Call of the Flesh is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical film directed by Charles Brabin.

After Enrique leaves, Maria peers over the convent walls to watch Juan de Dios (Ramon Novarro) perform at the cantina.

Juan walks Lola home, during which time he treats her badly, knowing that she is in love with him, and thus will tolerate the abuse.

After a day outing at the market where he steals some oranges and some cloth and thus is trying to escape from the police, Juan runs into Maria in a private courtyard, she who he has never met.

Maria eventually tells Juan that she has escaped from the convent to find “him”, as she has always been drawn to the magic that is his singing.

In Madrid, Juan, Esteban and Maria rent a three-bedroom flat that is managed by a music aficionado, La Rumbarita (Mathilde Comont).

Later at the audition with impresario Mischa, Juan displays his arrogant attitude about what he sees as the greatness of his singing.

Although the audition is technically sound, Mischa tells Juan that he has no soul in his singing, and that he needs to have his heart broken to achieve true greatness.

Although they initially argue about the situation with Maria, Enrique, with a little help from Lola, is able to convince Juan to send Maria back to the convent, as his act of love is stealing her away from her vow to God, and that she would always be seen as harlot if they were to get married, thus sending her to eternal damnation.

A tearful Maria, now believing the outside world is evil as Enrique once said, leaves with her brother back to Seville and San Agustín.

Filming of Call of the Flesh began on January 27, 1930, under the working title The Singer of Seville, and lasted through March.

[4] Novarro insisted that Renée Adorée be cast in the film opposite him despite the fact that she was extremely ill with tuberculosis.

After completing her last scene, Adorée had a second hemorrhage again and lost consciousness; she was rushed to a sanitarium in La Crescenta, California.

It has been broadcast on television, and these versions of the film do not include any footage in Technicolor, which show Novarro's performance of an aria from Pagliacci.

[8] A still survives showing Novarro dressed as Pagliacci, posed alongside actor Ernest Torrence.

Novarro appears in both alternate versions, reprising his role as Juan de Dios Carbajal, and directed both of them.

[10] La Sevillana was the Spanish-language version, co-starring Conchita Montenegro as María, along with José Soriano Viosca, Rosita Ballesteros and Michael Vavitch.

[12] Le chanteur de Séville was the French-language version, adapted by Yvan Noé and Anne Mauclair, co-starring Suzy Vernon, Pierrette Caillol, Georges Mauloy, Mathilde Comont (reprising her role from Call of the Flesh), Carrie Daumery and Ramón Guerrero.