Synopsis:
A Spanish toreador (Tyrone Power) weds his childhood sweetheart (Linda Darnell) and achieves tremendous fame in the bullfighting world, but risks losing it all when he falls for a sultry socialite (Rita Hayworth).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Anthony Quinn Films
• Bullfighting
• Femmes Fatales
• Infidelity
• John Carradine Films
• Laird Cregar Films
• Linda Darnell Films
• Rise and Fall
• Rita Hayworth Films
• Rouben Mamoulian Films
• Tyrone Power Films

Review:
Rouben Mamoulian’s Technicolor remake of Rudolf Valentino’s 1922 blockbuster is a visual gem, with nearly every scene looking like a gorgeous painting. Unfortunately, the storyline (as in the original version) leaves much to be desired: an illiterate, bullfighting-obsessed upstart is lucky enough to win the love and loyalty of a beautiful girl, but throws his marriage away when a soulless femme fatale comes lurking. (Could it be that fame… corrupts?)

Meanwhile, Power’s tiffs with a portly journalist (Laird Cregar):

and rivalry with his friend (Anthony Quinn):

play out entirely predictably, and the film’s Christian symbolism runs far too deep. (I wouldn’t exactly refer to bullfighters as martyrs dying on the cross of their inevitably short-lived careers — but that’s what the story seems to posit.)

A brief moment of aural beauty comes when the film’s soundtrack composer, Vincente Gomez, performs a guitar solo; this was my favorite scene in the film.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennahan’s Oscar-winning Technicolor cinematography
  
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re a fan of the stars.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TV Guide Review
• TCM Article