Bullfighter and the Lady (1951)

Johnny Regan, a U.S. citizen, goes to Mexico and takes up bullfighting as a lark, hoping to impress a Mexican beauty, Anita de la Vega. His lighthearted studying, under the tutelage of ... See full summary »

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

James Edward Grant (screenplay), Budd Boetticher (story),

Stars:

Robert Stack, Joy Page, Gilbert Roland

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Stack	...	Johnny Regan
Joy Page	...	Anita de la Vega
Gilbert Roland	...	Manolo Estrada
Virginia Grey	...	Lisbeth Flood
John Hubbard	...	Barney Flood
Katy Jurado	...	Chelo Estrada
Antonio Gomez	...	Antonio Gómez
Ismael Pérez	...	Panchito
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Juan
Ruben Padilla	...	Dr. Sierra
Darío Ramírez	...	Pepe Mora
Luis Briones	...	Himself, Torero
Luís Castro	...	Himself, Torero
Ricardo Torres 'Bombita'	...	Himself, Torero (archive footage)
Alfonso Ramírez Calesero	...	Himself, Torero

Storyline

Johnny Regan, a U.S. citizen, goes to Mexico and takes up bullfighting as a lark, hoping to impress a Mexican beauty, Anita de la Vega. His lighthearted studying, under the tutelage of aging matador Manolo Estrada, leads to tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

matador | bullfighting | mexico | blonde | costume | 

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Taglines:

The Most DANGEROUS Game On Earth ! (original one-sheet poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 April 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Torero

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wayne Productions, Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 124 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scenes of Robert Stack showing Gilbert Roland how to skeet shoot parallel true life. In collage Stack was not interested in team sports, so he took up skeet shooting. In 1935, he came in 2nd in the National Skeet Shooting Championship (held in Cleveland), and in 1936 his 5-man team broke the standing record at the National Skeet Championships (held in St. Louis). In 1937, Robert Stack was the U.S. 20-gauge champion skeet marksman, and held the record for more than 350 consecutive hits. He also served as a gunnery officer in the U.S. Navy for more than three years during World War II and among other decorations, was awarded the 'Expert Rifle Ribbon', and 'Expert Pistol Ribbon'.

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Connections

Featured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Luto en el alma"
Written by Claudio Estrada

User Reviews

See the 124 minute version!

I recently caught the 124 restored version of "Bullfighter and the Lady," and thought it was excellent. I believe the 87 minute version left out much of the actual bullfighting scenes which is a real tragedy. The bullfighting scenes are shockingly real--almost documentary-like and add quite a bit of texture and reality to the movie. Boetticher was a bullfighter and his knowledge and love of the sport shows through.

I was also quite impressed with the cast, including Robert Stack who, I must admit, I never had really thought was much of an actor. Gilbert Roland, as Stack's mentor, is tremendous as is Joy Page and, especially, the wonderful Katy Jurado.

There is an interesting use of sound also. Boetticher effectively uses thunder as an ominous counterpoint during two key scenes in the movie.

Highly recommended in the 124 minute, restored version.