Customer Reviews

Gilda

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford star in Gilda, a noir thriller set in Buenos Aires. Ford plays Johnny, a down on his luck gambler who is picked up by a casino owner. Johnny quickly becomes the casino owner's right-hand man--with a pact that women and gambling don't mix. Then Johnny's boss comes back from a trip with a new wife, Gilda,played incandescently by Rita Hayworth. Gilda is a typical noir femme fatale. She acts fast and loose but is actually just trying to get her guy jealous. Of course, her guy isn't her husband--its Johnny.

This odd little story is highly likeable for about three quarters of the film, when it makes a strange detour. Fortunately for us, the story gets right back on track at the end.

Ford does a good job as the loyal and jealous Johnny. He is vibrant, athletic and serious. Hayworth's beauty glows and gleams. She is given quite a few song and dance numbers. Her dancing is talented but strangely loose limbed. The movie steams with chemistry between Ford and Hayworth which is fortunate because the plot is more than a little cockeyed. The filming is gorgeously contrasted black and white with the requisite shadowy interiors.

Rita Hayworth's immortal film that haunted her throughout life and career, once quoted about the men in her life as, "They went to bed with Gilda, and woke up with me...".

Infamous and seductive in its most popular days, Gilda is a film that represents some of the best and memorable scenes from the film noir genre. The beauty of this film is in the silent moments. It is in the contrast of the shadows and light in every scene from the moment when Glen Ford enters the film from a darken alley to Rita Hayworth tossing her hair over her shoulder. What is impeccable about the film is the chemistry of the cast, and style of the film itself. Several particular scenes that stand out:

---Gilda's sultry performance of "Put the Blame on Mame".

---Gilda and Johnny dancing for the first time at the club.

---Gilda's curse of damning the woman who wronged Johnny.

---Gilda's declaration of hate for Johnny, " I hate you so much, I'd destroy myself just to take you down with me..."

Indeed. I've hated women like that too, it usually translated into some of the most passionate sex
and most ardent damage to my home, cars, golf clubs, shoes, life, etc. haw haw

The best of the "Holy Cripes, look who's working for my new husband in an Argentine Casino" Noir-nivals.
Rita Hayworth is absolutely stunning in the role as Gilda, and the chemistry and tension between her and
Johnny Farrell (Ford) is incredible. You know instantaneously when they are reunited that somebody got
hosed pretty badly, and the hosing ain't over cause thats just what follows these two.

A 5 star flick except for the last 20-30 minutes which lapses into total predictability, and the underlying
attraction between Hayworth's husband (Ballin) and Johnny Farrell. Fantastic black and white clean transfer,
and a ten minute featurette on Hayworth's career. A devoted heterosexual declares this film 4 Keys.

The first film I ever saw starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, this 40s noir gem is just too hot and steamy for words!! Sure, the Production Code at the time prohibited any graphic or blatant sexual references, but the performances and innuendo more than make up for it.

The rich black and white cinematography, wonderfully constructed sets, and Rita's dance numbers, as if that's not enough to take one's breath away. The strong, sensual heat generated between Hayworth and Ford is guaranteed to make you very hot beneath your collar. Was there ever a better portrayal of a sizzling love/hate entanglement?

There is a hinted homosexual undertone in the relationship between sinister casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready) and his right-hand, Johnny Farrell (Ford), but as soon as Ballin's provocative new wife, Gilda (Hayworth) arrives on the scene, that pretty much goes out the window. The priceless expression on Johnny's face when he discovers that Mundson's bride and his ex-lover are one and the same (amid the famous hair-toss), is a moment that just cannot be beat. Ballin becomes all the more evil and controlling, at first only to Gilda (sensing that she and Johnny knew each other before), but then his bizarre business dealings and plans begin to unravel, leading to a great plot-twist.

