Blood and Sand

11/22/2023

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 bullfigh