- Like many moviegoers of my generation, I first learned about Rita Hayworth from some combination of The Shawshank Redemption and the lyrics to Madonna's Vogue. (Sharing that feels like a kind of strange confession.) Regardless, Hayworth was one of those Hollywood stars whose reputation always seemed to exceed her filmography. But then, about fifteen years ago, I saw Gilda for the first time and suddenly understood. Plenty of actresses make films, but relatively few of them make a film. Gilda is unthinkable without Hayworth, and sometimes that's enough to make someone a star.
- Strangely enough, the story starts off by establishing a relationship between two men, narrator Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) and his employer, Ballin Mundson (George Macready). When we first encounter Johnny, he's cheating at a dice game. Afterword, the imperious Ballin rescues him from a mugger, and Johnny repays the favor by stacking a few black jack decks at Ballin's casino. Rather than kick him out, Ballin hires Johnny as a floor manager, and the two men become some rough approximation of friends. Actually, Ballin has another friend, too, in the form of a concealed dagger in his cane. As Ballin elaborates, "It is a most faithful and obedient friend: it is silent when I want it to be silent, but talks when I want to talk."
- Although both men agree that "gambling and women do not mix," Ballin returns from a vacation with a surprising revelation: he's gotten married. In one of the great entrances in film history, Gilda (Hayworth) whips her head into the frame, stunning the audience nearly as much as she surprises Johnny. "You'd think a bell would have rung," he notes, "or you'd think I'd have had some instinct of warning." You see, Gilda and Johnny have a history with one another. Although we never learn the exact details, they act very much like former lovers now devoted to spiting each other. As Ballin wryly notes, "hate can be a very exciting emotion." Every time Gilda dances, sings, or tosses her hair, Johnny's scowl deepens. But after Ballin is presumed dead in a plane crash, Gilda and Johnny rush to get married. Certainly marriage will solve their problems, right?
- At one point in the film, Gilda ropes Johnny into dancing with her. Johnny, who spends much of the film looking like he's swallowed a brick, asks, "What do you think you're trying to do?" Gilda responds, "I'm not even trying very hard, but I'm doing it." Brilliant exchanges like these (strongly implying an uncredited Ben Hecht) and Gilda's constant cavorting undeniably make this Hayworth's film. In one sense, that's a shame, because it also features career-topping performances by Ford and Macready, some great character actors (Steven Geray, Joseph Calleia), outstanding set designs, and the best direction that Charles Vidor ever managed. And let's not forget the film's eminently quotable lines, like "Pardon me, but your husband is showing" or "If I'd been a ranch, they would've named me the Bar Nothing." As is also the case for its title character, Gilda's every move proves to be something spectacular.
