Blood and Sand (1941 film)

Blood and Sand is a 1941 American

Other versions of Blood and Sand include a 1922 version produced by Paramount Pictures and starring Rudolph Valentino, a 1916 version filmed by Blasco Ibanez with the help of Max André, and a 1989 version starring Christopher Rydell and Sharon Stone.

Blood and Sand was the fourth and last film in which Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell worked together. The others were Day-Time Wife (1939), Brigham Young (1940) and The Mark of Zorro (1940).^[3]

Plot

As a child, Juan Gallardo wants to be a bullfighter like his dead father. Before leaving Seville for Madrid to pursue his dream of success in the bullring, he promises his aristocratic child sweetheart Carmen Espinosa that he will return when he is a success and marry her. Ten years later, after achieving success as a matador, Juan returns to Seville. He uses his winnings to help his impoverished family and fulfills his promise to marry Carmen. His fame and wealth grow, and he becomes Spain's most acclaimed matador. As critics heap praises upon Juan's talent, he catches the eye of sultry socialite Doña Sol des Muire at one of his bullfights.

Juan is blinded by the attention his fame has brought and Doña Sol finds it easy to lead him astray. He soon neglects his wife, family, and training in favor of her privileged, decadent lifestyle. As a result, his performance in the bullring suffers. Not only does he fall from position as the premiere matador of Spain, but his extravagant lifestyle loses his savings, suppliers, and employees. His manager warns Juan that he is heading for destruction but Juan refuses his advice. With falling fame and income comes rejection by everyone once important to him. Even Carmen leaves him, while Doña Sol moves on to new up-and-coming matador Manolo de Palma, one of Juan's childhood friends.

After losing everything, a repentant Juan begs for forgiveness and is taken back by Carmen. He promises her to leave bullfighting but wishes to have one final bullfight 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 left in the sand by Juan's blood.

Cast

	Tyrone Power as Juan		Linda Darnell as Carmen Espinosa
	Rita Hayworth as Doña Sol		Nazimova as Senora Augustias
	Anthony Quinn as Manolo de Palma		J. Carrol Naish as Garabato
	Lynn Bari as Encarnacion		John Carradine as Nacional
	Laird Cregar as Natalio Curro

Production

Over 30 actresses were considered for the role of Doña Sol, including

Rita Hayworth's singing voice was dubbed by Graciela Párraga.[7]^[8]

Unlike most films at the time, Blood and Sand was not previewed, but premiered uncut at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in May 1941.^[5]

A Lux Radio Theatre version of the story, starring Power and his then-wife Annabella as Carmen, was broadcast on October 20, 1941.^[6]

Reception

The film was a big hit and earned a profit of $662,500.^[1]

Variety praised the picture, adding: "Especially effective are the bullfight arena sequences...Power delivers a persuasive performance as Ibanez's hero while Darnell is pretty and naive as the young wife. Hayworth is excellent as the vamp and catches major attention on a par with Nazimova, who gives a corking performance as Power's mother."^[9]

On the other hand,

• In the same year, 1941, the Mexican comedian
  Ni sangre ni arena ("Neither blood nor sand") a deliberate parody of this picture.^[12]
• Inspired by Blood and Sand's popularity, The Three Stooges released a short titled "What's the Matador?" with no story connection except bullfighting. It was filmed in August 1941, three months after Blood and Sand was released, but did not come out until April 1942.
• Fear and Sand, an Italian comedy film of 1948 starring Totò as a hapless bullfighter, plays only with the title.

Awards

The film won an Academy Award for