Gilda Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Gilda
Year: 1946
Director: Charles Vidor
Country: US
Language: English

Born Margarita Carmen Cansino on Oct 17, 1918, Rita Hayworth was an astounding American actress and dancer. Commonly considered one of the top stars of the 1940's, Hayworth appeared in 65 films throughout her career. A pin-up girl during World War II, the press coined her as  a "love goddess" for her stunning looks and tempting personality. Her most famous performance is in the 1946 noir Gilda, in which she plays an iconic femme fatale.

Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) is a gambling cheat who turns straight to work for an unsettling casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready). Things take a turn for Johnny as his alluring ex-lover (Rita Hayworth) appears as Mundson's wife, and Mundson's machinations begin to unravel. 

 Gilda was a smash hit with audiences and made Rita Hayworth a superstar, but the American press at the time weren't very receptive to it as they thought it was too cynical. European audiences were cut off from American releases until after World War II. When they received the newest batch of film noir (Gilda, Maltese Falcon, Laura etc.) they were greatly impressed because these films matched the public's new more pessimistic outlook. Dark and sexually frank, with a style reminiscent of German expressionism, Charles Vidor's picture has a chilling atmosphere unlike any other. 

Gilda is a bizarro version of Casablanca, where petty squabbles are more important than nationality, hate is often triumphant over love, and the woman has power over her men (Ingrid Bergman seemed more like an object to Bogart). Looking forward to the to the sexually and politically paranoid films of later noir, the overall mood is often violent and chaotic. Hayworth, the goddess herself, is often shot in complete darkness, not even a bar of light across her eyes.

Hayworth had a studio and a publicity department behind her, but it's impossible to deny her natural charisma. One doesn't become a star by themselves, but one doesn't become an icon without great talent. Overall Gilda, with it's snappy dialogue and incredible cinematography, is a very memorable film. Certainly worth the praise it receives.