Gilda succeeds in arousing Johnny's jealousy through her flirtations with other men, while he tries to keep her supposedly "indecent" behavior from the boss. As much as he claims to despise her, it is obvious that neither one have gotten over the hurt of their "past association". When Johnny has the opportunity to punish her for what he believes to be her sinful behavior, the sparks between them go up another notch. Those slaps that they inflict on each other (love hurts!), and of course, Hayworth's famous "Put The Blame On Mame" mock striptease (dubbed by Anita Ellis) - that one will linger in your head for a long, long time. And that silky black dress - I think I speak for all of the viewing females when I say, I want that dress!!!

With its subtly suggestive dialogue, magnificent performances and the gorgeous stars (who were close lifelong confidantes), "Gilda" is definitely deserving of its place in cinematic history.

It would be nice to see "Affair In Trinidad" (1952) and "The Lady In Question" (1940), both of which paired Hayworth and Ford to have DVD releases. There's just not enough of their powerful chemistry to go around!!!

Rita Hayworth went down in Hollywood history as the Love Goddess. Her title role in *Gilda* (Columbia Pictures, 1946) leaves no doubt why. Yet here she is much more than a sex symbol. For one thing, Rita was a seriously talented actress. For another, she was one of the best dancers in films. To this day her performance in *Gilda* remains unrivaled as a combo of skill, sensuality, sensitivity, and sheer drop-dead pulchritude. Columbia's catchy ad-phrase for the film was, "There never was a woman like Gilda." You'd better believe it. Glenn Ford perfectly fills out the character of Johnny Farrel, the young gambler who hates to love femme fatale Gilda. In return, Gilda loves to hate Johnny. George MacReady offers an outstanding performance as murderous Ballin Mundson, the man Gilda fears.

If you like movies that challenge the viewer to figure out hidden meanings, then *Gilda* is for you. "Maybe that stands for something," Rita-as-Gilda says near the beginning; "Maybe that means something," she says near the end. Halfway through she says, "Any psychiatrist would say that means something." The question of interpretation hangs over the entire film, loaded as it is with symbolism and double-entendres.

On the other hand, you can ignore the subtext and enjoy *Gilda* as a noirish romantic mystery-thriller. It's a beautiful flick to look at in black and white, and it's never boring, even all the decades since it was made. Some reviewers say the plot is difficult to follow. I don't agree; the story is both logical and economical. But that may be because I understand *Gilda* to be a dramatized introduction to the psychological concepts of C.G. Jung. Never mind. If you like your movies to be just movies, *Gilda* tastefully blends ingredients from *Casablanca*, *The Maltese Falcon*, *Notorious* and *The Big Sleep*, then stirs in its own original sauce. In my opinion, it's an improvement upon those classics, as fine as they are by themselves.

I wouldn't call *Gilda* a true film noir, for the reason that at the end the male and female leads are triumphant instead of tormented. Great films of the 1940s that had real "noir" (black) denouements are *Criss Cross*, *Detour*, *Double Indemnity*, *Scarlet Street*, *The Killers* and *The Postman Always Rings Twice*. Still, on their way to a happy ending Johnny and Gilda pass through a landscape that is darker and more suggestive of spiritual abandonment than most '40s film noirs dared explore. At the same time, because of the intense chemistry between the leads, *Gilda* sizzles hotter than any film of that period I can think of.

Love the music too. Five stars. They just don't make 'em like this any more.

In discussions about classic cinema "Gilda" is a movie that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Casablanca (Two-Disc Special Edition). "Gilda" has a darker plot and the characters are not as noble, but story, cast, costumes, and music combine to create screen magic. Think of "Gilda" as a riveting Anti-Casablanca.

Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) is an American drifter who has somehow landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He needs cash to survive and takes his chances using loaded dice to gamble with sailors. Quitting while he is ahead, Johnny leaves the dice game with a big bankroll and is accosted in the port by a gunman. To his surprise, the holdup is thwarted by a passerby, Ballin Mundson (George Macready). One thing leads to another and eventually Johnny becomes Mundson's devoted right hand man and the manager of his very lucrative casino business. After taking an extended overseas business trip, Mundson returns to Buenos Aires with a bride - Gilda (Rita Hayworth). Mundson introduces Johnny and Gilda, hoping these two important people in his life will like each other. He doesn't realize that Gilda and Johnny have known each other in the past, and both have been trying to escape their painful shared history together. Sparks fly between them as Gilda does everything in her power to torment Johnny, and Johnny is equally determined to make Gilda feel cheap and insignificant. After sixty years, the tension between Hayworth and Ford is still palpable.

