Gilda 1946

     Johnny Farrell is a small-time crooked gambler and he’s just arrived in Argentina.  He wins some money with loaded dice and Ballin Mundson saves him from a gunman wanting to take the money back.  Ballin makes Johnny his right hand man at the casino he owns.  Ballin goes away for a while and when he comes back he’s married.  It’s a BIG surprise to Johnny that Ballin is married but the bigger surprise is that his wife is Gilda.  Johnny and Gilda were together in the States and they both hate each other.

     This movie is definitely film-noir and a thriller.  There is a lot going on at the casino in the background that isn’t spelled out until the end.  Supposedly, gambling was illegal in Argentina at this time.  Ballin manages to keep his doors open by giving to the right people.  I wasn’t sure how this film was going to end.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

110 min, Drama directed by Charles Vidor with Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia, Steven Geray, Joe Sawyer, Gerald Mohr, Mark Roberts, Ludwig Donath, Donald Douglas.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 97% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 238 reviews, The Guardian 4* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Hollywood, California.  Initially this film was going to be done in Technicolor but too many of the color cameras were tied up with other projects.  Rita Hayworth wore a corset while singing “Put the Blame on Mame.”  She had just welcomed her first daughter Rebecca Wells.  Rita smacks Johnny hard on both sides of his face when she comes back to Argentina.  She broke two of Glenn Ford’s teeth but he ignored it until the take was finished.  Rita usually never sang her own songs even though she wanted to and she took voice lessons.  She always lip-synched the songs except for “Put the Blame on Mame” sung at the bar.  The character of Gilda was the inspiration for the character Jessica Rabbit.  There are resemblances to Casablanca in this film.