Gilda

Dir: Charles Vidor

1946

*****

When most people think of Charles Vidor’s 1946 noir thriller they think of Rita Hayworth flicking her hair back and dancing along to ‘Put the Blame on Mame’. Fair enough, it was an iconic character with a performance to match, but I’ve always thought the best thing about Gilda was Glenn Ford. He is the one that always drew my attention, clearly keen to get back into acting after serving three years in the navy during the Second World War. Still, you can’t argue with Hayworth’s ultimate femme fatale, the character has gone on to inspire many an actor, writer and director from the likes of Jessica Rabbit, The Spice Girls, The Shawshank Redemption and an atomic bomb. Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford), a small-time American gambler newly arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, wins a lot of money cheating at craps, and has to be rescued from a robbery attempt by a complete stranger, Ballin Mundson (the brilliant George Macready). Mundson tells him about an illegal high-class casino, but warns him not to practice his skills there. Farrell ignores his advice, cheats at blackjack, and is taken by two men to see the casino's owner, who turns out to be Mundson himself. Farrell talks Mundson into hiring him and quickly gains his confidence. However, the unimpressed washroom attendant, Uncle Pio (Steven Geray), keeps calling him "Mr. Peasant". Mundson decides to take a trip and leaves Farrell in charge for while and he excels at the opportunity. When Mundson returns from his trip he does so with a beautiful and spirited young woman - his new wife, Gilda (Rita Hayworth). It is immediately apparent that Johnny and Gilda once had a romance that ended badly, though both deny it when Mundson questions them. Johnny visits Gilda alone in the bedroom she shares with her husband, and the two have an explosive confrontation. While it is unclear just how much Mundson knows of Gilda and Johnny's past relationship, he appears to be in ignorance when he assigns Farrell to keep an eye on Gilda. Johnny and Gilda are both consumed with their hatred of each other, as Gilda cavorts with men at all hours in increasingly more blatant efforts to enrage Johnny, and he grows more abusive and spiteful in his treatment of her. Mundson is visited by two German businessmen. Their secret organization had financed a tungsten cartel, with everything put in Mundson's name in order to hide their connection to it. However, when they decide that it is safe to take over the cartel after the end of World War II, Mundson refuses to transfer his ownership of it to his backers. The Argentine police are interested in the Germans; government agent Obregon (Joseph Calleia) introduces himself to Farrell to try to obtain information, but the American knows nothing about that aspect of Mundson's operations. When the Germans return later, Mundson kills one of them. Farrell and Gilda have another hostile confrontation, which begins with them angrily declaring their hatred for each other, then ends with them passionately kissing. After seeing or overhearing them, Mundson flees to a waiting retractable gear airplane. Farrell and Obregon witness its short flight as the plane explodes shortly after takeoff and plummets into the ocean. Farrell concludes that Mundsen committed suicide, unaware Mundson has parachuted to safety and faked his own death. Gilda inherits his estate. Johnny and she immediately marry, but while Gilda married him for love, Johnny is avenging their mutual betrayal of Mundson. He stays away, but has her guarded day and night out of contempt for her and loyalty to Mundson. Gilda tries to escape the tortured marriage a number of times, but Johnny, now rich and powerful, thwarts every attempt, trapping her in the relationship that has become a prison for them both. Obregon finally confiscates the casino and informs Farrell that Gilda was never truly unfaithful to Mundson or to him, prompting Farrell to try to reconcile with her. At that moment, Mundson reappears, armed with a gun, to kill them both, but Uncle Pio manages to fatally stab him in the back. Then Obregon turns up, and Johnny tries to take the blame for the murder. Uncle Pio finally credits Johnny for being a true gentleman, while insisting that he had killed Mundson. Obregon, however, is uninterested in arresting anyone since Mundson is already legally dead. Farrell gives Obregon the incriminating documents from Mundson's safe. Farrell and Gilda finally reconcile, apologizing for the many emotional wounds they have inflicted on each other. It’s a great thriller and I loved the fake death but the characters are all over the place. No one is ever what they seem but not in a clever way. I think it is forgiven all its minor faults though, due to just how stylish it all is. The direction of the film has often been criticized but I think that’s very unfair. Charles Vidor got so much out of his cast and if you look back at all their films they all became better actors because of him and their time on Gilda. After all, he started with two actors who refused to slap each other, to having two actors with missing teeth. The character of Gilda was so famous that Rita Hayworth once stated "They fell in love with Gilda and woke up with me." It’ll be the role she will always be known for and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, although it is often forgotten that she wasn’t just a pretty face – her performance is outstanding. It is no surprise that she was a WW2 pin up for many a solder. While Gilda was in release, an atomic bomb due to be tested at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean's Marshall Islands bared an image of Hayworth, a reference to her bombshell status. The fourth atomic bomb ever to be detonated was decorated with a photograph of Hayworth cut from the June 1946 issue of Esquire magazine. Above it was stenciled the device's nickname, "Gilda", in two-inch black letters. Although the gesture was undoubtedly meant as a compliment, Hayworth was deeply offended. I wonder what she made of Jessica Rabbit?