Bullfighter and the Lady (1951)

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

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.

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."

The Bullfighter and the Lady is a great film that is forgotten. One of the reasons I think is the name of the film, which makes you think of a Walt Disney cartoon. In the fifties you would hear about John Ford or Hitchcock or Hawks being great directors but no one would mention Budd Boetticher and as time is the greatest critic, we can now appreciate how good he was. This is a semi- autobiographical film since Budd was a bullfighter before becoming involved in movies. His first job in Hollywood was as technical adviser for the bullfighting scenes in "Blood and Sand". Robert Stack is an American who becomes friendly with a great matador Gilbert Roland. Stack teaches Roland how to shoot birds and Roland teaches him to bullfight. Stack also falls in love with a woman from Roland's group (Joy Page). Katy Jurado is Roland's wife. As the story flows we see great scenes of bullfighting. Even though I have seen a couple of bullfights in Mexico, I learned much more from seeing this film. The Bullfighter and the Lady should be a model for any film about a dangerous sport. As the film was produced by John Wayne, John Ford (Wayne's great friend) cut about 30 minutes. He told Budd that the reason for this was that the studio would not release the film if it would be any longer. Budd forgave him, but he had the great pleasure of seeing his film restored to the original version before he died. That is how it is shown nowadays

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.