Amazing, extremely early 10.25 x 13.5-inch sepia-tone matte-finish portrait, boldly signed and inscribed in black fountain pen and dated 1934. In fine condition for its age, with gentle edge wear and probable neat trimming from 11x14 inches for framing purposes. Dashing, athletic Mexico-born leading man began his career doing bit work in two horror and sci-fi favorites: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) with Lon Chaney, Sr. and The Lost World (1925). He quickly blossomed into an in-demand matinee idol of the Latin lover type, memorable as Armand Duval in Camille (1926). With the advent of talkies, he landed the title role in the Cisco Kid (1946-1947) film series, and was excellent in complex character roles, some heroic and some utterly despicable, in We Were Strangers (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), and Cheyenne Autumn (1964).  

• Tweet