Bullfighter and the Lady

Before he took up working with Randolph Scott and making some classic westerns, Budd Boetticher wrote and directed this remarkable film for Republic Pictures about bullfighting. Bullfighter And The Lady is distinguished for its graphic depiction about life in the circled arena, what the bullfighters do to attain greatness in the sport and their adulation in Latin in this case specifically Mexican culture.

Robert Stack who in real life was a skeet shooting champion is in Mexico on holiday and meets up with the number one in bullfighting Gilbert Roland who is about to retire at the top. Stack offers to teach Roland shooting and he wants to learn bullfighting at least enough of it to impress senorita Joy Page who he's pursuing.

In the end Stack's pursuit of a little conquest leads to tragedy.

As Mexico's number one Torrero, Gilbert Roland has some of his finest moments on the big screen. He really dominates this film as the fatalistic bullfighter who knows you can go in just once too often. Katy Jurado gives a dignified and restrained performance of his wife.

Although Stack is fine as the Yankee playboy the role would have been perfect for Tyrone Power who had those hero/heel parts down pat over at 20th Century Fox. I can't believe that this was not offered to Power, but perhaps Darryl Zanuck demanded too much for his services.

Herbert J. Yates over at Republic was a pinch penny businessman and the version usually seen of Bullfighter And The Lady is at least a half hour shorter than the director's cut I saw. I have to say though the film did run over long for me.

Still it's a fine bit of film making with big kudos to Gilbert Roland and Budd Boetticher going out.

This is a great film showing the horrors of bullfighting with excellent photography and directed by a former bullfighter himself, Budd Boetticher. John Wayne produced this picture but did not appear in this film and presented a film that was originally cut into pieces but has been restored to its original print, which is seen today. Robert Stack, (Johnny Regan) plays the role as a U.S. Citizen who has connections with Hollywood and has become interested in becoming a bullfighter and so he travels to Mexico to met a real famous matador. Johnny meets up with Manolo Estgrada, (Gilbert Roland) at a famous eating place and forces his attentions to Manolo in order to become friendly with him and to break into his inner circles of life. It it not very long before Johnny makes an arrangement with Manolo to teach him how to shoot birds in exchange for Matador lessons. This film goes into great detail about how to fight a bull and the dangers of the sport in Mexico. Johnny also meets up with a woman he falls in love with at first sight and just can't get her out of his mind both day in and day out, this woman is Anita De La Vega, (Joy Page) who does keep a distance from Johnny, but things do warm up between these two couples. Great film and a wonderful Classic Bullfighting film with great realism. Enjoy.

This was Boetticher's big breakthrough, though it's not remembered nearly as well as the Westerns he made later on the same decade. I'm sure that's very much the fault of its subject matter, which is rightly despised by the vast majority of human beings nowadays. Frankly, the film itself is pretty lousy in general. Robert Stack stars as an American visiting Mexico who decides to take up bullfighting to impress a beautiful woman (Joy Page). He befriends a famous toreador (Gilbert Roland) who trains him, though he's derided by other bullfighters and fans. The film was originally cut down to 87 minutes (after all, it was only meant to be a B-movie), but it has recently been restored to 124 minutes. I'd definitely much rather watched the shorter version, though I'm sure it's just as dull (just not so damn long). The bullfighting scenes are graphic, but, what's worse, the sport just comes off as a total bore itself, like the same thing over and over. Katy Jurado also stars.

I was surprised by this one. It is an excellent introduction to La Fiesta Brava, showing, for example, many versions of the Veronica as performed by the best Mexican matadors of the late 40s. Luis Procuna, Alfredo Leal, Silverio Perez and the great Carlos Arruza are absentees. Stack, apparently, mastered enough of the technique to perform ably with a heifer -- and that itself is not easy. The background of the corrida -- particularly the tienta (or testing) -- is well documented and the vast Plaza Mexico appears with dramatic effect -- both filled and totally empty. Some of the b/w sequences in the bullring are breathtaking. The problem with the film is Stack's character, who behaves very badly very consistently and really does not seem to learn from his vivid errors. Furthermore, he makes no effort to master even the rudiments of Spanish. Otherwise, the film is compelling. I also recommend the Azteca film of about the same period, "Torero," a documentary about Luis Procuna, starring Procuna. He does not need a stand-in. As an introduction to bullfighting that does not show much of the picing or the actual kill, I recommend "Bullfighter/Lady."

This is a beautiful, compelling and honest film. It is imbued with the good kind of machismo--notions of honor, sacrifice, and the nobility of effort. Instead of cluttering up the film with lots of story and complications, Boetticher has delved inside the heart and mind of this (to us gringos) strange sport.

My only addition to the other comments is the photography is remarkable for its era, almost an outdoor film noir, a romantic realism in black and white. (And note that in a number of shots it is clearly Robert Stack doing his own bullfighting!) I note that the film was produced by John Wayne for Republic, obviously mostly in Mexico; just one year later Republic permitted John Ford to make THE QUIET MAN in Ireland; early examples of American filmmaking in an international context.

Don't hesitate to see this extraordinary film.