Hot Blood (1956)

83% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
57% of users liked it
(123 ratings)

If Hot Blood is remembered at all today, it is for its ludicrous advertising blurb "Jane Russell shakes her tambourines and drives Cornel Wilde!" Set in the gypsy community of contemporary Los Angeles, the film stars Wilde as aspiring dancer Stephen Torino, who is tricked by his brother Marco Luther… More If Hot Blood is remembered at all today, it is for its ludicrous advertising blurb "Jane Russell shakes her tambourines and drives Cornel Wilde!" Set in the gypsy community of contemporary Los Angeles, the film stars Wilde as aspiring dancer Stephen Torino, who is tricked by his brother Marco Luther Adler into an arranged marriage with tempestuous Annie Caldash Jane Russell. Annie is willing to give the union a go, but Torino wants none of it. Several risque complications and lively musical numbers later, Torino changes his mind. Nicholas Ray imbues Hot Blood with the same erotic/neurotic energy he brought to such earlier cult favorites as Johnny Guitar and Rebel without a Cause, but the magic just isn't there this time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Nicholas Ray
Written By: Jesse Lasky Jr.
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Musical & Performing Arts

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1956 Limited
Studio: Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Definitely one of the more intriguing and neglected of Ray's second-degree efforts.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
If not Nicholas Ray's greatest movie, then surely the rapturous culmination of his palpable desire to do a musical
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ray milks the comedy element for all it's worth, and the musical numbers are staged surprisingly well by a director mainly known for his gritty dramas.
, Film4
All the lively song-and-dance routines and steamy shots of a scantily clad Russell can't make up for the crass dialogue and boring melodramatics.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
An oddity, then, but one distinguished by Ray's characteristic refusal to patronise or glamorise his characters.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An always lively presentation despite its preposterous storyline.