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BLOOD AND SAND (Paramount, 1922), directed by Fred Niblo, stars silent screen legend Rudolph (billed Rodolph) Valentino in one of his most celebrated roles as a bullfighter from the suburbs of Seville whose rise to fame eventually puts his life into a different direction. While the title might indicate violence at the beach, such as sunbathers and swimmers encountering shark attacks, (director Steven Spielberg took care of that with his 1975 hit, JAWS), the movie only lives up to its name towards the end of the story.

Set in Spain, the plot revolves around Juan Gallardo (Rudolph Valentino), also known as "Zapaterin" (The Little Shoemaker), who longs to become a famous matador in spite of the protests from his widowed mother (Rosa Rosanova) wanting her son to have a more safer profession by following his late father's trade working as a shoemaker, but that doesn't go well with him. As his dreams become reality, Juan, having made a name for himself, is reunited with Carmen Espinosa (Lila Lee), his childhood playmate now back home from convent school. The two marry, and as he rises to the top of his profession, Juan offers her wealth and happiness. Things start to change as Juan meets and succumbs to the passionate charms of Dona Sol (Nita Naldi), niece of the Marquis De Moraimas (George Pierlot).

Of the supporting players featuring George Field as El Nacional; Rosita Marsiti as Encarnacion; Leo White as Antonio; Fred Becker as Don Jose; among others, the character who is most essential to the story is Don Joselito (Charles Belcher), a philosopher, whose home is surrounded with ancient instruments of torture (superimposed with people strapped and tied to these devises). He writes recorded documents about various people who interest him, and what is to become of them, namely Juan and his bandit friend, Plumitas (Walter Long), whose backgrounds differ but with parallel professions (Juan kills bulls while Plumitas kills men), each are to have similar ends. Joselito writes this about Juan, "Juan Gallardo has reached his goal. Will success spoil him or will his love for little Carmen overcome the plaudits of the populace and the cruelty of the national sport?"

The now familiar Vicente Blasco Ibanez story was remade successfully and memorably by 20th Century-Fox in 1941 starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth in the Valentino, Lee and Naldi roles. Longer than its predecessor, the remake includes a lengthy opening tracing the early life of Juan as a boy while the Valentino original centers upon his Juan as an adult, with very little about his upbringing, thus, being mostly a dramatic story on the personal life of an acclaimed matador. In spite of its premise, BLOOD AND SAND consists of limited bullfighting scenes, compared to several used in the remake, each featuring memorable love scenes between Juan and his mistress, Dona Sol. While Nita Naldi's performance might come off as campy, Rita Hayworth's interpretation is most alluring. Fred Niblo's direction may be slow going at times, but manages to bring the culture and Spain to life, especially with their afternoon recreation as they are seem being entertained by watching a good bullfight. Ole! Ole!

Because of his early death in 1926 at age 31, the Valentino name has become immortal. BLOOD AND SAND, along with THE FOUR HOURSEMEN OF THE APOCALYSE (1921), THE SHEIK (1921) and its sequel, THE SON OF THE SHEIK (1926) have become notable titles that best personify the Valentino legend, yet, television revivals have become rare. BLOOD AND SAND did become one of the thirteen movies presented on public television's weekly series of "The Silent Years" (1971), hosted by Orson Welles, with film print from the Paul Killiam collection,accompanied by a piano score by William Perry, the print used for the Blackhawk (later Republic Home Video) distribution during the early 1990s. At one point, BLOOD AND SAND was shown on cable television on the Nostalgia Channel around 1993-4 as part of its Saturday evening showing of "When Silents Was Golden." A decade later, KINO VIDEO restored BLOOD AND SAND with clearer picture quality and corrected silent film speed, as well as some restored footage missing from the standard 82 minutes (including the opening of the Paramount logo), thus, moving its length up to 110 minutes. The KINO print is accompanied by a new score by Rodney Sauer and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. But beware of shorter prints running at 62 minutes, the abridged print that played on numerous occasions on Turner Classic Movies' "Silent Sunday Nights" prior to 2000.

BLOOD AND SAND is classic Valentino at best. Aside from playing a young man with ambition, a tango dancer, and a lover of women (although a title card earlier in the story has him saying "I hate all women except one"), Valentino is perfectly cast as the bullfighter of Seville, and that's no bull. Viva, Valentino!

"Blood and Sand" tells us many times how cruel and dangerous it believes bullfighting to be, but in terms of what it actually shows us, it seems far more interested in the romantic qualities of Rudolph Valentino and his larger-than-life love triangle.

