In 1946, a third "atomic" bomb was detonated in America, shortly after the two atomic bombs that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki and not long before the one at Bikini Atoll in Marshall Islands.
And that bomb was ...
The said film was said to have the atomic power of explosive power of two atomic bombs, which instead of its atomic charge has the figure of Gilda, Rita Hayworth.
But let's take things from the beginning.
Shortly after the war, Johnny (Glenn Ford) finds himself in Buenos Aires (for reasons not revealed to us). Johnny, petty thief and mixed up, has separated from the love of his life and is trying to find his way back. He meets a casino owner, Ballin, (George Macready) who makes him his right-hand man. When Ballin goes on a trip after a while, he returns with a new wife, Gilda...
From the first moment they exchange glances, Johnny and Gilda seem to hate each other deeply, but we understand they are old acquaintances.
But as the story progresses, we see the lust and love in their eyes, but they don't confess it, they don't fulfill it until the end of the film. Around this story of mad love and lust are interwoven other stories of jealous husbands, Nazis who have taken refuge in Argentina (don't forget the film was shot just after WWII), inventions made to take over the world, suicides, psychological games and resurrections.
And in the end, once again, good wins. (as everyone expected to happen just after the WWII)
But let's tell the truth. The movie is not that great, neither script-wise nor director-wise. Some have described it as an attempt to mimic Casablanca in a post-war but post-war version with the antagonist this time being the villain so that the central couple can be given the allotment after the much-needed catharsis to stay together, in love forever (unlike Casablanca).
But what captivated the audience, what made this film a legend was the profound eroticism that exuded in every scene in which the two leads, especially Rita Hayworth, appeared. The actress, a professional dancer and singer, filled the screen with her presence, knowing how to provoke the audience without being labeled obscene by the famous Hayes censorship commission that controlled all films at the time.
In the famous glove scene, Rita Hayworth wearing a black sexy but within the bounds of respectability dress with high black gloves. (Since then we would never again see gloves of this kind in an innocent way). During the song "Put the Blame on Mame" (the one we have heard several times in the film), she does a striptease without removing anything else, other than her gloves. And thus was written the story of Gilda as a woman model of eroticism, and the film won a place in the history.As Baudrillard claims, "charm is what is implied" (because through the implication, it promises future beauty). So too, Gilda through her dance movements, her slow and torturous glove removal, becomes more alluring because it implies promises, and the viewer expects.
This is exactly what this film bases its success on.
The love story between Johnny and Gilda was implied throughout the plot development until this promise of two great opposing poles could finally come together to cause their own atomic explosion.The myth of Gilda created a series of references: In "Bicycle Thieve," De Sica hangs a poster of Gilda while his bicycle is being stolen. In 'Notting Hill', the famous actress (Julia Roberts) uses Rita Hayworth's phrase "They go to bed with Gilda, they wake up with me" to describe her love affairs
But the most important reference, is the movie Shawshank Redemption, based on the book by Stephen King, where Gilda is the reason for the action of the movie
This is the part I really like. This is when she does that shit with her hair.
I think everyone who has long hair (or not) has done at least the hair flip as Gilda does in the movie.
*Rumor has it that on both the atomic bombs that were detonated later there was the photo of Rita Hayworth
Thank you for reading!
