Runtime: 110 minutes
Directed by: Charles Vidor
Starring: Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia, Steven Geray
From: Columbia
Yes, I viewed this plus Murder by Contract (that review will be posted around this time tomorrow) on the Criterion Channel. Recently, they started a Sunday night double feature A movie much more than just Rita Hayworth’s iconic introduction. If you’re like me, you’ve seen in .gif form Hayworth popping into frame and flipping her hair at the same time. Gilda made Rita a star; however, while the brightest star she wasn’t the only highlight that helped make this unforgettable.
Glenn Ford moves to Argentina; he’s a scruffy gambler who befriends George Macready, the rich owner of an illegal casino. He meets & marries Hayworth, who is not faithful to her new husband. The particulars won’t be dwelled on; instead, I’ll note that the film takes its time letting the story-full of bizarre elements & details somehow combined together, admittedly-slowly unfurl.
As both Ford and Macready play characters who act like an A-hole towards Rita (if All Men Are Bastards is an acronym not invented by me, those that believe in such things will apply that to the movie), thankfully there’s the obligatory wacky characters you’d meet in an illegal Argentinian casino—my favorite being Uncle Pio, an underling at the joint who was rather funny.
For those uneasy at seeing a woman being treated poorly-not to mention more than a few “of their time” ideas and themes-there are still elements to enjoy. The cinematography from Rudolph Mate & the costumes from Jean Louis are both stellar & can be appreciated by everyone. That and Hayworth are probably the details you should focus on rather than the peculiar, particular details of the plot.
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