Gilda

BFI Film Classics

by Melvyn Stokes

Charles Vidor's classic noir film Gilda has fascinated audiences and critics since its release in 1946. Set in Argentina at the end of World War II, the film stars Rita Hayworth in her best-remembered role, as the feisty and seductive title character, Gilda, caught in a love triangle between tough casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready) and professional gambler Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford). Gilda's success had a long-lasting impact on Hayworth's career and her star persona: 'Put the Blame on Mame', the song she performs in the film, was a best-selling song of 1946, and the atomic bomb tested on Bikini atoll on 1 July 1946 was named 'Gilda' and had a picture of Hayworth on the side. Such was her identification with the role, Hayworth later complained, that 'men went to bed with Gilda and woke up with me'.

Melvyn Stokes's study of the film provides an in-depth account of its production history, including attempts at censorship by the Production Code Administration. He also analyses the film's characterisation and narrative, cinematography, formal devices such as the use of a voiceover narrator, mise en scène and preoccupation with sexual perversity. Stokes places Hayworth's performance in the title role in the context of her film career and star persona, focusing on her complicated ethnic identity as she evolved from being brunette 'Spanish/Latin American' dancer Margarita Carmen Cansino into the auburn-haired movie star 'Rita Hayworth'. Stokes addresses the film's political context – its setting in an Argentina that had entered the war on the Allied side, with a sub-plot involving Nazi skulduggery, and the extent to which the film responded to and reflected social concerns about relations between men and women, female sexuality and masculine identities that had been transformed by the dislocations of wartime and the anxieties of the immediate post-war period. Stokes's illuminating account of the film includes a discussion of its reception history, and its importance for film-makers, critics and scholars as well as its audiences. 

Genres: Film

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Paul Bryant]

I just saw Gilda for the first time and wow, I’m amazed that any of those old time Hollywood movie stars made it past the age of 50 – every single scene, there they all were, lighting up, smoke smoke smoking away, blowing mighty clouds into each other’s faces, stubbing out their cigarettes only to immediately light up another one, smoking and drinking, smoking and kissing, interrupting the eating and kissing to light up another one – frankly, it was gross.
Also, here’s an idea of the dialogue :

Johnny : You shouldn’t be here.
Gilda : Johnny, don’t say that, Johnny.
Johnny : What about your…husband?
Gilda : Oh Johnny. He’s not here. Johnny, don’t you see? Don’t you see, Johnny?
Johnny: See what?
Gilda : Johnny, don’t you see? I need a cigarette, Johnny. You know I do, Johnny.

Anyone playing a drinking game where you down a shot of, say, vodka every time Rita Hayworth says “Johnny” would be stone dead within twenty minutes. So don’t try that.
I hated this movie so much I need to read this analysis to find out what I completely missed.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting study of one of my favourite movies, 'Gilda'. Melvyn Stokes examines King Vidor's 1946 masterpiece as a seminal, if unconventional Noir, focusing on Rita Hayworth's alluring performance, as well as the film's homo-erotic undertones, and its depiction of a post-war world still shadowed by fascism.

[Untimely Gamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many volumes in the BFI Film Classics series tend to reiterate what we already know about the film from the audio commentaries and documentaries on the disc. Stokes's volume about Gilda, by contrast, delves into the academic discussions that do not often appear in even Criterion editions. It dissects the structure of the film, analyzes how Rita Hayworth's stardom affects her portrayal of Gilda, and details the critical response to the film over time. An excellent volume, and one of the best I have read thus far of this series.

[Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of better BFIs. Chapters on production, Hayworth and politics strongest. Good rundown on personnel, though more on Charles Vidor and fascinating Virginia van Upp would be appreciated. Oft derided Nazi-tungsten subplot gets welcome reappraisal. Excellent overview of the movie’s beating heart, the sex dynamics.

[Sophie]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.