a kid. It's my favorite western
TV show of them all.

Susan McCray [who worked on casting for the show] remembered him as the epitome of a star, wowing her when he entered the casting office with an exquisite black and gold walking-stick and said, “I am going to use this in the show. This is priceless to me, and I want it to be used in this role so that it shows the character and fineness of the man [Don Domingo Montoya].” To her, Roland was “exceptional and he was in fact a dynamic character and a charmer. Even at his age at that time, just charming! You could not resist that feeling of your heart pounding when you looked at him.” (From "The High Chaparral Newsletter") http://www.highchaparralnewsletter.com/ ... 0_2008.htm

Soooooo many movies (and TV shows)...soooooo little time!

with Linda Crystal in "The High Chaparral"

with Henry Darrow in "The High Chaparral"