Blood and Sand (1941)

Illiterate peasant Juan Gallardo rises meteorically to fame and fortune in the bullfight arena only to sow the seeds of his own fall.

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (based on the novel by) (as Vicente Blasco Ibanez), Jo Swerling (screenplay)

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyrone Power	...	Juan Gallardo
Linda Darnell	...	Carmen Espinosa
Rita Hayworth	...	Doña Sol
Alla Nazimova	...	Señora Augustias (as Nazimova)
Anthony Quinn	...	Manolo de Palma
J. Carrol Naish	...	Garabato
Lynn Bari	...	Encarnacion
John Carradine	...	El Nacional
Laird Cregar	...	Natalio Curro
Monty Banks	...	Antonio Lopez (as William Montague)
Vicente Gómez	...	Guitarist (as Vicente Gomez)
George Reeves	...	Captain Pierre Lauren
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Don Jose Alvarez (as Pedro deCordoba)
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Pedro Espinosa
Victor Kilian	...	Priest

Storyline

Bullfighter Juan Gallardo falls for socialite Dona Sol, turning from the faithful Carmen who nevertheless stands by her man as he continues to face real danger in the bullring.

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Plot Keywords:

male male relationship | bare chested male | homosexual subtext | self destructiveness | bullfighter | 

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Taglines:

Love flamed in the shadow of death!

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sangre y arena

Filming Locations:

Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Twentieth Century-Fox intended to prepare "a special edition" of the picture for "circulation in South American countries." The purpose of the alternate version was to "include certain bullfighting scenes, which while they would not be acceptable in the American version, will, nevertheless, be accepted in countries where bullfighting is permitted."

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Goofs

During the scene when Doña Sol des Muire sings to Juan Gallardo on his first visit to her home, she accompanies herself on the guitar, but while she strums the fingers of her other hand never move to change chords as she plays.

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Quotes

Don Jose Alvarez: Tell me, muchacho, how did it feel when you were fighting that bull?
Juan (as a child): Sort of gay. Very gay! That's the way I always feel when I fight a bull.

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Alternate Versions

It was planned to add more bullfighting scenes for distribution to South American countries, where the sport of bullfighting was much more acceptable. No details are available.

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Connections

Referenced in Choose Me (1984)

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Soundtracks

Gloria Torera
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by Vicente Gómez

User Reviews

engrossing character study downgraded to colorful entertainment

Tyrone Power plays a famous, now-deceased bullfighter's son who also goes on to become a famous bullfighter, along the way mistreating his wife and friends as he becomes arrogant. It's a basic story you've seen in movies such as "Citizen Kane"(1941) and "All the King's Men"(1949), but with its own expected variations. The film has a tendency to drag, and Power's love scenes with Rita Hayworth are so corny. Linda Darnell as Power's wife, John Carradine as Power's bullfighting friend, and Anthony Quinn as a bullfighting friend-turned rival all turn in fine performances. There is, some great music. Aside from these technical issues, the story/script of the film is good, but could have been better. Power's character should have been fleshed out much more, and the bright Academy Award-winning cinematography has a tendency to badly contrast the darker story elements, which themselves should have been focused on much more. What could have a been a great multi-character study and study on how Power's decisions affects others instead is presented as an entertaining, brightly-colored drama/romance--not bad, but not the 4 star film it had the ability to be. I'd still recommend it, though, because it does entertain and manage to show some of the character study-elements, albeit not as much as I wish it had.