Gilda
You're a child, Gilda. A beautiful greedy child. And it amuses me to feed you beautiful things because you eat with such a good appetite.
When I went to Disney World in October for my birthday, it was my first time visiting all the parks at the Orlando location. While Magic Kingdom will always be my favorite, I quickly fell in love with the world the Walt Disney Company created with Hollywood Studios. From 1989 through early 2008, the park was called Disney-MGM Studios, and from 1989 through the summer of 2017, the park included The Great Movie Ride inside a replica of TLC's Chinese Theater. The ride took guests through several eras of film, including 1952's Singin' in the Rain, the movie that revolutionalized color in film, The Wizard of Oz.
On a plaque beneath a copper-colored statue of a filmmaker in Hollywood Studios, the Walt Disney Company described the park as a representation of the Hollywood that never was. Walking through the entrance into Hollywood studios is like walking through a time machine back into the 1940s. Like all of Disney World, it feels like a fantasy, but as the plaque says, it feels like the fantasy of what Hollywood could have been.
I've always had a fascination with Old Hollywood, but the obsession only increased after visiting Hollywood Studios and getting to live in that world for a day. From the Tower of Terror ride in the Hollywood Hotel to the streets lined with palm trees meant to resemble Sunset Boulevard, it really does feel like you're on the set of an Old Hollywood film. After Disney, I felt inspired to do an Old Hollywood photoshoot and decided that once the strikes were over and then after my Christmas movie series was over, I would cover an Old Hollywood movie on Movie Mondays.
While Marilyn Monroe may be the first actress who comes to mind when people think about Hollywood stars, I find myself far more fascinated with someone who came about a decade before her: Rita Hayworth. I remember watching clips from Gilda when I was in college studying film, specifically her performance of "Put the Blame on Mame." Rita is truly captivating in this scene, and it's understandable why she became known as The Love Goddess.
Rita Hayworth & The Death Of The “Movie Star”
Gilda is one of those films where it's clear no one else could have played the titular character besides the woman chosen for the role. Rita is so captivating and charismatic that even in her dark, villainous moments, it's impossible not to love and admire her. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" for her because, throughout the 40s, she was the most glamorous screen idol of the time.
The actress was born Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17th, 1918, to a Spanish father, Eduardo Casino, and an Irish/English mother, Volga Hayworth. Her parents had big dreams for her, and the star would go on to accomplish both of them. While her father wanted her to be a dancer, her mother wanted her to be an actress. Rita was known for her immaculate dance skills, which were showcased throughout Gilda. Rita moves effortlessly through every step, especially during her performance of "Put The Blame On Mame," where she doesn't even have to try to keep the audience entertained.
“Every man I knew went to bed with Gilda and woke up with me,”-Rita Hayworth.
Like most Old Hollywood stars, Rita's life was not as glamorous as it seemed, but she was excellent at keeping up the facade. Author Barbara Leaming revealed Rita had told Orson Welles that her father sexually abused her, and Kirk Douglas, whom Rita had an affair with, recalled that she seemed very lonely and sad. Aside from her several affairs, Rita was married five times, and according to author Taylor Jenkins Reid, Rita was one of a few Old Hollywood stars who inspired her novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
Rita sadly died in 1987 due to complications associated with Alzheimer's disease, but her legacy has lived on. These days, there have been many debates about whether or not the "movie star" exists in the way it did when stars like Rita were gracing the screen. It seems like actors do not carry the star power they once did. Some even argue that Leonardo DiCaprio is the last notable movie star. Back in the 90s, he drew in massive crowds for films like Titanic and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.
However, I would argue Margot Robbie has become something of a movie star in the last decade. Margot made Harley Quinn one of the most popular Halloween costumes of the last seven years when she appeared as the DC character in 2016's Suicide Squad. In 2023, she became even more famous when she brought Ruth Handler's plastic doll to life in Greta Gerwig's Barbie. Even actors like Timothee Chalamet, Jacob Elordi, and Paul Mescal have gained massive attention in recent years. Yet, it's hard to predict where any of these actors will be in the next decade and if they'll have the lasting legacy of stars like Rita Hayworth.
Gilda
I recently saw the Mean Girls musical movie in theaters, and I noticed that in the same way, Regina is the center of the film despite Cady being the main character, and Gilda is the center of Charles Vidor's 1946 film despite Johnny Farrell being the main character. Johnny is Gilda's ex-lover who has extreme resentment toward her and is not happy that she's now married to the casino owner who employed him, Ballin Mundson. There are several scenes in which Johnny is narrating the film, but even though the film is from his perspective, Gilda is the driving force behind the story.
What I love so much about Gilda is that she is a multi-faceted character. She is lovable and desirable. She is snarky and funny and powerful, but she is also quite villainous. She likes making the men she's dating jealous by going out on dates with other men and not hiding it from them, and she likes playing up the villain role as if the things other people say about her don't bother her. However, Gilda is always wearing a facade.
“Hate is a very exciting emotion. Haven't you noticed? Very exciting. I hate you too, Johnny. I hate you so much I think I'm going to die from it,” -Gilda, Gilda.”
In one scene, Johnny talks negatively about a woman he once knew. Only Johnny and Gilda know that he is talking about her, but Ballin is out of the loop. Gilda plays along, agreeing to curse the "wench" that Johnny hates. While Gilda pokes fun at herself, refusing to give Johnny the satisfaction of hurting her, she's secretly terrified that something bad might actually happen to her. Gilda is a very superstitious person, as Johnny describes her, but she will never let anyone see this.
In many ways, Gilda resembles the Old Hollywood star that we all know so well. She is glamorous and desirable on the outside, but inside, she is fragile and broken. In another scene from Gilda, we see the character get frustrated and throw her guitar at a glass wall, shattering it. It's here that we realize Gilda isn't able to hold herself together all the time like she's pretended to throughout the film. A later scene has Gilda desperately begging for Johnny to be with her, where we see the dynamic shift. Gilda has lost all her power, and it seems as if Johnny has had the power all along, even though everything revolves around Gilda the whole time.
Gilda's charisma and charm make her such a mesmerizing character that even in her dark moments, it's hard to understand why Johnny hates her so much. Most of that has to do with Rita's natural charisma and talent herself. Before Gilda's performance at the end of the film, we see her playing the guitar and doing an acoustic performance of "Put The Blame On Mame." She's undeniably talented which makes her only that much more admirable and lovable.
Of course, the styling and fashion of Gilda also make the character appear as an idol, the type of beauty and fashionability others want to emulate. However, Gilda might just be too good to be true, as it's clear she was never who she appeared to be. Though, I still think her everchanging character and unpredictability are what made her so fascinating and what made Rita Hayworth one of the greatest Old Hollywood movie stars of all time.