Valentino gives a legitimately good performance, but even the love story loses some of its immediacy from the fact that "Blood and Sand" takes its subject at some distance, periodically stepping back and focusing on the scholar who foreshadows the matador's end. This also allows some of the characterization to go without being fully realized. When all is said and done it is neither believable as an anti-bullfighting film nor totally involving as a story of a love triangle, but some of the elements, including the performances and some excellent symbolic imagery, are well realized.

Although in many ways "Blood and Sand" looks rather old-fashioned now, it's still an interesting drama. It gives Rudolph Valentino one of his better roles, and it is also highlighted by an effective supporting performance from Nita Naldi. The subject matter has some substance to it, and it still holds up well enough despite being handled occasionally in a somewhat heavy-handed manner.

In playing the bullfighter Gallardo, Valentino gets a character with some depth to it. The story follows him as he first struggles to achieve fame and respect, and then struggles in dealing with the side-effects of fame, fortune, and popularity. Naldi's role is memorable, and from her first appearance she makes her manipulative vamp character physically desirable but an obvious source of danger. Valentino does a good job playing off of her, and even without the benefit of spoken dialogue it is easy to see the struggle and self-reproach taking place inside of him.

The themes have a significance that go beyond the original setting. In itself, the criticisms of bullfighting and of what it reveals about human nature, while generally quite valid, are put forth without any subtlety. The inter-titles and the obvious parallels between Gallardo and the notorious criminal Plumitas repeatedly emphasize the same points that the action itself could have made well enough on its own. But that's one of the few weaknesses of "Blood and Sand". And the more general point, its depiction of how easy it is for crowds to be thrilled with violence, is well-taken.

The one other noticeable shortcoming is that the bullring scenes are now often unconvincing. It is laudable, of course, that the film-makers were willing to sacrifice realism so as to avoid being cruel to the animals, so this particular aspect of the movie should be evaluated generously. Present-day technology would certainly have made it much simpler to achieve both goals.

Although the style might make it mostly of interest to those who are already silent movie fans, there is still more than enough of interest to make this worth seeing. The story is simple, but it has some worthwhile aspects. Naldi provides something striking to look at, and Valentino gets to show what he can do with a role that has some possibilities to it.

Impoverished shoemaker's son Rudolph Valentino (as Juan Gallardo) wants to be a bullfighter, much to his widowed mother's dismay. Still, toreador Valentino excels in the dangerous sport; and, later, he is wealthy and famous throughout Spain. Along the way, he marries virtuous childhood sweetheart Lila Lee (as Carmen). For Valentino, temptation accompanies fame, as he falls under the spell of wicked temptress Nita Naldi (as Doña Sol), a slightly sadomasochistic bullfighting groupie. Can Valentino love two women at the same time?

Valentino performs well as an innocent ragamuffin who achieves great fame; of course, this parallels the idolization of the film's star. Moreover, the Idol proves just as attractive being seduced (herein, by Ms. Naldi) as he was the seducer (in the recent "Sheik"). Fred Niblo's "Blood and Sand" is a classic; however, the story, and disjointed bullfighting footage, do bog things down.

Great things happen, after about a quarter hour, when Valentino steps into Naldi's lair. In a neat bit of acting business, Valentino wipes a sweaty hand before greeting his seductress; then, he and Naldi's servant exchange weird looks as Valentino gets his cigarette lighted. After some crosscutting to innocent Ms. Lee, Naldi's harp-playing gets her man.

Writer June Mathis adapts well, for her star; but, the Ibáñez story should have more streamlined. Combining, or further developing, the characters played by Charles Belcher (Don Joselito) and Walter Long (Plumitas) might have helped. Mr. Belcher's character is most interesting; he collects torture devices, and choruses the film's thesis: "Happiness and prosperity built on cruelty and bloodshed cannot survive."

******* Blood and Sand (8/5/22) Fred Niblo ~ Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee, Nita Naldi, Charles Belcher

The color cinematography which won an Oscar and the outstanding performances of stars Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Rita Hayworth made the sound remake of Blood And Sand an enduring classic. But this silent version and much shorter version of Vincente Blasco Ibanez novel has a lot going for it.

Mostly it has Rudolph Valentino going for it. Valentino is cast well as the champion bullfighter of Spain who rises from poverty and marries the girl next door. But then this Samson of the Corrida throws it all away for the love of the Delilah like Dona Sol.

Lila Lee is the girl next door who Valentino marries and silent screen temptress Nita Naldi plays the beautiful and cruel Dona Sol. That one gets Valentino definitely going south of his Mason/Dixon line. In that sense Blood And Sand was a perfect Valentino picture because it had Valentino for the women to swoon over and Naldi for the men to drool over.

