There's romance, culture, honor and tradition in this big Republic A list film that in an edited version, thanks to It's generic title, didn't have much of an impact. Adding in half an hour of footage cut after the premiere returns the film to its true intentions, eliminating stereotypes concerning a culture's national past time while including them in small doses to remind viewers that stereotypes are based on smaller truths, just never the whole package.
There's lots of eye candy among the ensemble of handsome actors and beautiful actresses playing minor parts, as well as the leads. Blonde American Robert Stack certainly is noticeable among the dark haired sexy Mexicans whose charisma flies off the screen while his subtle masculinity gives him a different perspective on the fact that not all men are alike, just as all women regardless of cultural background and age aren't either.
Acting honors go to the more mature Gilbert Roland (still looking pretty good shirtless) as the veteran bullfighter and Katy Jurado as his loving, devoted wife. With a wise face that has seen it all, she's not the delicate flower of a Dolores Del Rio, nor is she the spitfire of a Lupe Velez. But she's not one to take nonsense and deals with such issues in a way that indicates spirituality and integrity, a beautiful performance that makes her unforgettable.
The other two women are Joy Page, whose real life father was a Mexican silent movie star, feminine yet a bit spirited, and Virginia Grey as a visiting musical comedy star, in Mexico with husband John Hubbard. Ismael Perez and Rodolfo Acosta are the younger bullfighters, filled with a mixture of machismo and tenderness, resentful of Stack intruding where they believe he shouldn't. They are hospitable to a point, bit not when it comes to their cultural traditions being dishonored.
As Stack learns from Roland the art of the ring, he gains attention, most memorably by a group of curious young Mexican boys, a reminder that kids are kids everywhere, and their natural curiosities are a wonderful piece of innocence. I thought that I could speed things up a bit by fast forwarding through the bullfighter scenes (having just recently watched two other films on the subject, also from the 1950's), but the way they are inserted made this a lot more dramatic and necessary. The fact remains to never judge a film by its title. Sometimes what seems like a greasy hamburger can turn out to be a Porterhouse.
There's lots of eye candy among the ensemble of handsome actors and beautiful actresses playing minor parts, as well as the leads. Blonde American Robert Stack certainly is noticeable among the dark haired sexy Mexicans whose charisma flies off the screen while his subtle masculinity gives him a different perspective on the fact that not all men are alike, just as all women regardless of cultural background and age aren't either.
Acting honors go to the more mature Gilbert Roland (still looking pretty good shirtless) as the veteran bullfighter and Katy Jurado as his loving, devoted wife. With a wise face that has seen it all, she's not the delicate flower of a Dolores Del Rio, nor is she the spitfire of a Lupe Velez. But she's not one to take nonsense and deals with such issues in a way that indicates spirituality and integrity, a beautiful performance that makes her unforgettable.
The other two women are Joy Page, whose real life father was a Mexican silent movie star, feminine yet a bit spirited, and Virginia Grey as a visiting musical comedy star, in Mexico with husband John Hubbard. Ismael Perez and Rodolfo Acosta are the younger bullfighters, filled with a mixture of machismo and tenderness, resentful of Stack intruding where they believe he shouldn't. They are hospitable to a point, bit not when it comes to their cultural traditions being dishonored.
As Stack learns from Roland the art of the ring, he gains attention, most memorably by a group of curious young Mexican boys, a reminder that kids are kids everywhere, and their natural curiosities are a wonderful piece of innocence. I thought that I could speed things up a bit by fast forwarding through the bullfighter scenes (having just recently watched two other films on the subject, also from the 1950's), but the way they are inserted made this a lot more dramatic and necessary. The fact remains to never judge a film by its title. Sometimes what seems like a greasy hamburger can turn out to be a Porterhouse.