Blood & Sand (B or 3/4 stars)
'Blood & Sand' (directed by Rouben Mamoulian), a remake of a 1922 Rudolph Valentino romantic melodrama silent film is an interesting & colorful 1941 adaptation of a novel about a poor, illiterate peasant boy named Juan Gallardo who eventually becomes Spain's most famous matador. As a cocky teen, Juan leaves his poverty-stricken household for Madrid to become a bullfighter like his father -- who was killed in the ring. Before leaving, he exchanges love vows with his aristocratic virgin girlfriend, Carmen Espinosa (Ann Todd, as a youth) & promises to return one day to marry her when he is a success. 10 yrs. later in Seville, Juan (now Tyrone Power) reacquaints himself with his despondent scrubwoman mother (Alla Nazimova).
He also gives $$ to Antonio Lopez (William Montague) for a business venture so that he can marry Juan's sister, Encarnacion (Lynn Bari). Juan hires ex-bullfighter Garabato (J. Carrol Naish) as a servant after seeing him beg in the streets. Brash bullfighter Juan re-connects with beautiful Carmen (now Linda Darnell). They marry and, he soars in the bullring; going on to be Spain's most acclaimed matador. A fickle critic, Curro (Laird Cregar), boasts that he 'discovered' Juan and, heaps freakish praise on him; but he can't handle life outside the bullring. Juan becomes torn btwn. his loyal wife & the sultry socialite temptress, Dona Sol (Rita Hayworth). Of Dona Sol, Curro states: "If bullfighting is death in the afternoon, she is death in the evening".
Led astray by Dona Sol to the point of neglecting his matador training, Juan falls into a career decline & also loses his friends, his manager Don Jose (Pedro de Cordoba) & wife, Carmen. The new matador on the rise is Juan's chief rival from childhood, Manolo de Palma (Anthony Quinn), who steals Dona Sol from him & now is showered with praise from Curro as the next great thing. Promising to go into the ring just 'one last time', he reconciles with adoring Carmen. Juan wins over the cheering crowd with his initial bravery, but winning over the charging bull is another story. And a vacillating, disloyal crowd is all-too-quick to cheer on Manolo; who gives the next great performance while standing next to a splatter of blood in the sand.
'Blood & Sand' is a straightforward bullfighting melodrama, really. There is nothing remotely exceptional about the script; some might say the drama is soap opera insipid. But to counter that, director Mamoulian gets some very charismatic performances from its cast, and he absolutely drenches his film with vibrant, lush cinematography & award nomination-worthy set design to wow the audiences; both in 1941 and even now. Everyone & everything in this movie look spectacular. The rich classical Spanish guitar music gives great flavor to the authenticity of the proceedings, as well. And I also was also impressed with the bullfight sequences; choreographed by future director, Budd Boetticher. All of this makes up for the script deficiencies.
Tyrone Power strikes quite the image and, lends his stellar acting skills to the bravado role of Juan quite well. Linda Darnell is lovely & sympathetic as the sweet, loyal Carmen. Rita Hayworth capably brings the va va voom to vampy Dona Sol; she became a star after this movie. Alla Nazimova, a contemporary of Rudolph Valentino's from 20 yrs. prior, is great as Juan's lamenting mother. And support from J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine, Anthony Quinn, & George Reeves {a suitor of Dona Sol who loses out to Juan} all perform well. The cast brings the passion & excitement, not the script. And it is easy to see why Ernest Palmer & Ray Rennehan's color cinematography rightfully won the Academy Award that year for its unequaled pictorial beauty.
He also gives $$ to Antonio Lopez (William Montague) for a business venture so that he can marry Juan's sister, Encarnacion (Lynn Bari). Juan hires ex-bullfighter Garabato (J. Carrol Naish) as a servant after seeing him beg in the streets. Brash bullfighter Juan re-connects with beautiful Carmen (now Linda Darnell). They marry and, he soars in the bullring; going on to be Spain's most acclaimed matador. A fickle critic, Curro (Laird Cregar), boasts that he 'discovered' Juan and, heaps freakish praise on him; but he can't handle life outside the bullring. Juan becomes torn btwn. his loyal wife & the sultry socialite temptress, Dona Sol (Rita Hayworth). Of Dona Sol, Curro states: "If bullfighting is death in the afternoon, she is death in the evening".
Led astray by Dona Sol to the point of neglecting his matador training, Juan falls into a career decline & also loses his friends, his manager Don Jose (Pedro de Cordoba) & wife, Carmen. The new matador on the rise is Juan's chief rival from childhood, Manolo de Palma (Anthony Quinn), who steals Dona Sol from him & now is showered with praise from Curro as the next great thing. Promising to go into the ring just 'one last time', he reconciles with adoring Carmen. Juan wins over the cheering crowd with his initial bravery, but winning over the charging bull is another story. And a vacillating, disloyal crowd is all-too-quick to cheer on Manolo; who gives the next great performance while standing next to a splatter of blood in the sand.
'Blood & Sand' is a straightforward bullfighting melodrama, really. There is nothing remotely exceptional about the script; some might say the drama is soap opera insipid. But to counter that, director Mamoulian gets some very charismatic performances from its cast, and he absolutely drenches his film with vibrant, lush cinematography & award nomination-worthy set design to wow the audiences; both in 1941 and even now. Everyone & everything in this movie look spectacular. The rich classical Spanish guitar music gives great flavor to the authenticity of the proceedings, as well. And I also was also impressed with the bullfight sequences; choreographed by future director, Budd Boetticher. All of this makes up for the script deficiencies.
Tyrone Power strikes quite the image and, lends his stellar acting skills to the bravado role of Juan quite well. Linda Darnell is lovely & sympathetic as the sweet, loyal Carmen. Rita Hayworth capably brings the va va voom to vampy Dona Sol; she became a star after this movie. Alla Nazimova, a contemporary of Rudolph Valentino's from 20 yrs. prior, is great as Juan's lamenting mother. And support from J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine, Anthony Quinn, & George Reeves {a suitor of Dona Sol who loses out to Juan} all perform well. The cast brings the passion & excitement, not the script. And it is easy to see why Ernest Palmer & Ray Rennehan's color cinematography rightfully won the Academy Award that year for its unequaled pictorial beauty.