Gilda (1946)

"This is the part I really like. This is the part where she does that shit with her hair." -- Red (Morgan Freeman) to Andy (Tim Robbins) as they watch Gilda in Shawshank prison, The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

In Madonna's song "Vogue," there's the line, "Rita Hayworth gave good face." It's a silly line that always sticks in my head. Her face is good. In some ways, it's overly big and her features are broad and expressive. Her cheekbones and jawline are ridiculously defined, and her 40s hairstyle pops with vitality and color even in movies shot in black and white. 

First, I want to say that Glenn Ford deserves equal billing in Gilda, but there's no doubt the hair flip introduction of Gilda (Rita Hayworth) is one of the most icon entrances in film. How can Ford do anything to compete with that? 

Second, there are a couple of other Gilda moments that are almost as iconic: One, when she marries Johnny (Ford) in her black wedding/mourning dress, and two, when she sings the film's final song ("Put the Blame on Me") at the casino. 

The movie is a little difficulty to rate, however, because even with the iconic moments, and the wonderful depth and framing (and lighting) of the cinematography, the plot is 3-stars at best. 

I do find it intriguing that this is a romance based on the emotion of hate rather than love, but that's fitting for a noir. Gilda and Johnny hate each other, but for most of the movie we're not really sure why. They both end up under Ballin (George Macready) for strange reasons. Ballin just happens to be there to save Johnny from a mugging, and then he hires Johnnny to work for him. Then, after happening to meet Gilda on a short "business" trip away from the casino, he marries her after knowing her for just a day -- totally ignoring his philosophy not to allow women and business to mix. (But she's not a woman, he will explain to Johnny. She's my wife.)

Little did Ballin know that Gilda and Johnny were former lovers. But why did Johnny dump her? Is it because she's not "decent"? That's the word that's played around with throughout the film (which is funny, because I've just re-read John Updike's classic short story "A&P" that plays around with the same idea). What exactly does it mean to be decent?

Gilda doesn't seem to be "decent" because she's a woman who apparently likes to sow her wild oats, even after she marries Ballin. But even she recognizes that "the harvest will come due."  Why she marries Ballin is never really explained. The closest we get is that she was "rebounding" from being dumped by Johnny.  (Detective Maurice -- Joseph Calleia -- later tells Johnny that all of her "wild oats sowing" was just an act, "every bit of it," but how would he really know that? Sounds more like a way to satisfying the production code censors to me...) 

Johnny can't stand that she married Ballin, but like the good employee he is, he tries to keep her "decent" for Ballin. When Ballin is apparently killed, Johnny takes over the casino and the tungsten cartel, as well as Gilda. They immediately marry, but Johnny has no interest in her. He marries her as a way to gain "revenge," by controlling her and "making her faithful to Ballin in death" when he couldn't make her faithful to him (Ballin, or maybe himself, for that matter) in life. 

Yeah, it's a weird twist, using hate at the emotion for romance. At one point, Gilda tells Johnny, "I hate you, too," and then they enter a passionate embrace and kiss. 

Eventually, Ballin returns, only having faked his death. He's not happy that Johnny has married Gilda. For whatever reason, Ballin was willing to give Johnny (and Gilda) everything, but what he could not allow -- and never agreed -- to give them was each other. 

That's one of the plot points I can't really gloss over -- why Ballin somehow brought these two individuals together so randomly, and why he was attracted to them -- especially Johnny... it's more obvious why he would be attracted to Gilda, as every single man she meets immediately falls under her spell,

Apparently, Ford and Hayworth would have an ongoing affair with one another even while being involved in a series of marriages with other people. They would also make five films together between 1940 and 1965. I'm guessing this is the best film of the five, but of course now I have to make it my mission this month to watch the other four. 

Rating: 4/5 stars