Rouben Mamoulian's remake of the silent classic that made a star of Rudolph Valentino is a visual treat. The techincolor is rich, with all the shades of color (especially the blues and reds)glorious. And the stars don't look too shabby either! Tyrone Power makes a gorgeous Juan Gallardo, the poor boy who rises to fame in the bullring, but who is unable to resist the shallow and deadly beautiful noblewoman Dona Sol (Rita Hayworth, on loan from Columbia, about to be catapulted to stardom), despite his gentle, loving wife, Carmen (Linda Darnell, in her fourth and last teaming with Power).
He is no more than a passing fancy to Dona Sol, who has a thing for handsome matadors, and then discards them like last week's trash when she tires of them. And the crowds who gather at the ring are no less fickle. Only Carmen and his mother love him unconditionally, but he does not see that until it is too late.
Anthony Quinn is absorbing as Manola de Palma, Juan's friend, who gravitates to Dona Sol and becomes her latest boy toy, as well as the new star of the bullring. Laird Cregar, an underrated character actor with a short career, is his very reliable self as critic Natalio Curro, who pronounces Hayworth's temptress as "death in the evening". (And she is).
Other reviewers have commented on how many of the actors in this project met tragic and premature ends. It is alarming, not only the three leads, but Cregar, George Reeves (as Hayworth's rejected suitor, Pierre) and Victor Kilian, as the priest, who was found beaten to death in his apartment after strolling past Grauman's Chinese Theatre and meeting up with his assailant.
Too bad that Carmen and Dona Sol only meet once in the film, but it is entertaining to see the loyal wife and unscrupulous seductress in the same frame, and both Darnell and Hayworth were classic beauties, as well as underrated as performing artists.
One minor quibble - 20th Century Fox picked the wrong singer to dub Hayworth's vocals! "Verde luna" is a lovely song, but the uncredited Gracilla Pirraga was completely unsuited to provide a singing voice for Rita, expert lip-syncher that she was. If there ever was a way to tell if her voice was dubbed, that moment would be it! There is a waiting list at amazon for the DVD of this movie when it becomes available. A VHS copy is a good substitute for now, but DVD format (and hopefully, extras) will definitely enhance the viewing experience.
It's worth seeing for the cinematography and stars alone!
He is no more than a passing fancy to Dona Sol, who has a thing for handsome matadors, and then discards them like last week's trash when she tires of them. And the crowds who gather at the ring are no less fickle. Only Carmen and his mother love him unconditionally, but he does not see that until it is too late.
Anthony Quinn is absorbing as Manola de Palma, Juan's friend, who gravitates to Dona Sol and becomes her latest boy toy, as well as the new star of the bullring. Laird Cregar, an underrated character actor with a short career, is his very reliable self as critic Natalio Curro, who pronounces Hayworth's temptress as "death in the evening". (And she is).
Other reviewers have commented on how many of the actors in this project met tragic and premature ends. It is alarming, not only the three leads, but Cregar, George Reeves (as Hayworth's rejected suitor, Pierre) and Victor Kilian, as the priest, who was found beaten to death in his apartment after strolling past Grauman's Chinese Theatre and meeting up with his assailant.
Too bad that Carmen and Dona Sol only meet once in the film, but it is entertaining to see the loyal wife and unscrupulous seductress in the same frame, and both Darnell and Hayworth were classic beauties, as well as underrated as performing artists.
One minor quibble - 20th Century Fox picked the wrong singer to dub Hayworth's vocals! "Verde luna" is a lovely song, but the uncredited Gracilla Pirraga was completely unsuited to provide a singing voice for Rita, expert lip-syncher that she was. If there ever was a way to tell if her voice was dubbed, that moment would be it! There is a waiting list at amazon for the DVD of this movie when it becomes available. A VHS copy is a good substitute for now, but DVD format (and hopefully, extras) will definitely enhance the viewing experience.
It's worth seeing for the cinematography and stars alone!