Rita Hayworth oozes star presence as the wife of a club owner who becomes embroiled in a ménage-a-trois with her dangerous husband and down-and-out gambler ex-lover, who has been hired to work at the family club. This classic of Hollywood film noir has been stunningly digitally remastered, and bristles with sexual ambiguity, euphemism and innuendo, played out to perfection by the stunning Hayworth.
Chosen for My Noir by
Briony Hanson, Director of Film for the British Council:
“Darker than Casablanca and with enough MacGuffins to make Hitchcock proud, Gilda is my film noir to beat, never less than when giving definition to the concept of a femme fatale. Caught between Glenn Ford’s lowlife gambler and George Macready’s nasty casino boss, the sumptuous Rita Hayworth’s Gilda causes havoc on all fronts; from her sassy announcement on screen as she flings her hair into the frame, through a legendary, single-gloved striptease to Put the Blame on Mame and on to a dramatic downfall on those seedy, sweaty Buenos Aires streets. Caught between hard-boiled gangster flick and tear-stained women’s picture, it’s about as good as it gets.”