Bullfighter and the Lady (1951)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Budd Boetticher (story)
James Edward Grant (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 April 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

The Most DANGEROUS Game On Earth ! (original one-sheet poster)

Plot:

Johnny Regan, a U.S. citizen, goes to Mexico and takes up bullfighting as a lark, hoping to impress a Mexican beauty...

Plot Keywords:

Matador | Mexico | Bullfighting | Policia | Tradition

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Robert Stack	...	Johnny Regan
Joy Page	...	Anita de la Vega
Gilbert Roland	...	Manolo Estrada
Virginia Grey	...	Lisbeth Flood
John Hubbard	...	Barney Flood
Katy Jurado	...	Chelo Estrada
Antonio Gomez	...	Antonio Gómez
Ismael Pérez	...	Panchito
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Juan
Ruben Padilla	...	Dr. Sierra
Darío Ramírez	...	Pepe Mora
Luis Briones	...	Himself, Torero
Luís Castro	...	Himself, Torero
Ricardo Torres 'Bombita'	...	Himself, Torero (archive footage)
Alfonso Ramírez Calesero	...	Himself, Torero

Also Known As:

Torero (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

87 min | USA:124 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15066) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

The scenes of Robert Stack showing Gilbert Roland how to skeet shoot parallel true life. In collage Stack was not interested in team sports, so he took up skeet shooting. In 1935, he came in 2nd in the National Skeet Shooting Championship (held in Cleveland), and in 1936 his 5-man team broke the standing record at the National Skeet Championships (held in St. Louis). In 1937, Robert Stack was the U.S. 20-gauge champion skeet marksman, and held the record for more than 350 consecutive hits. He also served as a gunnery officer in the U.S. Navy for more than three years during World War II and among other decorations, was awarded the 'Expert Rifle Ribbon', and 'Expert Pistol Ribbon'.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Esta Noche (Tonight)

No Bull in this one

I enjoyed this film at a screening in LA a few years ago. I went because I had just been to a number of bullfights after first reading Hemingway's Death In The Afternoon--the ultimate primer on the sport.

Stack was great with more subtlety then I expected. The bulls were magnificent, specially picked for their size at a time when the breeders were trying to size them down. It was said the film brought "real" (i.e. large, brave bulls) back to Mexico for a while. They wanted the size because of the wide shots, and those boys were BIG.

Stack was a champion skeet shooter too, and in one of the stranger scenes in the film, he is shown in shooting form blowin 'em away. Wierd to work such an obscure sport into the movie.