Rita Hayworth | Hollywood Yesterday

BOTD in 1918, The Beautiful and Talented Rita Hayworth…

October 17, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth, You Were Never Lovelier

Rita Hayworth has been one of my absolute favorite actresses for as long as I can remember. I remember being very, very young and walking through the living room and saw what looked like a princess from one of my storybooks come to life. I sat and watched her with my mom. While I’d give just about anything to be able to sit and watch anything with my mom again, some things haven’t changed – I still think of Rita as a fairytale princess that came to life – if only for a brief time, before leaving us.

The first Rita Hayworth film I saw (the one I watched with my mom) was You Were Never Lovelier (1942) and, to this day, I don’t know why Gilda is so much more popular than this one. Granted, Gilda is an extraordinary movie… but so is You Were Never Lovelier.

Truth be told, though, I am absolutely wild about just about every Rita Hayworth movie. The Lady from Shanghai and The Loves of Carmen aren’t high on my list, but Rita’s in them… and that’s good enough for me!

If you’ve never seen You Were Never Lovelier (link to the dvd on Amazon), I hope you’ll find it and watch it soon. If you HAVE seen it, watch it again! Each time I do, I love it even more.

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, Gilda Promotional Pictures

October 14, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth

Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth absolutely burned up the screen in Gilda! The iconic 1946 film was directed by Charles Vidor and it is, quite frankly, one of the best films ever made. There’s just something about it that defines “movie magic” – of course, a lot of that has to do with its stars Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. The two talented stars were close and remained life-long friends (he was even one of her pallbearers when she died, at the age of 68).

You can buy Gilda on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Rita Hayworth, Gilda

Rita Hayworth: A Rarely Seen Gilda Promotional Picture

October 3, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth, Gilda

Most of the Gilda promotional pictures and screenshots we see of Rita in circulation are the ones where she is wearing a black dress or the knock-out two piece white dress. For some reason, this particular photo isn’t shown as often… which is a shame, because WOW!

I’m pretty sure this particular actress was incapable of taking a bad photo – or even an average one, for that matter.

The only frustrating thing about her uncommon beauty is that you have to somehow get past that to truly appreciate how talented she was! She was one of the best dancers in all of old Hollywood and, quite frankly, one of its best actresses as well. She could do drama, film-noir, comedy, and musicals, and do them all superbly.

In case you couldn’t tell – I’m a huge, huge, HUGE fan.

If you haven’t watched many of her films, I hope you’ll make a point to see more soon. She truly was remarkable.

You can buy Gilda on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Rita Hayworth: Gilda Promotional Pictures to Start the Weekend Off Right

September 19, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth, Gilda

Rita Hayworth’s performance in Gilda helped make her a household name – one that is still synonymous with beauty, to this day.

Gee… wonder why???

She and Glenn Ford were wonderful in this excellent film – I could watch it several times a month and never get tired of it.

You can buy Gilda on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Rita Hayworth, Gilda

Rita Hayworth: Wonderful Actress and Dancer Who Happened to be Extraordinarily Beautiful

August 8, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, The Loves of Carmen

One of my favorite actresses (for as long as I can remember knowing what an actress even was!) has always been Rita Hayworth. So many people – UNDERSTANDABLY – associate the name Rita Hayworth with beauty. They’ll usually even picture her in her role as Gilda. For me, I guess the relationship I have with her image is a little different. Obviously, I associate the name with great beauty (I’m not blind after all!) but I associate it first and foremost with her wonderful, wonderful talent.

My first Rita Hayworth movie was actually Miss Sadie Thompson and while, obviously, beautiful, the main thing that stands out to you in that particular film is her acting. She does as great a job in this role as any actress has ever done in any role.

Yes… ANY role.

My second Rita Hayworth film was The Loves of Carmen (the promotional photos in this post are from that film). Her beauty and talent kind of fight it out in this particular movie!

My third film was You Were Never Lovelier (her perfect musical with Fred Astaire). At the time (I was just a teenager without all of the Old Hollywood knowledge I currently sit on), I had no idea she could also dance, so I was blown away. I thought, “Gorgeous, wonderful actress, and an excellent dancer…. wow!”

She still wows me, each and every time I watch and rewatch her films.

Like Marilyn, Ava, and Lana… Rita is so much more than just a beautiful face. She was an actress and dancer who just happened to be extraordinarily beautiful.

You can find The Loves of Carmen (link to the dvd) on Amazon or watch it on Amazon Prime.

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, The Loves of Carmen

Rita Hayworth, Miss Sadie Thompson (So Much More Than a Beautiful Face!)

