starring Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready
written by Marion Parsonnet, Jo Eisinger
directed by Charles Vidor
110 minutes
Ballin Mundson (George Macready) hires degenerate gambler Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) to help him run his illegal casino on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Johnny's world gets rocked after Mundson returns from a trip with his new wife, Gilda (Rita Hayworth). Gilda's presence and her actions make life difficult for Johnny who on more than one occasion hides her bad behavior from Mundson.
Mundson is wanted by the Argentine police for things more criminal than running an illegal casino. Mundson makes a run for it and seems to have been killed. Johnny takes over the casino as the executor of Mundson's will. He marries Gilda after which he gives her the cold shoulder. She takes it as long as she can but eventually runs away to Montevideo. Johnny surreptitiously lures her back to Buenos Aires. Once she discovers that she's been had she turns the tables on him but then Mundson resurfaces.
Thoughts
I saw this movie as part of the 2026 Noir City DC film festival at the AFI Silver Theater. Eddie Muller, the Czar of Noir, introduced the movie.
I've seen this movie once before probably over 25 years ago. I don't rightly recall what I thought of it back then. It is a complex movie. What becomes clear, over the course of the movie, is that Johnny and Gilda have a shared past. I think that if you take this movie at face value it can be a bit frustrating but if you go in understanding that Johnny and Gilda don't meet for the first time in this movie then I think it is much more palatable.
The core of this movie is Johnny's and Gilda's combative relationship. Eddie Muller suggested in his introduction that Johnny is bisexual and is in some sort of a sexual relationship with Mundson, his boss. I looked for it but I couldn't see it. The movie to me is about a man and a woman who once were in love but came apart and despite still wanting to get back to where they were they are so hurt by the experience that they don't know how to deal with their former partner.
Notes
I have seen Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, and George Macready in other films. Other actors who were in this movie that I have seen in other films include Joseph Calleia, Steven Geray, and Joe Sawyer.
The only other film I have seen that Charles Vidor directed was Cover Girl (1944), which also starred Rita Hayworth.
No comments:
Post a Comment