1.11.2022
Rita Hayworth as Gilda
Trigger Warning: There is are two brief & non-graphic notations of suicide in the review.
Thoughts:
The 1946 movie, Gilda, is in a word, legendary. It is the Columbia Pictures film that made Rita Hayworth a star and legend in her own right. Starring opposite Glenn Ford, these two are a match made in silver screen heaven. I can see why Rita was chosen specifically for this film as her big break in Hollywood- as at the time she was the number one pin-up gal at the time, and was quite popular amongst sailors as they were overseas.
What catches my attention most are the set designs and apparel used. Both the art-deco design and costuming are period-appropriate, glamourous, and strike a nice balance between opulence (which is a bonus since the movie takes place in a wealthy underground casino), and simplicity. Women wear gorgeous glittered gowns, with soft hair, while men wear tuxes with simple ties all whilst smoking cigarettes and drinking cocktails.
As for the film, it's an interesting triangle love story surrounding the titular character Gilda- a woman who is on the rebound from a broken relationship that occurred long before the timing of the film. It's implied that the person broke her heart sometime in her not-too-distant past, and it's all too soon when we realize that that person happens to be Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford). This is the same man (Farrell) who is the right-hand man to the Casino owner, Ballin Mundson- who also happens to be Gilda's new husband.
An interesting turn of events occurs at about the halfway point in the film when a patron of the casino opens fire at Ballin, and then runs into a separate room, moments before firing a single shot, ending his own life. It is confirmed after a bodyguard in the film (followed by Johnny and another bouncer) enters the room and exits to tell a waiting Johnny "Esta Muerto"(which I typed into Google translator to mean "is dead"). Turns out Ballin is an owner of tungsten -with signatures and papers in his behind-the-portrait safe (a safe that he gives Johnny the combination to as a token of good faith). The tungsten we find out is part of a cartel's property of which Mr. Mundson held ownership of until World War II ended- only he did not want to give up ownership of the tungsten back to the mob which begins to follow and become a threat to Mundson- and later Johnny.
During the celebration of Carnival (a rather fun segment of the film), Gilda and Johnny begin dancing cheek to cheek as Gilda begins to hint at her deepening attraction for Johnny. Johnny, who is confused in his feelings pushes her away before stalking off, leaving Gilda to then leave the club, leaving but a simple note to Johnny as to her whereabouts. It is after going back to the house that Gilda and Johnny admit their love for each other under the guise of the "exciting emotion" of hatred and share a passionate kiss. Ballin over-hearing this conversation from the front door slams the door and leaves the house. He heads for the airport with Johnny in tow. At the airport, Johhny and some officers watch as Ballin's plane explodes in the sky, Ballin having committed suicide.
After this, Gilda and Johnny wed- only things are not as it appears. The twist in the final third of the film was surprising. I felt that the stories of Gilda, Johnny, and Ballin were tied up nicely, and in such a way that really makes one root for love- no matter the path traveled to get there.
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