Rita Hayworth was at the height of her beauty and touted as the sexiest woman alive when "Gilda" was made in 1946. Even today she still scorches the screen as she tosses her hair and performs a clothed strip tease to the torchy song, "Put the Blame on Mame."

This print of "Gilda" has been restored by UCLA with funding from Sony Pictures. The black and white video has been cleaned up beautifully. There are still some white spots that flash from time to time but overall this version looks very good. The sound track is clear with no dead spots or unexpected drops in volume.

Rita Hayworth was a beautiful dancer, but she did not do her own singing. In "Gilda" she is lip syncing to the voice of Anita Ellis. The notable songs, "Put the Blame on Mame" and "Amado Mio" are available on both the Gilda soundtrack album or Anita Ellis Out in Front.

The DVD includes a display of vintage advertising for "Gilda" as well as theatrical trailers. A section called "talent files" offers printed biography and filmography information about director, Charles Vidor, Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, and George Macready. The most prominent bonus is a featurette about the career of Rita Hayworth at Colombia Studios. Interesting to see how Rita looked before the studio changed her hairline with electrolysis, and turned her into a redhead. For those who may not be familiar with her background, Rita was the daughter and granddaughter of professional dancers who had been trained since early childhood to become a talented dancer.


This is a classic film noir where everything works. Highly recommended.

As World War II ends, a young hustler in Buenos Aires, Argentina, meets a wealthy casino owner with whom he has a lot in common. The hustler, Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford), becomes the casino's manager and right-hand man to aristocratic Ballin Mundson's (George Macready). The two men become perfect partners in business and close friends. One day, Mundson returns from vacation with a new wife, Gilda (Rita Hayworth), an attractive, headstrong young woman whom Johnny has met before. Gilda's presence threatens the men's relationship and their equilibrium.

Thanks to her smashing rendition of "Put the Blame on Mame", "Gilda" is Rita Hayworth's best-remembered role. Many have called it a "clothed strip tease". It's certainly a sexy, energetic, eye-catching performance. Rita Hayworth never sang in movies, though. Anita Ellis provided the voice for "Put the Blame on Mame".

"Gilda" owes most of its success to Rita Hayworth's charisma. Love triangles are always popular fodder, but this one doesn't make a bit of sense. The story is incomprehensible. The tension that exists between Gilda and Johnny is constantly alluded to, but never explained. The film features the most hateful romance I've ever seen. "Gilda" might be about people imprisoned by their own desires, but to say it is about anything would be presumptuous. "Gilda" has great style, though, and seductive noir-ish characters. So it's entertaining, even if the story is off the wall.

The DVD: Bonus features include one featurette and some odds and ends. "Rita Hayworth: The Columbia Lady" is a 9-minute documentary that follows Hayworth's career at Columbia Studios, where she made 32 films between 1936 and 1953. It doesn't say much, but there are nice film clips. "Vintage Advertising" displays 8 old movie posters for "Gilda". "Talent File" provides written bios and abridged filmographies for director Charles Vidor and the film's three stars. "Theatrical Trailers" includes 4 old trailers for: "Gilda", "The Loves of Carmen" (which also starred Hayworth and Glenn Ford), "A Man for All Seasons", and "The Last Hurrah". Subtitles are available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. Dubbing is available in French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

