Just what I expected

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Tyrone, Anthony, Linda and Rita to name a few await you here in this classic heart-moving story of a boy who wants to grow up to be a man by being a Matador i.e. the best there ever was. That's the intrigue and we are also entertained as we watch childhood friends grow up together into adulthood too. Then there is love both the carnal and the heartfelt. Throw in some poverty, poor boy makes good and you have a decent story to tell. Every time I watch these rags to riches to rags again movies I always wonder why these people don't put something away when on top? Surely what goes up must come down not to mention bad luck and how about early retirement too? That's what hooks you! Its when they don't do it or something goes wrong that you now become a part of the movie world wondering if that could happen to you and how would you handle it? This is called entertainment and they pull it off nicely here. There is a eating scene or two so prepare to eat while watching and of course have a tasty drink and some snack for later. Blood and Sand is an appropriate name for the bullfighter game...

I presume the title comes from the last few frames, which focus on a patch of blood, presumably from the bull that matador Manolo(Tony Quinn) supposedly just dispatched, that stains the sandy floor of the arena.An overlong, rather dreary, tale of a poor boy who achieves his dream of becoming recognized as Spain's most popular matador, then allows his life to be completely undone by a heartless superrich femme fatale(Rita Hayworth). Despite being filmed in Technicolor(still rare at this time), and featuring a number of top lead and supporting actors, it's just not much fun nor terribly interesting. It does presumably provide a reasonably authentic snapshot of the world of Spanish bullfighting, and the accompanying party atmosphere. It would seem to belong to the genre of biblical, medieval, or ancient Rome or Egypt-themed spectacles of the '50s and '60s, often with classic tales of a charismatic male leader undone by a heartless vampish or ambitious woman.Not only is the ending a tragedy, most of the main characters come off as either unattractive personalities, sometimes combined with physical beauty, or are miscast. John Carridine: that mainstay of rural America, seems quite out of place, as the friend of lead Juan(Tyrone Power). His death in the arena is one of several strong hints that Juan's death will soon follow. Juan, although he achieves his goal of becoming Spain's most popular matador, comes across as a braggart, bully, illiterate one dimensional fool, and adulterer. Also, his ambition caused his wife and mother much fear of his early death, as happened with his matador father. For about the first quarter of the film, Juan is played by 22nd-billed Rex Downing, who bears little physical resemblance to Tyrone Power, who plays Juan as a young man. Although Power is often described as uncommonly handsome, he can look quite menacing, as often toward the film end. Rita Hayworth, in her first Technicolor film, is portrayed as a snobbish superwealthy femme fatale(Dona Sol), whose only goal in life seems to be to seduce the most handsome celebrity male of the moment, as her 'boy toy', then discard him after his star is fading, for a new 'victim'. I found her character utterly unappealing, often with an arrogant phony-looking smile. Before she met Juan, her 'boy toy' was played by handsome George Reeves: a failed wanna be Hollywood leading man, who later gained fame as Superman, in the original TV series. Near film's end, her next intended 'victim' was Manolo, the new Matador superstar, and former playmate of Juan, who broke with Juan some time ago, jealous of his greater success. Although she played somewhat similar characters in "You Where Never Lovelier", and "My Gal Sal', released the following year, they were much more enjoyable films. If I were Juan, I would have been more than satisfied with the beautiful loyal Carmen(Linda Darnell), not be tempted by a fickle Dona. They definitely should have cast someone less appealing than Linda as Juan's wife, to provide greater contrast with Dona. Actually, Juan seems as attracted to Dona's wealth and playboy lifestyle and influence on the bullfighting business, as by her beauty. He wanted to join her 'jet set', despite his illiteracy and general unsophistication. This led to his neglecting practicing his bull fighting skills, and ultimate death in the arena. It would have been a nice touch if Dona had also experienced a career-shattering fate, as in the case of her equivalents in "The Egyptian", or "Cleopatra".Rotund Laird Cregar shows up every now and then, as the obnoxious loud-mouthed influential bullfighting critic Natalio, who could make or break the reputation of a matador by his newspaper writings and harangues. Cregar plays it well, but again, we have an utterly unlikeable main character. Cregar was much more fun as Gooseberry, with pal Radisson(Paul Muni), in the Canadian wilderness, in "Hudson Bay", filmed that same year.Periodically, there is a traditional Spanish fiesta or music. However, it's nothing exceptional, if you have seen and heard such before. Also, there was very little real comedy. For me, the most humorous scene was when Juan fell asleep to Dona's guitar playing and singing, during their first intimate date. Dona made sure that didn't happen again! Both Juan's mother and wife often prayed to a statue of Our Lady of Hope(one incarnation of the Virgin Mary) before Juan's or Juan's father's performances. She derives from an apparition in the night sky, seen by a variety of village children, but not adults, during the darkest days, for France, of the Franco-Prussian War.I enjoyed some of the films starring Power in the late '30s. But most of his films thereafter I find boring, including "The Sun Also Rises", which also emphasized bull fighting, and "Yank in the RAF", released the same year as this film. This was young Linda's third film with Power.As another reviewer pointed out, most of the actors playing the main roles died or became largely incapacitated well before their time. This includes Power, Rita, Linda, George Reeves and Cregar. The latter died at 31, of a heart attack, following a crash weight loss program and resulting GI surgery, in an effort to escape his cast typing as a heavy heavy.

Uneducated peasant Juan Gallardo rises to fame and fortune in the bullfight arena. From here he falls for the socially active Dona Sol; thus breaking the heart of his childhood sweetheart Carmen. Nevertheless she stands by her man as he continues to face danger in the bullring, but ego and love will give Juan his biggest fight of all.This remake of the 1922 silent Rudolph Valentino picture is certainly a lavish production, the colour cinematography by Ernest Palmer & Ray Rennahan rightly won the Academy Award, and it's directed with adroit skill by Roublen Mamoulian. The story is a great one as well, following the rise of Gallardo (a solid if too staid Tyrone Power) is always intriguing, and it's watching his constant battle with his emotions that is the film's drawing card. However, there can be a case made for the film resting too much on its dialogue driven laurels, for far too many times I personally found myself hankering for an up turn in pace to help emphasise the emotional nature of the characters.The cast do OK without really excelling, Rita Hayworth looks gorgeous and a fine career blossomed from here on in, while Linda Darnell as the other love interest glides nicely from scene to scene. Anthony Quinn takes the best supporting honours, where his Manolo is vigorous with a cheeky glint in the eye, whilst sadly John Carradine is underused and his Nacional is not fully fleshed out until its far too late.It's at times sexy (damn flamenco always a winner to me), it's got guts, and it looks absolutely gorgeous, but it's not quite the whole classy package it could have been. 7/10

Not a bad movie,but a bit too melodramatic after my tastes.Tyrone Power in the lead role is good but not as exciting as in his best performances.Rita Hayworth plays the femme fatale in a way that for modern audiences would be laughable.Anthony Quinn in an early stage of his career delivers the best performance in the film. I feel that even at this early stage he would have suited the lead role in the film better than Power.Linda Darnell doesn't have much to do in this movie than play the part of a betrayed woman.Why anyone would betray such a beautiful woman is beyond me.Nazimova,the silent movie vamp of the 20's, is quite good as Power's mother. John Carradine,one of the most prominent character actors of this period,was excellent as Power's best friend.