Film Annotation: Gilda

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Film Annotation
Gilda
There are still certain movies that can sizzle the audience, no matter how often they have seen
them. One such movie is "Gilda". This 1946 film of Charles Vidor has been set in Argentina at
the end of the Second World War. In the center stage, there is a woman who is caught in a love
triangle with a gambler (Glenn Ford), his ex-lover and his boss (George Macready), who is our
husband now. The characters in the movie are so full of tension that it is always an exceptional
experience to watch the movie. One party to reason is Rita Hayworth. It appears that the role of
femme fatale has been custom-made for her. This role provided a secure place to Rita among the
stars (Doane, 1991). As an actress, she has always been very talented, but she achieved success
only after custom building changes made over the years. Rita was born as Margarita Cansino.
Rita and her father were professional dancers. Although they used to perform, but later was not
immediately liked by the audiences. 20th Century Fox was her first studio, but they decided to
drop Rita only after a few movies. However, her first husband, who was also her manager,
encouraged her to undergo a painful electrolysis for changing her hair color and hairline in order
to change her image. Indeed, it changed and Margarita Cansino returned as Rita Hayworth, and
entered into a contract with Columbia (Mahar, 2006).
Everything was aligned in the making of Gilda. Due to this reason, the team off the movie could
not be more stronger. Two great talents associated with the blue River cinematographer Rudolph
Mate and the costume designer, Jean Louis (Balio, 1993). These two persons can be held
primarily responsible for the success of Rita. Mate is known for large cinematography. A
particular depth can be seen in black and white of Mate. That has remained unmatched (Dyer,
1993).

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Gilda has one of the greatest movie wardrobes. Therefore it is not surprising that the movie is
known for its glamour. As the popularity of Rita was growing, the studio decided to invest
thousands of dollars for dressing the "Love Godess" of the film. However the film is best known
for the gowns worn by Rita. One gown, in particular has become iconic. The strapless black satin
gown that she wears while singing "Put the Blame on Mame" was inspired by the famous
painting, Madam X by John Singer Sargent. The gown was also considered a piece of
engineering, apart from its beauty. The audiences were amazed as it defied gravity.
However, even if the movie was a spectacular hit among the viewers and Rita immediately
became a star, the reviews given by American critics were only slightly encouraging or even
indifferent. On the other hand, the French critics realized early that it was part of something
important taking place in American films (Grossberg, 1997). Among others, Gilda was,
presented to the French audiences in 1946, after they had remained cut off from the American
releases as a result of the World War II. There was a feeling of something novel with these films,
a mood skeptical, thrilling and pessimistic. However, Gilda can also be described as confusing.
In the movie, hatred is more powerful than allow. The husband of Gilda off one or two days,
Ballin Mundson makes a confession to Gilda Penny says that it can be very thrilling sentiment,
haven't you noticed that? This role has been played by George Macready with beautiful and
disturbing mixture of insecurity and impotence. Later on, Gilda also echoes these words into
Johnny's ears. But it needs to be noted that Gilda was not intended to be clear. The purpose
appears to plunge the audience into such an emotionally claustrophobic ambiance that even
Johnny's voice-over cannot provide enlightenment or escape (Higham and Greenberg. 1968). In
fact, the voiceover drops away in the last section, and the result is that his feelings about Gilda in
the concluding scenes cannot be disclosed.