I did miss Laird Cregar playing the epicene critic Curo from the sound version. On the other hand there's Walter Long playing a bandit chief whose life as a lot of parallels to that of protagonist Juan Gallardo.

One thing that is radically different is that this silent version takes a position most against the sport of bullfighting. I'm betting that it was not popular in Spain or with Ernest Hemingway. The sound version has far more macho approach.

You'll have to decide for yourself which is better.

Rudolph Valentino was every woman's dream, except after he ate his favorite Italian meal for lunch, heavily laden with a good dose of spicy garlic. His breath, needless to say, had the lingering smell of an undesirable odor. Lina Lee, who played his love interest Carmen in August 1922's "Blood and Sand," after getting a whiff during a lingering kiss on set, insisted their love scenes be filmed before lunch.

The story of Juan Gallardo, based on Vincente Ibanez's 1909 of the same name, could easily act as a parallel to the actor playing the matador, Valentino, as well as his life. Juan is a poor village boy much like the actor when he immigrated to the United States. In the book the young man emerges despite discouraging words from his parents as one of the greatest matadors in Spain. He marries his village childhood sweetheart, Carmen, after achieving fame in the bullring. While exhibiting on the road, however, he falls in love with a conniving seductive, yet shallow, wealthy widow. Guilt ridden about the affair, he becomes reckless in the arena.

"Blood and Sand" was filmed in the middle of the actor's involvement with his girlfriend, Natacha Rambova, while still legally married to his first wife, despite their divorce filings. Under contract with the Famous Players-Lasky Studios, Valentino was upset with their switch in shooting locales after they originally planned to film in Spain. The actor was anticipating visiting his relatives in Italy around breaks in production after a 10-year absence from seeing them. He also became unhappy with his mediocre salary despite his employers enjoying a bonanza at the box office with his every movie. With all the conflict and personal tribulations, "Blood and Sand," Valentino's favorite movie he appeared in, was the third highest grossing film of the year, piling on the money the studio was making off their prized popular actor.

For Mary Pickford, among the many critics who loved the movie, said "In my judgement it was the best thing he has done. It is one of the few pictures I have been able to sit through twice and enjoy the second time more than the first."

"Blood and Sand" also proved to be a pivotal picture for Dorothy Azner. Jumping into the movie business soon after she soured from becoming a doctor, she received a job with Paramount through Cecil's brother William DeMille's guidance. Typing scripts, Azner soon learned the art of film editing. She drew the assignment to edit "Blood and Sand," where she saved the studio thousands of dollars by obtaining stock footage of actual bullfights to intercut with the shots of Valentino and other actors acting as matadors in the ring. She even assisted director Fred Niblo (not Valentino's choice as a director, another point of contention he had with the studio) in the bullfighting scenes, positioning the actors to coincide with her stock footage. Soon after her highly praised job as an editor, Azner was able to leverage her talents to become a very successful movie director.

BLOOD AND SAND is one of those rare movies where the remake is actually much better--and this isn't because the remake was a sound movie and this one was silent. The problem is that the original Valentino film was a very traditional morality play that tried to please the more conservative film viewer of the day and ended up being rather heavy-handed and lacked depth. So, despite this being a film by America's most loved male sex symbol of the day, it is very pro-family and discusses the evils of extramarital affairs in a very obvious and superficial manner (the remake is slower paced and less preachy). This is odd, by the way, when you compare this film with two of Valentino's other famous performances. In THE SHIEK, there is a lot of sexual tension and the film is pretty racy for its day, as was THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (which even included some nudity). It really is interesting how none of these films represent the average viewer--the movie is either anti-sex (like BLOOD AND SAND) or very pro-sex (like the other two). A truly interesting dichotomy.

I just watched the 1941 Tyrone Powers remake of this film and enjoyed it very much, and reflected on American's fascination with the corrida during a couple critical time periods. It was the perfect time to watch this Rudolph Valentino (1922) version which is also a retelling of the book by Vincente Balasco Ibanez. This is the first Valentino film that I have seen and having watched many other silent films, I can see why Valentino was such a heartthrob. He really captures your attention and unlike other stars of the era was not overly campy to get his emotions across.

The general story is still the same, poor boy aspires to be a toreador, marries girl next door, then as he achieves fame and good fortune is noticed and subsequently seduced by fickle wealthy woman...who doesn't truly care for him and moves on to her next shiny plaything, leaving our toreador Juan to pick up the pieces.

Both films end the same way...even with the concept that the bull isn't the beast but the crowd of the corrida is the never satisfied beast. I will say the 1941 film version seemed to glorify or romanticize the bullfighting much more than the 1922 version that just kind of showed it as is.

