Rating: 
Summary: Ramon Finally Gets His Due
Review: After 30+ years in his grave, it is truly nice to see Ramon Novarro remembered as the great actor that he was and not just someone who met an unfortunate and untimely death at the hands of two male hustlers.
Soares has done an excellent job of researching his subject and has painted a picture of a truly talented person who also happened to also be a very decent human being. The author has managed to dump the lurid stories and produce a balanced portrait of this man.
This is a very interesting and detailed biography. It will leave you with the impression that you really have a good idea who Novarro was and will provide you with a greater appreciation for his work.
Thumbs up to Mr. Soares for his work as a researcher/biographer. He did a wonderful job and didn't take any shortcuts.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Paradise, The Life of Ramon Novarro
Review: Andre Soares is a remarkable biographer with the extraordinary gift of getting to the heart of his subject. Like a skilled portrait painter, he has artfully pulled together the persona of Ramon Novarro, and has expressed it in a beautiful, almost lyrical portrait of a man, his art and his life. Bursting with hard facts and a minimum of schmaltz, Beyond Paradise will satisfy the mind and the heart. I don't think I have ever read a biography that includes all the pertinent facts and still brings the reader so intimately in touch with the subject. Anyone with an interest in knowing more about Ramon Novarro and the silent and early talkie period of cinema will be splendidly pleased with this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Star Who Fell From Grace
Review: Between 1925 and 1932 he reigned as one of the greatest stars of the screen, with enormous followings first in the United States and then in Europe and in Latin America. Then, as if on the release of a long-held breath, he suddenly fell--and few have fallen quite so far or landed quite so hard.Arriving in Los Angeles as a refugee from Mexican civil war, Ramon Novarro had the burning ambition, remarkable good looks, and undeniable talent to create a great career, and for a time he succeeded. But he was a conflicted man, torn between his ambitions as an actor and his ambitions as a musician, and struggling between a deep-rooted Catholic faith and a sexual identity that his faith condemned. Perhaps out of uncertainty, perhaps out of fear, and sometimes out of desperation, even at the peak of his power he would be easily influenced, and in the process make one bad choice after another, ultimately precipitating his rapid slide into oblivion. In the end, Ramon Novarro would make one bad choice too many--and it led to his brutal death and a court case that effectively splashed the very thing he had worked hardest to conceal from the public across the headlines of the world. And for all his great films and great performances, for all his stardom and talents, he is today best remembered by the public as the gay has-been-star who was tortured to death by two male prostitutes he invited into his home for sex. Given Navorro's determined privacy, much about the man remains mysterious--but Andre Soares' BEYOND PARADISE seems to capture an essence of the man that far exceeds any other account offered thus far, giving us not the stuff of supermarket tabloids but the complexity of a human being who is by turns likable and unlikable, both an incredible success and a dismal failure. In the process of examining Novarro's life, Soares also creates a memorable portrait of the world in which he moved, the great stars of the era, and the great failures of the studio system in handling Novarro himself. It is a remarkable accomplishment. This is a very dark, very bitter look at both fame and its consequences, and at the inability of an incredibly talented man to ride the crest of fame's wave to a safe shore. A remarkable accomplishment, and one that should do much to return the luster to a once famous but now obscure name. Strongly recommended. GFT, Amazon reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Human Idol
Review: Beyond Paradise is a poignant and powerful story of a classically gifted yet conflicted man who, as a gay, Latino movie star whose career encompassed silent films, talkies and television, never received the credit that author Andre Soares demonstrates is due.
I found myself swept into this superbly paced book. Soares spins out the events of Novarro's life in a measured way, backing up occasionally to provide helpful information about important characters, places and events that contributed to the actor's story (including family background clear back to Spain and the origins of his stage name. Rather than sensationalizing Novarro's life and preserving the demeaning mystique of his death at the hands of male hustlers, Soares humanizes his subject. To do so, he traveled to Mexico to ground his subject's ancestry and childhood, tracked down letters and newspaper reviews, viewed extant films, and interviewed Novarro's convicted killers in prison. The result is a wonderful portrait of a figure who has not been adequately appreciated, either by himself or posterity. Soare's balanced reflection of Novarro's weaknesses and strengths achieves an overall effect first of credibility and then of compassion that, at the end, brought me to tears over the sadness, more so than the violence, of Novarro's sordid death. Beyond Paradise is a redeeming treatment of a remarkable human being. One wishes that Novarro himself could have read it.
Rating:
Summary: A biography worthy of its subject
Review: Beyond Paradise is an interesting and thoroughly researched biography that will help to re-establish Ramon Novarro's reputation as Hollywood's greatest Mexican-born actor. This is a wonderful portrait of a man whose ambitions - personal, professional and artistic - more often than not went unfulfilled. But what Novarro did achieve was remarkable, and Soares' book is, in its own way, just as remarkable. Through interviews, studio archives, Novarro's personal correspondence and other sources, Soares creates a work that gives the reader as clear a picture as we'll probably ever get of Novarro.
