Glenn Ford | Hollywood Yesterday

Like Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe, a lot of people tend to think of Rita Hayworth as simply beautiful and iconic. While she’s both (to be sure), there’s more to her than “greets the eye.” Rita Hayworth was an great actress and an exceptional performer. The same is, of course true of the aforementioned ladies as well.

Rita Hayworth could more than hold her own on the dance floor and she brought life, charisma, and depth to every role she ever stepped into. She could convey more with a facial expression than a lot of actors/actresses get across with a five minute dialogue purge.

Can you tell she’s one of my all-time favorite actresses?

It seems that every actor and actress has a “defining role.” While this may not seem terribly fair, it is what it is. Many stars have several roles that can, and should, serve as sort of a defining compilation, but it’s generally one specific role that comes to mind when you see their name. When it comes to Rita Hayworth, her defining role is a knock out – Gilda.

Gilda is a cinematic dream come true for me, personally, as it has not only one of my top three favorite actresses but also one of my top three favorite actors, Glenn Ford.

Don’t you just love it when your favorites team up for a movie? Feels kind of like a kiss on the cheek from God, Himself.

Make no mistake about it, though, even 10 favorite stars in a movie won’t save it if the movie doesn’t live up to the moment. Fortunately, Gilda does. In fact, it’d be one of my favorite movies even if the lead characters didn’t score so much as a blip on my radar. The movie is simply a lot of fun to watch and provides a few unexpected twists and turns to keep you completely and utterly hooked.

The clothes, the lighting, the music, the dancing, the redhead… they all go together to create cinematic magic.

While the entire cast is outstanding, the casting of the movie’s leads was a stroke of genius. The chemistry between Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford is absolutely palpable. Each time I watch Gilda, I mentally give a standing ovation to the individual responsible for bringing these two together. It’s that special, magical kind of chemistry that is almost impossible to define – yet, when it happens, it lights up the screen and you feel the fire deep in your soul.

The chemistry between Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford in Gilda (along with the chemistry between James Stewart and Lana Turner in Ziegfeld Girl – two more of my personal favorites) is one of the most magical pairings of all time as far as I’m concerned.

You can direct scenes, you can choreograph dances, and you can create moments with lighting and music…. however you cannot manufacture (or even account for) chemistry. It’s either there or it isn’t. While a great movie can overcome lukewarm chemistry between its leads, red hot chemistry can take a great movie and make it… well… a legend.

I believe this chemistry is partly (perhaps even largely) to credit for Gilda achieving the legendary status it has.

If you aren’t as immersed in old movies as some of us are or if you’re just getting into them, I wholeheartedly recommend Gilda. If you are new to the greatest genre of entertainment in the world (can you tell I’m not just immersed but buried?), I want to warn you about one brief little scene in particular. You’ll know it when you see it. The last thing I want to do is give anything away, so I’ll just say one code word: BOAT. Something happens in a particular scene involving a BOAT that serves to remind the viewer of the period of time in which this wonderful movie was made. Effects departments now, upon watching this scene, probably wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Do me a favor, when you see this scene, simply say “1946” – the year in which the movie was made.

This will remind you not to hold the moment against the movie, Glenn, or Rita. Especially not Rita.

When you watch old movies like it’s your job, you just kind of shrug off these moments and accept them for what they are – signs of the times.

Rita Hayworth made Gilda the iconic legend it is and in many ways you can say the movie returned the favor.

Gilda Movie Posters on Amazon

Violent Men may not receive the attention many other Westerns do, but it’s an excellent movie. In fact, I think it’s far better than some Westerns that are practically household names.

The strength of Violent Men doesn’t lie so much in the plot or scenery as it does the cast. Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Dianne Foster, and Brian Keith are each outstanding. Although, if (like me) you’re most familiar with Brian Keith as loving and kind Uncle Bill on Family Affair, it’s odd seeing him play such a smarmy character. Seriously, it took some getting used to.

When I first saw this movie a few years back, my first reaction to seeing him sleaze across the screen was, “Uncle Bill.. what the heck?!”

While Ford and Keith are wonderful in their roles, make no mistake about it, this is Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, and Dianne Foster’s movie. More about them in a minute.

The Violent Men Trailer:

Plot Synopsis: Glenn Ford plays an ex-officer in the Union, John Parrish. Because his fiance is desperate to move out of town (and I do mean desperate), he agrees to sell his land to the ruthless Wilkisons of Anchor Ranch. Because his fiance is so eager to move east, he even considers the ridiculously low offer Anchor’s owner (played to perfection by the great Edward G. Robinson).

However, when he sees what bullies the Wilkisons can be – especially after they murder one of his men – he decides to stay and fight, calling upon his Civil War experience.

The wonderful, strong, and sultry to a fault Barbara Stanwyck plays Martha Wilkison who is married to Edward G. Robinson’s character (Lew) but carrying on a long-term affair with Lew’s brother Cole Wilkison (played by Brian Keith). The fact that Lew has lost use of his legs and is confined to crutches makes it easier for the dastardly duo to cavort behind his back.

Hence the, “Uncle Bill… what the heck?!”

In a relatively small role, Dianne Foster chews up the screen as Lew and Martha’s daughter Judith. Her chemistry with Glenn Ford is the stuff you hope for anytime you sit down to watch a movie.

She has an obvious beauty and tons of talent but she has that certain something “special” that, I don’t know, maybe only those of us who obsessively watch movies could recognize. You can’t take your eyes off of her when she’s on the screen – which, ironically, is the exact same thing I’ve always said about Barbara Stanwyck who plays her mother in this movie.

Foster (particularly with her hair light, as it was in this movie) actually reminds me A LOT of Barbara Stanwyck. The casting, makeup, and hair departments hit it out of the park with this one.

As for the one and only Barbara Stanwyck, she was at her best in The Violent Men. Here’s the thing about Stanwyck, whether she’s playing a good character or a bad one (which Martha certainly is), one thing is for certain…. you want her on your side!

Barbara Stanwyck, in any role, is an absolute force to be reckoned with. That’a one of the reasons she’s one of my top all-time favorite actresses. She’s like a female tornado gliding across the screen. And like a tornado, you do not want to cross her. Admire and respect from a distance? Absolutely. But cross? Not on your life.

What can you say about the great Edward G. Robinson? The man was simply one of the best actors of his time or any other time. Period. Like Stanwyck, he was a force to be reckoned with, so (as you’d imagine) their scenes together left you wanting more and more.

Edward G. Robinson was one of those stars who made everything look so easy and effortless than you often don’t realize just what a remarkable actor he was.While this may not be one of his most famous roles, it is (in my opinion, for what that’s worth) one of his best.

One of the things I liked most about Glenn Ford’s performance in The Violent Men is the fact that he played it with a “quiet strength.” It would have been easy, as the lead in a Western, to dial into a larger-than-life persona. In scenes with Stanwyck and Robinson, it would have, of course, been a disastrous ploy. I mean, how can you possibly be larger than two tornadoes circling one another?!

Ford’s John Parrish was exactly and precisely the sort of hero this movie called for. His understated performance was sheer perfection and, as I said, his chemistry with Dianne Foster was especially nice.

Whether you’re a fan of one of the stars of this excellent cast (how could you not be??!) or simply love Westerns (again… how could you not??), The Violent Men is one you’ll want to both watch as well as add to your collection. It seems that each time I watch it, I notice something else phenomenally brilliant Ford, Stanwyck, Robinson, Keith, or Foster do.

Such a STRONG cast.

Buy The Violent Men DVD on Amazon.