Dad's Movies: "Blood and Sand"

Next up:  Blood and Sand (1941).

I found Tyrone Power better in this one than the last film (Black Rose) I watched. From what I can tell, this is one Power's better films.

The cast is all really quite good and the Spanish bullfighting epic makes for a compelling character study with a story with something to say. I figured going in that the film would glamorize Bullfighting but it actually comes down pretty hard on the subject without being dismissive or condescending (well, at least not for a Hollywood movie of the 1940s) of the society in Spain where it was a large part of the culture.

Like most old movies that portray people of other countries, there is a certain amount of disbelief that is needed to swallow Rita Hayworth being a Spanish woman but this film does better with it than most. You soon forget all the American actors being there playing Spaniards. The one exception might be John Carradine who is almost playing a variation on his role in John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (not to dismiss that; his performance in that movie is fantastic).

The old Technicolor photography looks great and the musical score suits the film well. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Power movies for sure.