Novarro was a multi-talented performer whose career survived the transition from silent films to talking pictures, although Soares does describe the various factors that contributed to the decline in Novarro's film career as the 1930's progressed. Soares also describes the relationships between Ramon and his relatives (his earnings and investments financed his parents and siblings for decades) as well as his personal relationships. I don't want to give away too many details, but I was surprised that Soares was able to provide such a clear picture of Novarro's life, considering the actor was gay at a time when such information would have destroyed his career and labeled him as a deviant in the eyes of society. Novarro's life and brutal murder (Soares interviews both of Novarro's killers) make for compelling reading, so this biography will be of great interest to film buffs in general as well as anyone looking for an interesting biography to read.
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Summary: Andre Soares BEYOND PARADISE is a must-read for film lovers
Review: BEYOND PARADISE is not your usual Hollywood biography, due to the socially conscious efforts of Mr. Soares. He tells the tale of the much beloved Mexican-American film star with sufficient detail and carefully researched "insider" information to satisfy any fan. He places Novarro in a serious context in the annals of Hollywood history and shows him to have been an incredible success story as an actor who rose to the heights of film stardom playing roles that were decidedly NOT confined to Latin-American or "ethnic" characters [even though he played many of those as well] -- all while making a transition from silent film to talkies which many actors of the day could not survive. Novarro's much publicized death has been the thing most modern readers and students of film history have known about him. The grossly exaggerated details of that sad event are revealed here as the pernicious gossip they are, and the tragic side is revealed of a life filled with the struggles inherent to a devoutly Catholic, homosexual man who lived his life in the public eye. A delightful read and a superb analysis of both the public and private Novarro.
Rating:
Summary: Evenhanded Yet Kind
Review: I came to this biography with no real knowledge of Sr. Novarro other than knowing that he was in Ben-Hur and having a vague awareness of the brutal way in which his life ended. When I turned the last page, I was far better informed and could not wait to tell my friends (and anyone else who would listen) about the masterful story that Andre Soares had written. In his hands, Ramon Novarro is neither hero nor pitiful footnote to Hollywood history. He was a man, talented, full of demons and foibles, and who lived an extraordinary, fascinating life. There was a great deal more to Novarro then I ever expected to find, and this was an excellent primer to the life of a gifted and troubled man.
Rating:
Summary: Evenhanded Yet Kind
Review: I came to this biography with no real knowledge of Sr. Novarro other than knowing that he was in Ben-Hur and having a vague awareness of the brutal way in which his life ended. When I turned the last page, I was far better informed and could not wait to tell my friends (and anyone else who would listen) about the masterful story that Andre Soares had written. In his hands, Ramon Novarro is neither hero nor pitiful footnote to Hollywood history. He was a man, talented, full of demons and foibles, and who lived an extraordinary, fascinating life. There was a great deal more to Novarro then I ever expected to find, and this was an excellent primer to the life of a gifted and troubled man.
Rating:
Summary: Hooked
Review: I recently started getting into silent movies, a friend got me this book as a birthday gift, this is now my favorite gift( and I got a lot of them !!! ) . This is the best book I've read in a long time. From a curious beginner I'm now officially a silent movie buff, thanks to to Mr. Andre Soares
Rating:
Summary: The Best Biography of a Silent Film Star yet
Review: I would give this wonderful biography ten stars if that star rating was available. Being about a topic very dear to my own heart; the life and career of Ramon Novarro the first prominent Mexican star of movies in Hollywood, I was prepared to love this biography anyway however upon reading it I found so much more to appreciate, enjoy and learn from. "Beyond Paradise", goes beyond just the story of one man's rise to stardom and his life in general, it provides a vivid snapshot of an early period of both Hollywood and American history, its mores, attitudes and views on life. Ramon Novarro's life was indeed one of contrasts, tremendous highs and very deep lows and filled along the way with tremendous film successes,huge adulation, fascinating costars right through to brushes with the law and a lifetime of trying to shield his homosexuality from the adoring public. Andre Soares has brought all of this vividly to life in a scholarly, informative, well researched and entertaining biography that deals objectively with all aspects of this complex and fascinating man. Many film star biographies can easily fall into the "hero worship" category, in particular if the subject is one dear to the author's heart however Andre Soares has managed an objective balance detailing the huge popularity of Ramon Novarro on audiences in the 1920's and early 30's with an honest look at how the passing of stardom and good looks and prevailing attitudes towards homosexuality affected such a performer later in life. The circumstances of Ramon Novarro's tragic death, long a popular subject for the scandal sheets is also handled in an honest, intelligent and non sensational manner. Beautifully bound and filled with many rare and previously unpublished photos, "Beyond Paradise", is a wonderful reading experience for anyone who loves film and is interested in the early period of Hollywood film making. It cannot help but become a treasured part of anyone's personal library of books. I have a huge personal interest in the work and life of Ramon Novarro and am delighted with the publication of this splendid biography. I sincerly hope "Beyond Paradise",will inspire new generations of film lovers to find out more about the early years of Hollywood film making and in the film work of this gifted actor. Thanks to Andre Soares we are now provided for the first time with a comprehensive study of this unique performer. Highly recommended reading.
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