Rita Hayworth

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

The Lady from Shanghai

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Michael and Elsa in the hall of mirrors

Early on in The Lady from Shanghai there’s a key piece of dialogue explaining the title. Orson Welles’s Michael O’Hara, an Irish sailor between jobs, meets a woman (Rita Hayworth, Welles’s wife at the time) in New York. Michael is on foot, Elsa is in a horse-drawn carriage taking a turn around Central Park. In clear “I am hitting on you” dialogue, he charms her with stories about all the wickedest places in the world he’s been to. The Far East is high on the list, with Macau and Shanghai among the places mentioned. Elsa’s been to both those cities and a few more on his list besides. Gambling? he offers. Kind of, … Read more