July 25, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth, Miss Sadie Thompson

As if we Rita Hayworth fans needed the reminder, the actress served notice in Miss Sadie Thompson (1953, directed by Curtis Bernhardt) that she was much more than just a beautiful face. She was a very, very good actress and this role allowed her to show off her talent as well as her beauty.

If you’ve never seen this one, as a huge Rita Hayworth fan, I very much wish you’d check it out. She’s mesmerizing – the entire cast is outstanding, but she (as always) stands out.

You can buy the movie on dvd or blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch on Prime.

She seemed to relish playing the role so much that I think she totally understood the opportunity she had been given as an actress. And, boy, did she ever come through!

Beautiful Rita Hayworth, The Loves of Carmen

June 24, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth, The Loves of Carmen

One of my favorite actresses of ALL time is Rita Hayworth. Love her, love her, love her. She was so much more than just a beautiful face – she was an exceptionally talented actress AND dancer. She was equally wonderful in dramatic roles, lighthearted comedy, and colorful musicals. I’ve seen all of her films and, while some are better than others, every single one was good and worth watching more than once.

Not many stars have a filmography like that!

The Loves of Carmen (1948, written by Charles Vidor) isn’t one of my absolute favorite Rita films, but it is good. She’s great in the role as Carmen… someone you don’t particularly like but you simply can’t look away. It’s funny, she’s the bad girl and Glenn Ford is the good guy… and yet, his character annoys me more than her character does! I mean…. she’s supposed to be bad – we expect that. But for him to be such a simpleton is unforgivable!

I normally love Glenn Ford in every single role, but I honestly don’t care for him in this role. He seems out of place, somehow. Whenever I watch the film, I always wonder if he FELT out of place in the role of if, perhaps, he wasn’t any fonder of his character than I was.

Either way, the film is definitely worth watching (obviously, since I’ve seen it four times, I strongly feel it’s worth watching). Rita is mesmerizing and the film is a visual masterpiece.

Rita Hayworth: Publicity Stills from Salome (1953)

March 4, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth, Salome (1953)

Rita Hayworth has been one of my absolute favorite actresses since I first saw her on television as a child. They were playing her film, “Blood and Sand” and I was hooked – even though she was the bad girl in the movie. Didn’t bother me – I loved her!

Not long after Blood and Sand I saw Salome and grew to love her even more. There was just something about her – she commanded scenes, often without even saying a word. What’s amazing to me is the fact that it wasn’t just her beauty that separated her. If we’re honest, there were actresses as lovely as Rita – many even co-starred with her.

Yet she had a certain something – a certain magic only given to a particular number of stars. When you watch her in Gilda, you’re fairly certain she had her portion of magic as well as enough for six others!

Like most people, I’ve been feeling anxious over the news (sometimes it seems like there’s never any good news, doesn’t it?!). It’s times like this that I choose to escape into the world of Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio. Whether it’s reading a biography or watching a movie, an episode of a classic show, or listening to a great old radio episode – I’m awfully grateful that my “oldies” always take me on a mini-vacation… far away from the madness around us.

Sure, it’s there when I return, but I feel stronger and more able to cope with the craziness without it making me crazy, too!

(Continued Below Rita Hayworth being Rita Hayworth!)

Rita Hayworth, Salome

I hope these three gorgeous photos of Rita Hayworth from the 1953 film Salome (Amazon Link) lift your spirits if they need lifted and put a smile on your face. If that happens, it will have made my day.

Rita Hayworth as Princess Salome

Movie Description: After she is banished from Rome, Jewish Princess Salome (Rita Hayworth) returns to her Roman-ruled native land of Galilee where prophet John the Baptist (Alan Badel) preaches against Salome’s parents, King Herod (Charles Laughton) and Queen Herodias (Judith Anderson).

Rita Hayworth, Down to Earth (1947)

January 1, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth

It’d be tough to beat a picture of Rita Hayworth for the first Picture of the Day of 2020… especially this picture of Rita!

This is a promotional picture for the 1947 film Down to Earth (Amazon Link to dvd or Prime Video). Rita portrays Greek goddess Terpsichore in this creative film. Unhappy with the way a Broadway musical treats Greek mythology, she comes down to earth, joins the cast and tries to set things right.

The plot description may sound kind of “out there” (okay… very out there) but this movie is much better than you’d expect. Just go into it with an open mind and readiness to watch the uncommonly talented Rita Hayworth headline a movie.

Always a great thing. She was as talented as she was beautiful and, wow, is that ever saying something.

Rita Hayworth: Music in My Heart (1940)

December 18, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth, Music in My Heart Publicity Photo

Rita Hayworth and recording artist Tony Martin star Music in My Heart (Amazon DVD link), a musical comedy featuring the wonderful, wonderful, wonderful music of Andre Kostelanetz and his orchestra.

This is one of those films that is a definite feast for the eyes AND ears.