The works of Spanish writer Vicente Blasco Ibáñez were a staple of silent-era Hollywood, with their exotic settings and melodramatic plots. His 1908 novel *Sangre y arena* (“Blood and Sand”) was adapted into the 1922 film *Blood and Sand*, directed by Fred Niblo and starring legendary silent-era star Rudolph Valentino in one of his most iconic roles. Nineteen years later, the same novel was reimagined with sound and…