I'm 37 years old and far from an old time movie buff. I like noir movies though and have started collecting them for a while now. I also managed to get this movie for $9.99 at Tower Records because somebody goofed and put the wrong price on it, it was supposed to be $19.99. BONUS!!!
I've seen some sexy performances in my day from older actresses (Liz Taylor in 'Cat on a hot tin roof', Grace Kelly in 'Rear Window' to name a couple). But MAN 'O MAN was Rita Hayworth gorgeous in this movie. It is impossible to take your eyes off her. She showed a lot of emotions and range in her role, and throughout the movie I kept thinking to myself "I don't know what she did to tick-off Glenn Ford, but it must've been really, REALLY bad" because his character showed great restraint to her tempting ways (which are rampant throughout the whole movie). Easily THEE sexiest role I have ever seen, regardless of day and age. The story is a little hard to follow (which is why I didn't give it 5 stars), but it doesn't really matter because even if you could follow it, you'd be too distracted by Hayworth's performance and beauty anyway.

Highly recommended.

"Gilda" was Rita Hayworth's vehicle to
cinematic immortality. She plays the
Grande Dame of Femme Fatale; the seductive
High Priestess of all bad girls and
Women of the world. Blatant voyeurism
is more than justified when it comes to
reasons for watching this film. Hayworth is
perfect and she strolls through this movie
with the confidence and sex appeal of a
super model down a runway.

The plot is no disappointment, either. Johnny Farrell (Glen Ford)
wears multiple hats: first, Gilda's "chaperone/protector,"
and later, her husband. In between, Gilda makes
life hell for Johnny (the man who wronged her way back when)
by leading a care-free life of hedonism;
at Johnny's emotional expense, no less. The two are later married
after Ballin Mundson (Gilda's husband and Johnny's boss) fakes his
death to escape the law. Johnny inflicts emotional anguish on
Gilda by restricting her freedom. Gilda rebels and runs away. Her
famous "Put the Blame on Mame" striptrease is her classic
statement of rebellion. From there, more clever twists
and turns finally result in Gilda and Johnny finally recognizing
their true love for each other.

Don't think twice; get this movie. It's guaranteed enjoyment
for any fan of Hollywood's silver screen era. It's also
a "must-buy" for Rita Hayworth fans.

Some of this reminds me of Casablanca (1942) with the "philosopher of the washroom" (Steve Geray) sporting a Peter Lorrie accent and Glenn Ford playing tough like Humphrey Bogart running a night spot in a foreign land, this time Argentina. Rita Hayworth is Gilda, of course, and the forties Marilyn Monroe. I'm sure MM studied this film. The way Monroe does her shoulders and flashes her arm pits as she sings and removes her long-sleeved black gloves in Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953) is virtually copied from Hayworth's performance here. You could check it out.

Ford is your confident, two-fisted bad boy that women love, circa 1945, kind of like an old-fashioned John Travolta from Pulp Fiction (1994). But notice how benign those bad boys used to be. The worst thing he does is cheat at dice. And while he's fast and street wise about most things, he's like a little boy with women. That used to pass for charm. Maybe it still does.

The plot is a little too precious in places and Charles Vidor's attention to detail hit and miss, mostly hit; yet there's a nice mysterious forties Hollywood atmosphere created (even though it's supposed to be Buenos Aires). There's a night life, night time feel to the movie with passwords at the door and evening gowns and dark cars caught in street lamps that helps to recall the forties.

You can see the influence of Gilda in movies coming many years after, Chinatown (1974) and L.A. Confidential (1997) come to mind, the former in the night scenes and the latter because Kim Basinger really looks and behaves more like Rita Hayworth than the Veronica Lake look-alike she portrayed.

Memorable is George Macready as the casino owner, he of the pinched face and the long, curved scar on his right cheek, giving him the sinister, devil-may-care air of a man who has fought and won many duels. I recall he always played villains and made us believe.

I liked the resolution which showed that Gilda was more a tease than anything else and kind of sweet even though she said, "If I had been a ranch, they'd have named me the Bar-Nothing." Quaint and curious is the old Hollywood code which forbade showing her belly button even in a mid-drift and skirt. ...

Hayworth has a sultry and low feminine voice like Laurel Becall (that's the way we liked `em then!) which is nicely displayed as she sings "Put the Blame on Mame, Boys."