March Mardness #16 GLENN FORD

Welcome to Day 16 of MARCH MADNESS!
Every day in March, ALL GOOD THINGS will highlight a Classic film Super-star, you know, the type renowned for really, really B.A.D. to sweetest-dearest-most darling!

DAY #15 Results: RITA HAYWORTH - Almost a tie! One vote gave the win to GILDA, and only 1 point behind was the lovely Maria /"You Were Never Lovelier" 34 - 33 votes!

TODAY the spotlight shines on GLENN FORD. Another actor who "had the chops" to play gentle romantic leads but could become downright "beastly" in tougher roles.
Which do you prefer: LION: rough n' tuff! or LAMB: Sweet & soulful?

March Madness #15 RITA HAYWORTH

Welcome to Day 15 of MARCH MADNESS!
Every day in March, ALL GOOD THINGS will highlight a Classic film Super-star, you know, the type renowned for really, really B.A.D. to sweetest-dearest-most darling!

DAY #14 Results: SPENCER TRACY - no contest for Day 14, the crowds love Father Flanagan "Boys Town" way more than that scary Dr. Jekyll.

TODAY the spotlight shines on RITA HAYWORTH. This Hollywood beauty was a triple threat: could sing, dance and act! Beloved for dear-sweet-lamby-pie roles AND for her bad-bad-BAD girls! Which do you prefer: LION: rough n' tuff! or LAMB: Sweet & soulful?

There never was a woman like Gilda.....

I hadn't seen Gilda in at least 15 years, so I was definitely estatic that TCM was showing it on Tuesday. And it still rocks 54 years later. Rita Hayworth is just amazing in the title role. She is totally mesmerizing in what would be her signature role. You know the film The Shawshank Redemption that features Rita as a major plot point. The scene where Gilda's husband brings in Johnny Farrell and asks is she decent, and Gilda says yeah and does that thing with her hair. And they screen it for the prisoners on a daily basis and that scene is where they all just go nuts. Yeah, I was the same way, and since I recorded Gilda on my DVD recorder, I was able to play and rewind that scene at least 5 times. It's that good. On my list of favorite screen performances of all time, this one by Rita makes the cut easily. She displayed a light touch and handled the dramatic scenes very well. She even got to sing and dance a couple of times. And even gets to play a guitar. And Glenn Ford doesn't get enough credit for his solid turn as Johnny Farrell. His character is in a tough spot as Gilda is his ex and now married to his new boss. Ford brings all his considerable acting ability to the screen for this one as he gets to act flippant, brave, serious, and heart broken. He and Hayworth make a dynamite pair. Gilda is an amazing film with two great performances and deserves it's spot in the annals of great film noirs. Show stopping scenes beside the aforementioned hair flipping scene by Hayworth is her sensational rendition of Put the blame on Mame. And the  tense confrontation between the two ex lovers. Backed by a wonderful music score and gorgeous cinematography plus the beauty that is Rita Hayworth. I'm tempted to watch Gilda once again.