You have to wait over 20 minutes for Tyrone Power's entrance in Blood and Sand, but it's a good one: a close-up of Power grinning like FDR, his hair oiled and a cigar jutting out of his teeth, framed against a blood-red backdrop. This is the young matador Juan Gallardo, now grown after the opening reels have established his childhood as a bullfighting prodigy. What happens upon Juan's return to Seville is high Technicolor drama: success in the ring, romance with a childhood sweetheart (Linda Darnell), and then temptation in the arms of a dangerous temptress (Rita Hayworth).
The film is, of course, a remake of the silent 1922 Rudolph Valentino hit, but there's no mistaking it for that one: not least because of the torrid tones of the Oscar-winning cinematography by Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennehan, and the equally lush score by Alfred Newman. The director here is Rouben Mamoulian, whose operatic style meshes with the subject--bullfighting--and the old-school approach to heavy-breathing melodrama. The movie's a little too operatic for pacing purposes, and that opening definitely goes on too long. But the attractions include Rita Hayworth reveling in the bad-girl role; you can hardly blame Juan Gallardo for wandering, even if Linda Darnell is fully in her early-career lusciousness. And then there's Anthony Quinn, who swims around Gallardo like a shark sniffing blood. Tyrone Power is physically right for the role, and his steadfast earnestness suits the character. If it all seems faintly ludicrous today, it was good enough for box-office success in 1941, keeping Power's late-1930s winning streak going. --Robert Horton
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: A GLORIOUS AND TIMELSS STORY Comment: Blood and Sand (1941) is a Technicolor film produced by 20th Century Fox, directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, and Alla Nazimova. It is based on the Spanish 1909 novel Blood and Sand (Sangre y arena) by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez.
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 (Tyrone Power) 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.
Watch ver closely and you will se a young George Reeves, many years befor he epitomized the Super role that made him famous. He plays a small but memorable part as the Dona's first suiter.
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. Juan dies in the arms of Carmen as the crowd cheers for Manalo's victory over the bull. Manalo bows to the fickle crowd near the stain of blood left in the sand by Juan.
Customer Rating: Summary: Rise and fall, from the humbleness to the apex! Comment: "Blood and sand" is one of the most famous novels of Blasco Ibañez, that somehow retakes the myth of Icarus about the story of the son of a famous bullfighter, from his impoverished ages of childhood to his unequalled fame as the best Spanish bull fighter, idolized and loved for many women.
His superb reaches a turning point when he was seduced by an alluring woman - Rita Hayworth-, although she is aware he `s a married man, and how this ethic deviation will lead him to a fatal disgrace, here you have the essential pivot of all tragedy according the Greek pattern, the violation or transgression of the rule will blind the humblest of men.
Tyrone Power as the disgraced bullfighter, Linda Darnell as his suffered wife and Hayworth as the "fatale femme" complete a narration that will be completed with the basic elements of the Spanish culture, the bullring, the devotion for the Macarena Virgin, the flamenco and other minors issues that constituted a well rounded film without that used ornamentation or bombastic feature that nourished other similar films of the Forties.
Maybe the film is a bit overlong and that's why I can't give it five stars.
Customer Rating: Summary: Anthony Quinn and Rita Hayworth dance Comment: Boyhood rivals Tyrone Power and Anthony Quinn grow up to be rival matadors.So far, so what. But then they become rivals in love. Now you have a story. Power is the first to get involved with the lucious Rita Hayworth but then Quinn moves in for the prize. It is rare that one scene can make an entire movie worth the purchase price but the scene in which Quinn and Hayworth dance is that scene. Quinn uses the moves of a matador with Hayworth dancing the part of the matador's twirling cape in her rose colored gown. When the cafe patrons shout ole` the viewer is one with them.
Hayworth and Quinn had an affair while participating in the movie. Watching them dance it could not have been otherwise. GET THE MOVIE. Customer Rating: Summary: Blood and Sand - The Movie Comment: A love triangle in which an aspiring bullfighter falls under the spell of a beautiful woman. Customer Rating: Summary: Why does FOX still neglect Rita Hayworth ? Comment: The studio made 3 movies with Rita Hayworth. Blood and Sand was even the movie that made her a real Star even though she worked at Columbia afterwards. Why is FOX not proud of having had her ? Why did they put such
a little pic of her on the new Cover as if it was only a Tyrone Power film ?
Why do they totally neglect MY GAL SAL which even does not exist on video ?
Hayworth was the combination of the 2 big female stars that
20th Century Fox had in the forties : She was the perfect match between
the dancing abilities of BETTY GRABLE and the beauty of GENE TIERNEY.
To bad they do not realize this even in 2007 : BLOOD AND SAND is a glorious
example for a great movie with 2 great Stars.
