zetes 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.

Ken West This is indeed a neglected great movie.As someone whose familiarity with bullfighting consists of some vague Hemmingway, the yearly silly newscasts from Pamplona, and a disgusting half- afternoon in Tijuana, and whose opinion of amusement through the suffering of dumb beasts is decidedly negative, I had to talk myself into watching it. I am very glad I did. It (at least the full 125 minute version) is very compelling. The photography is often mesmerizing, and there are scenes which I know I will remember a long time, such as the when the drunk taunts Estrada to have a go even though his right wrist is useless, following which his wife accosts the drunk with a sword and a speech which, even in Spanish, took my breath away. The many semi-documentary clips are simultaneously fascinating, compelling and repulsive.My main point however, is the magnificent performance of Gilbert Roland as Estrada who has incredible screen presence here, handling the bulls, the drunks, the cocky Yankee, his wife, and his cheroot, often simultaneously, with grace and aplomb -- a truly beautiful character who defines the movie, even after he departs it.Yes, the title is lame and has probably turned off many potential viewers who decided not to bother; but whether or not you are interested in bullfighting, and whether or not you approve of it, do not deny yourself the experience of seeing it.

whpratt1 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.

ccthemovieman-1 Robert Stack with blonde hair? Could that really be "Elliot Ness?" Well, it was the early '50s, before Stack made a name for himself with the TV hit, "The Untouchables. For those looking back at this film for the first time, as I did in the 1990s, this was a weird sight.Blonde or not, the main question which might answer if you will enjoy this film is, "Does bullfighting interest you?" If it does, you'll like this; if it doesn't, you're going to be bored.II saw the two-hour "restored" version and it looked nicely-photographed in black-and-white and very detailed about the sport of bullfighting. There were a number of scenes where I started to get bored, to be honest, and I hard time sticking with it but I have no interest in bullfighting, either. It leaves me cold. If I had interest, well, I would have a totally different outlook on the film.Kudos to Stack for doing - at least in some spots - his own bullfighting. That was impressive and shows me the man had guts. The skeet-shooting scene also was real as he was a pretty good marksman.The romantic scenes, as expected, were so-so as "Chuck Regan" (Stack) pursues his bullfighting coach's daughter, "Anita de la Vega" (Joy Page)If you love bullfighting, this film would be a "must-have" because it goes into the "sport" in some detail and even mixes in some live footage (in the long version). I would suggest the longer version, anyway, because that's the way the filmmaker intended the audience to see his work. Given a choice, always see the longer version and then make up your own mind whether it should have been cut or not.