All film noirs need deceit, betrayal, dialogue hard as diamonds--and dames even harder than that. ButGildais the only one with the dame front and center, and for good reason. Rita Hayworth shimmers in the 1946 classic, which spins on a tortured plot involving the title character (Hayworth); her imperious husband (George Macready), a ruthless casino owner and head of an Argentine tungsten cartel (!); and Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford), Gilda's ex-lover and now her husband's go-fer. But no one watchesGildafor the plot, except to learn that all the characters have secrets--perhaps even ones they would kill for. Hayworth captures Gilda's vulnerability beneath her devil-may-care front ("If I'd been a ranch, they would have named me the Bar Nothing"). Not to be missed: Hayworth's slinky striptease to "Put the Blame on Mame."--Anne Hurley

Cast: Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, Steven Geray, George Macready, Joseph Calleia

Director: Charles Vidor

Genre: Drama

Screen Writer: Ben Hecht, Jo Eisinger, Marion Parsonnet, E.A. Ellington

DVD Release Date: November 7, 2000

Runtime: 110 minutes

Studio: Sony Pictures