I really enjoyed this Valentino take. In fact, I think I preferred it to Tyrone Power's film. That may be an unpopular view, but there was so much packed in to the 1922 version that made it feel like you were getting a real look into the past. More emphasis was put on the story...and less on romanticizing bullfighting as a sport. So many great details gave authenticity to the scenes...like when they are in a pub it is just thick with smoke as the crowd is smoking and drinking while the Gypsies perform flamenco. In Dona Sol's seduction pad behind the action their is a small pillar with incense smoke rising above the action...have you ever thought about how smelly those homes were with no indoor plumbing, lack of bathing, etc...yep, people with money burned incense to mask the bad smells. And the mantillas! The veils, the hairstyles...someone tried to do a nice job with giving it the look and feel of Seville.

I liked the bandit character in this version with a parallel rising from poverty with bravery story.

My only complaint is the half naked house servant in Dona Sol's employ...that seemed out of place and like something you would only see in a Hollywood theatrical production.

I have read some reviews complaining of the overt seduction...but I preferred that, it gave me more sympathy for Juan who seemed to really love Carmen. In the Tyrone version...as a woman I had a lot less sympathy for Juan as it seemed like it was all instigated from him, "pretty girl must have". As a woman, I like to think men have more willpower...but maybe they don't. (Please don't burst my bubble.)

If you are a silent film fan, I think this is a must see. If you are interested in bullfighting...I think this is a worthy watch and if you are interested in the 1920's you should definitely watch this. Highly recommend.

I've watched "Blood and Sand" several times; I own the DVD. With every viewing I notice some new subtle nuance in the under played gestures of Valentino. In the big seduction scene between Valentino and the voluptuous Nita Naldi, she sits at a harp, delicately playing, with her back to Valentino. He walks up behind her chair, clearly aroused, and he begins to seductively stroke the chair! This is so under played and yet so visually compelling and sensuous.It is so unlike the melodramatic rather hystrionic aesthetic so often found in films from this period. Valentino's restraint throughout the film's more emotional moments is compelling; his subtlety pulls the viewer intimately inward.True, the bull fighting scenes leave a bit to be desired. They are the result of some rather choppy editing and sadly come off looking peculiar,even humorous at times. Somehow Valentino pulls it off, his graceful movements, his quiet emotions, his compelling sensuality more than make up for the lack of authenticity in the bullring.

Juan is the son of a poor widow in Seville. Against his mother's wishes he pursues a career as toreador. He rapidly gains national prominence, and takes his childhood sweetheart Carmen as his bride. He meets the Marquis' daughter Dona Sol, and finds himself in the awkward position of being in love with two women, which threatens the stability of his family and his position in society.

Dorothy Arzner worked as the film's editor. Arnzer used stock footage of bullfights filmed in Madrid interspersed with close-ups of Valentino. Her work on the film helped to solidify her reputation of being a resourceful editor as her techniques also saved Paramount money. She would later say that working on the film was the "first waymark to my claim to a little recognition as an individual." What strikes me about that is how "stock footage" existed by the early 1920s. How was there already footage of various things without copyright? Or perhaps there was copyright, but a fee to use it was small? This just seems strange, and yet it is apparently true.

Rudolph Valentino was born in 1895 in Castellaneta, Italy. After a poor upbringing, he emigrated to New York in 1913. There, Valentino made a living as a dishwasher in various cheap restaurants before moving to California. And now things started to happen. Because of his exceptional good looks, Valentino got a job in the fledgling film industry. The parts were small at first, but after famous screenwriter June Mathis chose him for the lead in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" Rudolph Valentino's career took off with a vengeance.

A year later, it was time for Valentino and Mathis to collaborate again. The film was "Blood and Sand" and Valentino was to portray a young, foolhardy bullfighter. The actor thought the movie would be made in Spain, which meant he could visit his family back home. Unfortunately, the studio intended to shoot the entire film on their back lot in Hollywood. Had it not been for Mathis, a disappointed Valentino would probably have terminated his contract then and there.

It was not only as a good friend that June Mathis proved herself valuable. She also participated actively during the production of "Blood and Sand". It was June Mathis who suggested that stock footage of real bullfights (filmed in Madrid) could be used for the crucial scenes in the arena. The material was then mixed with newly shot close-ups of Rudolph Valentino, creating the illusion that the actor himself was inside the bullring with the large, terrifying beasts.

