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 1 nomination.

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 | bullfighter | fame | 

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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

In order to prepare for the role of Juan Gallardo, Tyrone Power attended a bullfight with his wife, Annabella. Because of Power's great stature as a star, he and his wife were given VIP seats in the center front of the ring. Power became violently ill witnessing the bullfight, and in order to get him out of the arena, Annabella said she was ill.

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Goofs

When John Carradine's character "dies" his carotid pulse is clearly visible.

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Quotes

Natalio Curro: At last Seville has a matador, the greatest matador of all history, a saint, the first man of the world! The day he was born, there was salt in the air! A great quantity of salt!
[laughs]

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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 Ta kourelia tragoudane akoma... (1979)

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Soundtracks

Verde luna
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Vicente Gómez
Played on guitar and sung by Rita Hayworth (dubbed by Gracilla Pirraga)

User Reviews

Tyrone Power in the Valentino role...Hayworth as the siren...

20th Century Fox gave Tyrone Power one of his most famous roles as the bullfighter torn between the love of a noble woman, his wife (Linda Darnell), and the tempestuous "other woman" (Rita Hayworth). A technicolor remake of the 1922 classic with Valentino, the studio spared no expense in making this a lavish, well-paced version of the tale depicting the rise and fall of a great bullfighter.

While establishing Power as a romantic hero of swashbuckling roles, it made a star of Rita Hayworth who, up until this time, was seen mostly in low-budget films. If anything, 'Blood and Sand' assured of the stardom she sought.

Especially interesting in one of his more flamboyant character roles is Laird Cregar as the critic of the art of bullfighting, alternately praising and damning the hero and eventually getting his comeuppance from Power.

Directed with great style by Rouben Mamoulian, it is still the best version of the story to date, photographed in the lush technicolor of the 1940s.

You may be interested in looking at my article on Laird Cregar that appeared in the March 2001 issue of CLASSIC IMAGES.