Charles Vidor

Blind Alley

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Mary Shelby and her doctor husband

A film about the all-conquering power of Freudian psychoanalysis, Blind Alley lasts just a bit longer than a session with a shrink and in its 69 minutes attempts to convince us that the root of all evil lies in our relationship with our parents. It’s a bit mad but highly entertainingly done, and in the background there’s something lurking for any would-be psychoanalyst, in the relationship between an incidental couple, Mr and Mrs Curtis, and the “constant companion” Mrs C calls Dick. Parse that one. But neither Dick nor the Curtises is who the film is about. It’s about a professor of psychoanalysis whose weekend cottage is invaded mid-soiree by a dangerous criminal … Read more

Gilda

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Rita Hayworth in femme fatale pose with cigarette

A froth of noir, romance and melodrama aerated using Rita Hayworth as a whisk, Gilda exploits the star’s status as the number-one pinup girl for American troops fighting overseas during the Second World War. It’s the Rita Hayworth movie, not just in the eyes of posterity but according to its own estimation of itself. “Starring Rita Hayworth” it says, alongside nobody else’s name in the opening credits, while a massive fanfare blares as the big, big sparkly letters dance on the screen. And, surely, what with Hayworth being a triple threat – she acts, she sings, she dances – this is going to deliver. Surely? The noirish story focuses on a pair of … Read more