It would have been interesting to know how Rudolph Valentino had handled the transition from silent movies to "talkies". But, tragically, that wasn't to happen. Instead, the great "Latin Lover" passed away unexpectedly in August 1926, only 31 years old. The following year, June Mathis collapsed during a visit to Broadway. She died before the ambulance arrived. The two cinematic legends now rest, side by side, in a shared crypt at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

One of the most persistent trends in cinema is the phenomenon of the actor as desirable icon rather than talented performer. This was especially common in the silent era, when appearances were everything, and by far the biggest such icon of that era was Mr Rudolph Valentino. No-one in their right mind would have called Valentino a great actor, but the public flocked to his films, adoring him for his smooth and charmingly exotic good looks, or reviling him for them as far as the heterosexual men in the audience were concerned.

But unlike a rather different screen icon Douglas Fairbanks, whose pictures were as lighthearted as his persona, Valentino's vehicles were often stern and lengthy dramas. Therefore in a picture like Blood and Sand we have something of a mismatch between star and subject matter. Sure, Valentino looks the part of the popular young matador, but he just doesn't have the acting ability to carry a drama. Funnily enough, the haircut he has here, which does not suit him, makes him look like Keanu "Man-o'-Wood" Reeves, which is appropriate since his acting is on a par with Reeves's. Like Reeves, all of Valentino's expressions look strangely vacant, as if his facial muscles were being mechanically operated by some unseen puppet master. It is, in fact, rather unattractive to anyone who has seen much finer acting from performers who are equally as physically beautiful as Valentino.

So taking Rudi out of the equation, what kind of a drama do we have left? The fact that Blood and Sand is adapted from a novel is not an especially good sign considering the time it was made. In this day and age when film versions of novels tend to get lambasted for the cavalier approach to their adaptation, it may come as a surprise that in the silent era most adaptations were not cavalier enough. This version leaves in too much of Ibanez's tedious moralising. There is also the inclusion of the characters of the bandit Plumitas and the philosopher Ruiz, a kind of Greek chorus device that may have worked quite well in the book, but on screen it is just a contrived distraction, slowing down the picture's pace.

Fortunately, the director here is Fred Niblo, a competent and sensitive craftsman of the silent screen. Niblo was a real master of managing pace, and this is the area in which he seems to have exerted most influence over Blood and Sand. He gives the earliest scenes of Gallardo's youth a kind of free-spirited exuberance, with very open sets and lots of background motion. He also treats the star to an attention grabbing entrance, his face appearing from behind a gate as a bull rushes past. In the later scenes of the matador's spiritual fall from grace, proceedings are given a stylised and eerily sensual slowness. Languid, flowing imagery is something of a Niblo trademark and he really gets to indulge it here, with long unbroken takes, curls of smoke and an almost snake-like performance from Nita Naldi. There are some wonderful shots in this section, such as the one where Naldi sits at her harp. The harp on the left and the curtain on the right provide a complementary slanting frame for the lovers' embrace. Like the films of Cecil B. DeMille, there is a paradox in Blood and Sand in that the sexual immorality which it ostensibly condemns is presented the most appealingly to the viewers.

The main aim of Niblo's direction however appears to have been to show off the star, which is fair enough - it's what sold tickets. But sadly Valentino's appeal has not aged well. The result is a rather weedy drama, with a few pretty images, and a handsome man failing to act. None of his supporting players stand out (exception: Walter Lang is rather amusing when he is trying to remember how many men he is killed. And Leo White gets an honourable mention simply because he used to be an amazing comedy actor, and here and there we can still see flashes of his greatness). Valentino no doubt thought of himself as a serious dramatic player, and it appears he used what leverage he had over his own career to get roles like this, but looking back his most satisfying pictures are ones like The Sheikh and The Eagle, where his romantic charms can be enjoyed in an appropriately fairy-tale setting.

Most people picture Rudolph Valentino from his earlier roles in "Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" or "The Sheik". In this movie, Valentino plays a Matador in Spain and the story traces his rise and fall. Yes, he certainly was handsome and you see traces of his definate appeal here. For me, though, the movie was stolen by "the other woman", Dona Sol. She tarts her role up real well and plays it very broad, almost shockingly brazen for it's time. The scene where she tells Valentino that she longs to fell him beat her will make us wince, then she bites his hand while while in a semi-embrace in order to raise his passions. All stuff that seems pretty extreme for the typical innocent silent movie woman roles. The ending will be no surprise, it is telegraphed and alluded to many times during the movie. It's not Rudy at his absolute best, but I can recommend it.

You know the story even if you've never heard of this movie: young man becomes famous and starts cheating on his wife. Good characterizations and vivid backgrounds can't save the tired (even for its time) plot. Bullfighting scenes are more curious than exciting. Director Niblo's talents do not shine as brightly as in Ben-Hur 3 years later. The 1941 remake is better.