Blood and Sand (1941)

I started out quite enjoying this outing for Tyrone Power but by an hour in, I was really rather disappointed. Keen to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, he is the aspiring toreador "Gallardo" who is panned by critic "Curro" (the scene stealing Laird Creggar) as a fifth rate ring entertainer. He is determined to not only make his fortune, but to become famous and return to his village where he can claim the hand of childhood sweetheart "Carmen" (Linda Darnell). Thing is, success can be a double edged sword and at the top of his game and fame he is espied by the glamorous and rather manipulative "Doña Sol" (Rita Hayworth) who is determined to... well you can guess the rest. That's maybe the problem for me. It begins as a drama that looks at the sometimes rather brutal life of a bullfighter (rightly or wrongly) in a way that reminded me of many films about boxing. This sport really was the only way many people - not just those in the ring, but their friends and families too - could escape the cycle of poverty. It also illustrated quite well just how toxic the power of unfettered adulation can be when the object isn't maybe the strongest emotionally. The second hour does fall away, though, and we flirt just too closely with melodrama as Alfred Newman's score becomes just a bit too prominent (and indicative of what's to come). Anthony Quinn chips in quite well as the bitter "Manolo" but not really enough to keep the action elements on top. You can easily see the drawing power of both Power and Hayworth here, but the story itself let me down.