Blood and Sand (1922)

Gallardo falls for Dona Sol

Directed by Fred Niblo
Starring Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee and Nita Naldi
Produced by Paramount Pictures

Juan Gallardo has big dreams.  His mother wants to get his head out of the clouds and learn his father's trade as a shoemaker.  Gallardo however dreams of fame and glory and cheering fans.  He dreams of becoming a bull fighter.

Instead of seeing to his chores and duties, Gallardo and his friends head for their town's makeshift bull-fighting arena.  The group thrill the small crowd with their antics and bravery until one of Gallardo's friends is tragically gored by the beast.  The boy's comrade dies in his arms, but the exhibition was enough for Gallardo to get his shot on a larger stage.

Soon, Gallardo is the toast of Seville.  He marries Carmen, a girl any parent would be happy to see on their son's arm.  But his newfound fame also attracts the attentions of Dona Sol, a man-eating vamp.  Will Gallardo choose the right woman?  And can he keep his mind on his work long enough to survive the dangers of the bull fighting arena?

Blood and Sand should have been a better movie.

All of the ingredients are there.  A charismatic leading man.  Two beautiful, perfectly cast women.  A plot filled with high stakes both in the arena and outside of it.  So why does it so rarely soar?

The movie has a lot of flaws, but there are two that hold it back more than any.  First, like many of the silents, it never fills in the gaps.  Gallardo pretty easily becomes the best bullfighter around.There's no real struggle.  Within minutes, he goes from boy in the village to famous matador.  When he spots Carmen in the crowd for the first time, there's no real courtship.  You don't see them fall in love.  It's hard to care about relationships your not invested in.

The second is the misuse of Valentino.  Don't get me wrong: I think he's fine here.  However, when you've got a leading man with energy and charisma playing a character living his dream, why write him into so many situations where he's somber.

There are good moments here.  I liked much of the first half though as I said bull-fighting seems to come easy to Gallardo.  I like how with fame comes an entourage reminiscent of... well, Entourage.  The scene where Dona Sol seduces Gallardo is perfect.  It's sensual and full of tension, a remarkable achievement.

Ultimately, the movie is a lazy exercise in connect-the-dot moviemaking.  Individual scenes sing, but the pieces don't add up to an effective whole.

** out of *****

NOTE: Once again, a distributor does a film no favors with a terrible score.  It's the most monotonous, grating dour score ever.  And it keeps going.  For twenty minutes at a time.  Turn the sound down and play Dark Side of the Moon.

Photo from Three Movie Buffs