Gilda is directed by Charles Vidor. It sees Glenn Ford play a small time gambler Johnny Farrell. Who after cheating in a game of chance, finds himself with a gun in his back. This where George macready's Ballin Mundson comes into the picture. After fighting off the would be mugger they become friends. That is until Johnny gets caught trying his luck in another Casino. This time only to find out the casino belongs to Ballin, the two of them exchange ideas and Johnny agrees to work for him as the manager of his Casino. After a trip abroad Ballin comes back with a new wife. Johnny's Ex, Gilda played by the enigmatic Rita Hayworth.

The film is well made, and is shot in typical noir style. The story itself is fairly basic and offers no real surprises. The first half of the film is engrossing and builds up nicely, however the second half felt dull and bloated. The film would of been better off if it had twenty minutes cut out, the script would of felt a-lot tighter and better paced at ninety minutes.

The biggest strength of the film comes from the excellent performances. The three way dynamic between Johnny, Gilda and Ballin, is engrossing and fascinating to watch as the power struggle switches between the characters thought the duration of the film.

Over-all the films script was written well enough to keep me invested, and the ending makes up for the ponderous middle act. The performances are the main attraction of this film, especially the chemistry between Ford and Hayworth. The film isn't the best noir out there, but one that's still worth watching.

You can put the blame on Mame, but you'd be hard pressed to find a femme fatale in a hotter role than Rita Hayworth in "Gilda". Not only that, but she's an all time champion button pusher of the first order; her quips with Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) are filled with double entendre and ice pick precision. Don't even get me started on the legs.

The story was moving along pretty interestingly for me until it got to the part about Ballin Mundson's (George Macready) involvement in a tungsten cartel - what!?!? Tungsten? It's true that tungsten is used in electric light bulb filaments, but to form the basis of a story about Nazi agents and cornering the market on an element other than gold, silver or diamonds is probably asking for trouble. In fact, I almost broke out laughing when the tungsten connection came up in the story. It sounded just too preposterous.

But that wasn't really the focus of the story anyway. The principal heat here came from the fatalistic trio of Mundson, Farrell and no last name Gilda (Hayworth), who finished the picture by acquiring a couple. While watching the film, I managed to make note of a number of connections to 1942's "Casablanca". There was the airport scene of Mundson preparing to make his getaway, along with the casino connection, even if he didn't have the smooth moves of a Rick Blaine. I also got a kick out of Detective Obregon's dismissal of a murder charge against Uncle Pio (Steven Geray), reminiscent of the Claude Rains character in the closing scene of my favorite picture.

But when all is said and done, it's probably Hayworth you'll remember here best for the way she puts her men through the wringer and keeps on smiling. In any other context you might consider her character to be a candidate for the asylum, as amoral and manipulative as they come. All of which left me with the impression that the ending wasn't very realistic. Even with Mundson out of the way, it didn't seem it would take much for Gilda to start the game all over again when another pretty boy came her way.