Ramon Novarro as a rival to Rudolph Valentino, and Ingram suggested he change his name to "Novarro." From 1923, he began to play more prominent roles. His role in "Scaramouche" (1923) brought him his first major success. In 1925, Novarro achieved his greatest success in "Ben-Hur." His revealing costumes caused a sensation. He was elevated into the Hollywood elite. As did many stars, Novarro engaged Sylvia of Hollywood as a therapist (although in her tell-all book, Sylvia erroneously claimed that Novarro slept in a coffin). With Valentino's death in 1926, Novarro became the screen's leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM
Humoresque (1946 film) leaning his soulful face against that violin or Miss Crawford violently emoting, . . . you may enjoy it very much." Franz Waxman received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2002 list AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions. The films budget was estimated to be around $2,164,000. The film fared well at the box office and grossed $3,399,000 and the film was hailed a success. With inflation in 2007 the gross is $35,737,750. According to Warner Bros records the film earned $2,281,000 domestically