Blood and Sand is a
Technicolor filmTechnicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
produced by
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, directed by
Rouben MamoulianRouben Mamoulian was an Armenian-American film and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Tbilisi, Georgia to an Armenian family, Rouben relocated to England and started directing plays in London in 1922...
and starring
Tyrone PowerTyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
,
Linda DarnellLinda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
,
Rita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, and
Alla NazimovaAlla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
. It is based on the Spanish 1909 novel
Blood and Sand (
Sangre y arena) by
Vicente Blasco IbáñezVicente Blasco Ibáñez was a Spanish realist novelist writing in Spanish, a screenwriter and occasional film director....
.
There are two earlier versions of
Blood and Sand; a 1922 version produced by
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, and starring
Rudolph ValentinoRudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
; and a 1916 version filmed by Blasco Ibáñez himself, with the help of Max André.
Plot
As a child Juan Gallardo (Rex Downing - young boy) wants only to become a bullfighter like his dead father. One night he has an argument with the pompous critic Natalio Curro (
Laird Cregar-Early life and career:Samuel Laird Cregar was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s...
) 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 DarnellLinda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
) he will return when he is a success and marry her.
Ten years later Juan Gallardo (
Tyrone PowerTyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
) 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 BariLynn Bari , born Margaret Schuyler Fisher, was a movie actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in over one hundred 20th Century Fox films from the early 1930s through the 1940s.-Career:Bari was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
) and her fiancé Antonio (William Montague) so they can open a business and wed. He hires ex-bullfighter Garabato (
J. Carrol NaishJoseph Patrick Carrol Naish was an American character actor born in New York City. Naish was twice nominated for an Academy Award for film roles, and he later found fame in the title role of CBS Radio's Life With Luigi , which was also on CBS Television .Naish appeared on stage for several years...
), 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 HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
) 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.
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 QuinnAntonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
), 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. Garabato angrily says the "beast" is the crowd, not the bull. Juan dies in the arms of Carmen as the crowd cheers for Manolo's victory over the bull. Manolo bows to the fickle crowd near the stain of blood left in the sand by Juan.
Main cast and characters
| |
Tyrone PowerTyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
as Juan Gallardo |
|
Linda Darnell Linda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
as Carmen Espinosa |
 |
Rita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
as Doña Sol des Muire |
|
NazimovaAlla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
as Señora Angustias |
 |
Anthony QuinnAntonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
as Manolo de Palma |
|
J. Carroll Naish
as Garabato |
| |
Lynn Bari Lynn Bari , born Margaret Schuyler Fisher, was a movie actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in over one hundred 20th Century Fox films from the early 1930s through the 1940s.-Career:Bari was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
as Encarnación |
 |
John CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
as El Nacional |
 |
Laird Cregar-Early life and career:Samuel Laird Cregar was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s...
as Natalio Curro |
|
|
| Actor | Role |
| Monty Banks Montague Banks was a comedian and film director. In the 1920s, he worked in Hollywood, starring in many silent short comedies and in the feature-length action thriller Play Safe...
|
Antonio López |
| Vicente Gomez |
Guitarist |
| George Reeves George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
|
Captain Vicente Martínez |
Pedro de CordobaPedro de Cordoba , was an American actor.Pedro de Cordoba, who appeared in his first film, a 1915 version of Carmen, was actually a classically trained theatre actor who confessed he did not enjoy appearing in silent films nearly as much as he liked working on stage...
>
Don José Álvarez |
| Fortunio Bonanova Fortunio Bonanova is the pseudonym of Josep Lluís Moll , who was a baritone singer and a film, theater, and television actor...
|
Pedro Espinosa |
| Victor Kilian Victor Arthur Kilian was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s....
|
Priest |
| Michael Morris Michael Morris may refer to:*Michael Morris, 1st Baron Killanin , Irish lawyer and political figure, became the first Lord Killanin in 1900....
|
La Pulga |
| Charles Stevens |
Pablo Gómez |
| Carmen (as a child) |
| Cora Sue Collins |
Encarnación (as a child) |
| Rex Downing |
Juan (as a child) |
Production
Over thirty actresses were considered for the role of Doña Sol, including
Gene TierneyGene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
and
Dorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
. After Zanuck's original choice,
Carole LandisCarole Landis was an American film and stage actress whose break-through role was as the female lead in the 1940 film One Million B.C.. Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1765 Vine Street....
, refused to dye her hair red for the role, Rita Hayworth was cast.
Rouben Mamoulian's sets were inspired by the works of painters
El GrecoEl Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
,
GoyaFrancisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
and
VelázquezDiego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
. During shooting he carried paint spray guns in order to be able to alter the color of props at a moment's notice. He also painted shadows onto walls rather than changing the lighting. The film's exterior long shots were filmed in the
Plaza de TorosThe Plaza México, situated in Mexico City, is the world's largest bullring. This 48,000-seat facility is usually dedicated to bullfighting, but many boxing fights have been held there as well, including Julio César Chávez's third bout with Frankie Randall...
in Mexico City and Mexican bullfighter
Carlos ArruzaCarlos Arruza , born Carlos Ruiz Camino, was one of the most prominent bullfighters of the 20th century. He was known as "El Ciclón" ....
served as the film's technical director.
Unlike most films,
Blood and Sand was not
previewedPreviews are a set of public performances of a theatrical presentation that precede its official opening. The purpose of previews is to allow the director and crew to identify problems and opportunities for improvement that weren't found during rehearsals and to make adjustments before critics are...
, but premiered uncut at
Grauman's Chinese TheatreGrauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
in May 1941.
Parodies
- In the same year 1941, the Mexican comedian Cantinflas
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin...
launched Ni sangre ni arena ("Neither blood nor sand") also about bullfighting.
- Inspired by Blood and Sand's popularity The Three Stooges released a short titled What's the Matador?
What's the Matador? is the 62nd short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.- Plot :...
11 months later, with no story connection except bullfighting.
Awards
The film won an Academy Award for
Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
. It was also nominated for
Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(
Richard DayRichard Day was a Canadian art director. He won seven Academy Awards and was nominated for a further 13 in the category Best Art Direction He worked on 265 films between 1923 and 1970....
,
Joseph C. WrightJoseph C. Wright was an American art director. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for ten more in the category Best Art Direction...
and
Thomas LittleThomas Little was a United States set decorator on more than 450 Hollywood movies between 1932 and 1953. He won a total of 6 Oscars for art direction and received 21 nominations in the same category...
).
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