Review of Gilda (1946) by Alec B — 30 Jan 2016

Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) is a two-bit gambler who falls into a sweet gig where he manages a casino for an enigmatic mogul (George Macready). Unfortunately for Johnny, his boss' new wife (Rita Hayworth) is an old flame that he'd rather forget.

This noir film made Rita Hayworth into a star and it's still acclaimed for its piercing dialogue, lavish costumes, unorthodox take on sexuality, and tight editing. It does lose a few points in my book since Hollywood's internal censors forced director Charles Vidor to tack on a moralizing "happy ending", but I'd argue that Gilda is still worth seeing.

At the same time, I can't help but feel that the story would've been more interesting (and layered) had this movie been made either twenty years earlier or twenty years later.