Blood and Sand 1922

     Juan Gallardo is the son of a poor widow in Seville, Spain.  He pursues a career as a toreador to escape from his poverty.  He gains fame and he marries his childhood sweetheart Carmen.  They have two sons but then he meets Dona Sol, the daughter of the Marquis.  Juan’s friends try to help Juan get away from Dona Sol but she follows him to the area where he lives.  She pretends that her car has broken down and she needs a place to stay for the night. 

     There is a scene with harp playing and I noticed how annoying the organ music was when I heard the harp instead.  I turned off the organ music so I didn’t have to listen anymore.  The storyboards with language about the scenes are left up too long.  Viewers need to pay close attention to know what’s going on.  Bullfighting is still legal in Mexico, Spain, France, Portugal, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador.  About 250,000 bulls are killed in bullfights and it’s a slow agonizing death.  The killing lasts 20 minutes and multiple bulls are slain.  A total of 533 bullfighters have been killed in Spain since 1700.  Deaths are uncommon but injuries are frequent.  A popular bullfighter has earned 5 million Euros in a year. 

80 min, Drama directed by Fed Niblo and Dorothy Arzner with Rosa Rosanova, Rudolph Valentino, Nita Naldi, Leo White, Lila Lee, Rosita Marstini, Chalres Belcher, Fred Becker, George Field, Jack Winn, Harry Lamont.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 100% critic 60% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 77 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 2.5* of 4* average user rating 5* out of 5*, Three Movie Buffs 3* of 4*.

Special Note:  Valentino and Rambova wanted the film to be shot in Spain but the studio decided it would be filmed on a back lot in Hollywood.  Valentino also wanted the director to be George Fitzmaurice but the studio chose Fred Niblo.  Valentino liked to eat traditional Italian foods that were heavily spiced with garlic.  Lila Lee requested their love scenes be shot in the morning to avoid his garlic breath.  Stock bull-fighting footage is merged with shots of Valentino to make the scenes look realistic.  This was one of the top grossing films of 1922.  A popular Prohibition-era cocktail was named after this film.  There is another film from 1941 with the same title.