Main Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, Alla Nazimova, Anthony Quinn, J. Carrol Naish
Release Year: 1941
Country: US
Run Time: 123 minutes
Plot
Based on the novel by Vincente Blasco Ibanez, Blood and Sand is the beautifully rendered story of the rise and fall of a young, cocksure Spanish bullfighter, played by Tyrone Power. Working his way slowly up the ladder to success, Power achieves fame when he is praised to skies by fatuous, fickle critic Laird Cregar. A country boy at heart, Power finds himself way over his head with sophisticates, and is soon torn between his pious and faithful wife Linda Darnell and sexy, mercenary Rita Hayworth. It is Darnell, however, who comforts Power after his final, fatal goring in the bull ring. The film's best scenes depict the curious combination of horror and fascination with which bullfighting aficionados treat this most barbaric of "sports." Blood and Sand was previously filmed in 1922 with Rudolph Valentino; a Valentino contemporary, Alla Nazimova, plays Power's mother in the remakes. Portions of this film turned up as stock footage in the 1945 Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Falling into the "they don't make them like this anymore" category, Blood and Sand is a very good melodrama with the romantic backdrop of Spanish bullfighting. Power desires to be the greatest matador of all time and in his quest for that title he is trapped between two powerful females, his wife Carmen and socialite Dona Sol. Linda Darnell plays Carmen with a very low-key manner, capturing the essence of a simple woman matched with a complicated man. Unfortunately for her, she's blown off the screen by Rita Hayworth as Dona Sol. Anyone who wonders where the Hayworth legend comes from should see this film. Even though her character is not one to root for, you can't take your eyes off her except in the token song performance in which her voice is dubbed anyway. Also of note is the performance of John Carradine as Power's sidekick. His is the voice of reality as Power's fame and ego begin to skyrocket and, as in most melodramas, he is the one who will end up showing Power the folly of his ways through tragic means. Legendary director Rouben Mamoulianshows a good touch with the bullfighting sequences and some of the love scenes, but the opening sequences that provide the backstory seem stiff. Then again, many of the characters seem secondary to the opulent surroundings and large crowd scenes. Filmed in the then relatively new Technicolor process, the film manages to avoid the washed out saturation that many other color films from the era suffer from today. ~ Dan Friedman, All Movie Guide
There are two earlier versions of Blood and Sand; a 1922 version produced by Paramount Pictures, and starring Rudolph Valentino; and a 1916 version filmed by Blasco Ibáñez himself, with the help of Max André.
As a child Juan Gallardo (Rex Downing - young boy) wants only to become a bullfighter like his dead father. One night he has an argument with the pompous critic Natalio Curro (Laird Cregar) about his father's lack of talent in the bullring. The argument spurs Juan to travel to Madrid and achieve his dreams of success in the bullring. Before leaving he promises his aristocratic sweetheart Carmen Espinosa (Linda Darnell) he will return when he is a success and marry her.
Ten years later Juan Gallardo (Tyrone Power) returns to Seville. He has become a matador and uses his winnings from Madrid to help his impoverished family. He sets his mother (Alla Nazimova) up in a fine house and ends her existence as a scrubwoman. He lavishes money on his sister Encarnacion (Lynn Bari) and her fiancé Antonio (William Montague) so they can open a business and wed. He hires ex-bullfighter Garabato (J. Carrol Naish), who has become a beggar, as his servant. Best of all he is now able to marry his childhood sweetheart Carmen (Linda Darnell) as he had promised.
Juan's wealth and fame continue to grow along with his talents as a bullfighter. Eventually he becomes Spain's most famous and acclaimed matador. Even the once scornful critic Curro now lavishes praises upon Juan and brags that it was he who discovered Juan's talent. Although Juan remains illiterate, doors open to society and he catches the eye of sultry socialite Doña Sol des Muire (Rita Hayworth) at one of his bullfights. His mother attempts to warn Juan that if not careful he will, like his father, end up on a path to destruction but Juan refuses to believe her.
Juan is blinded by the attention his fame has brought and Doña Sol finds it easy to lead him astray. He soon begins to neglect wife, family and training in favor of her privileged and decadent lifestyle. His performance in the bullring suffers from his excesses and he soon falls from his great heights as the premiere matador of Spain. With the loss of fame comes rejection by everyone who was once important to him. Even Carmen casts him off after she learns of his affair. With his fame now gone Doña Sol moves on to new up and coming matador Manolo de Palma (Anthony Quinn), Juan's childhood friend.
After losing everything a repentant Juan begs for forgiveness and is taken back by Carmen. He vows to change but first he must have one final bull fight to prove he is still a great matador. His prayers for one last success, however, are not answered and like his father before him he is gored by the bull. Garabato angrily says the "beast" is the crowd, not the bull. Juan dies in the arms of Carmen as the crowd cheers for Manolo's victory over the bull. Manolo bows to the fickle crowd near the stain of blood left in the sand by Juan.
Over thirty actresses were considered for the role of Doña Sol, including Gene Tierney and Dorothy Lamour. After Zanuck's original choice, Carole Landis, refused to dye her hair red for the role, Rita Hayworth was cast. Rouben Mamoulian's sets were inspired by the works of painters El Greco, Goya and Velázquez. During shooting he carried paint spray guns in order to be able to alter the color of props at a moment's notice. He also painted shadows onto walls rather than changing the lighting. The film's exterior long shots were filmed in the Plaza de Toros in Mexico City and Mexican bullfighter Carlos Arruza served as the film's technical director. Unlike most films, Blood and Sand was not previewed, but premiered uncut at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in May 1941.[1]
Parodies
In the same year 1941, the Mexican comedian Cantinflas launched Ni sangre ni arena ("Neither blood nor sand") also about bullfighting.[2]
