Gilda

Put the blame on mame Gilda is such an awfully wonderful film. There's so much to mention. Gilda's sexuality is something that is so often presented in this. It makes her awfully interesting. That she wields her own sexuality but also that the men around her project their desires onto her. We see her flirt with men to taunt Johnny but it's revealed later on that she actually never did anything sexual with these men and it was all an act. The put the blame on mame sequence is so interesting and so sensual and seductive and sexy of course but it truly follows the lives of women like Gilda, there were three disasters that were blamed on women, it truly emphasises that femme fatale trope that Golda personifies. Gilda is the archetypal femme fatale, one of my favourites. But I'll have to admit Gilda is a very different femme fatale. She's somewhat of a victim and shows true vulnerability in this film. Possibly the first rendition of Put the blame on mame with the guitar felt more real more stark and it just felt so vulnerable. Gilda projects confidence but she's also in a sense weak and we're reminded that she's living in a man's world. Even put the blame on mame the black dress version you see all these men around her and it was somewhat uncomfortable. And then you see Johnny struggle to control Gilda. Which I think definitely have post war anxieties about the power of women. Gilda is challenging traditional gender stereotypes and this becomes a problem. I still looking back would love to know what happened between Johnny and Gilda before the film began. It's interesting. I also think another interesting thing that compared to every single noir, this did not have a fatal or tragic ending yet ended in a much interesting way, the femme fatale was allowed to live. Which is such an interesting choice because it shows that Gilda is not being punished for the things she did. This film was shot perfectly by Rudolph Maté, seriously the noirish imagery and the shadowy images are just so perfect. The music was perfect too. The dance sequences of Amado Mio just added so much romance and endearingness to this film whereas Put the Blame on Mame was just a wonderful song too. I think some of the lines from the script too have such a staying power. The idea of hate being a very exciting emotion is true. I think we all get caught up in hating people, perhaps more than we love people, and it's a very dangerous emotion too as well as exciting. The cast is fantastic. Joseph Calleia is a great supporting actor. George Macready as Ballin Mundson was terrifying in many ways. Glenn Ford as Johnny Farrell actually captured the essence of his character but his character was really annoying like bfr let me have Gilda 😭😭😭 and omg Anita Ellis' voice for the dubbing was amazing. Rita Hayworth is a goddess, truly one in the cinematic form. The love goddess and she was. But I'm afraid that despite her sexy and seductive and sensual nature that this film has gone overlooked with her performance. It is terribly underrated. She's so charming and charismatic yet startlingly raw and full of emotions. She carries this film on her back, you literally find yourself wanting to see more of her just because of how amazing she is. I love her so much, she definitely is one of my film crushes. The outfits she wore in this too were stunning especially the black strapless dress. She definitely was overlooked for this, people focused on her beautiful which isn't undeniable but her performance speaks volumes.