Golden Age of Hollywood
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.
Rita Hayworth, Music in My Heart (1940)
Rita Hayworth and musicals waltz beautifully together. While she is known (let’s face it, for obvious reasons) as an icon of great beauty, she was also an uncommonly talented actress as well as dancer.
In fact, Fred Astaire once said she was his favorite dancing partner and he danced with the best dancers in the business.
Including himself!
If you only know Rita Hayworth from the wonderful film-noir Gilda, I hope you’ll venture out and see her musicals (You Were Never Lovelier, Cover Girl, Music in My Heart…). She really was extraordinary.
Rita Hayworth
There’s a certain kind of magic in Rita Hayworth Gilda promo pics and.. given that I have a headache to end all headaches today!… I could use a little of Rita’s magic.
I think I feel better already…
You can buy Gilda on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.
Rita Hayworth, Salome (1953)
Salome was the last film produced by Rita Hayworth’s production company (The Beckworth Company). She later said that her dance “Dance of the Seven Veils” in this film was “… the most demanding of my entire career,” and that it required “endless takes and retakes.”
Having seen the magnificent results, it was time well spent and effort that certainly paid off. While Rita is celebrated as one of the great beauties and as a wonderful actress (and she certainly was both of these things), she deserves just as much attention for her dancing talent – it was extraordinary.
Salome also stars Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson, and Cedric Hardwicke.
Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth, Gilda
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.
Rita Hayworth, Gilda
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.
Rita Hayworth, Gilda
Rita Hayworth
One of the most talented and beautiful (downright obnoxiously beautiful) actresses of all time, Rita Hayworth, was born on this date in 1918. She’s been one of my favorite actresses since I first saw her in the wonderful movie Gilda. That was many, many years ago and she has never slipped from her top tier positioning. There’s just something extra special about this star that makes her shine brighter than most.
I recently re-watched Gilda a few days ago, in honor of her upcoming birthday. I do believe I love the movie (as well as Rita and Glenn Ford) more and more each time I see it. I have a post ready to go that’s devoted to this wonderful movie and hope to have it published sometime this week.
Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Eduardo (who had emigrated from Spain five years before Rita was born) was a dancer, as was his own father.
Rita is said to have been very quiet and reserved – almost shy – but was able to turn on the charisma when she took the stage or as soon as the cameras started rolling.
Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, Gilda
While her name is synonymous with beauty (for good reason), as a Rita Hayworth fan, I’m kind of frustrated that more people aren’t able to speak of her acting talent or dancing abilities. Oddly enough, a lot of people have never seen even one of her films, let alone all of them. If I were to suggest a Rita Hayworth movie to someone who’d never seen her in anything other than photographs, I’d suggest Gilda or You Were Never Lovelier (co-Starring Fred Astaire). Then, after seeing one of these, my next suggestion?
See the rest… ALL the rest.
Continued Below…
While Rita Hayworth led an exciting and colorful life, she unfortunately died from Alzheimer’s Disease in 1987 at the age of 68. She was diagnosed with the disease in 1980, but had experienced symptoms for at least 20 years. In her last years, she was lovingly cared for by one of her greatest joys, her daughter Yasmin Khan (fathered by her third ex, Prince Aly Khan).
While it would be very easy to focus on the incredibly sad and tragic ending of Rita’s story… we would do her much better service by focusing on her charisma, her beauty, her talent, and her many wonderful films. Her legacy is a joyful and beautiful one. She would want to be remembered for that and I know that, like me, you plan to do just that!
Rita Hayworth & Fred Astaire “The Shorty George” from the movie You Were Never Lovelier:
“After all, a girl is – well, a girl. It’s nice to be told you’re successful at it.” – Rita Hayworth
“Every man I have ever known has fallen in love with Gilda and awakened with me.” – Rita Hayworth
“(about her marriage to Edward Judson] “I married him for love; he married me for an investment. My husband was always finding fault with me. He was extremely jealous and quarrelsome. I never had any fun. I was never permitted to make any decisions. From the first he told me I couldn’t do anything for myself. My personality crawled deeper and deeper into a shell.” – Rita Hayworth
“All I wanted was just what everybody else wants, you know, to be loved.” – Rita Hayworth
“What surprises me in life are not the marriages that fail, but the marriages that succeed.” – Rita Hayworth
“We are all tied to our destiny and there is no way we can liberate ourselves.” – Rita Hayworth
“I can’t take his genius any more.” (when asked why she divorced Orson Wells) – Rita Hayworth
“I rode on horseback, though I was terrified of them. That was when I was doing westerns. They were something else again. And I did them because that was work, that was my job. So I don’t start from the top.” – Rita Hayworth
“I was never sick during The Lady from Shanghai (1947). Poor Orsie (Orson Welles) was the one who was sick; Harry Cohn made him sick.” – Rita Hayworth
“I couldn’t get used to the New York weather. On one occasion, I was laid up for a week because I caught a severe cold rushing from the dance studio, still soaked with perspiration, back to the hotel for voice lessons.” – Rita Hayworth
“Movies were much better in the days I was doing them.” – Rita Hayworth
“I guess the only jewels of my life were the pictures I made with Fred Astaire.” – Rita Hayworth
“I never really thought of myself as a sex goddess; I felt I was more a comedian who could dance.” – Rita Hayworth
“Whatever you write about me, don’t make it sad.” – Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth, The Loves of Carmen
A few fast facts about one of my favorite actresses, the talented and beautiful Rita Hayworth:
Hair Color: Naturally, Dark Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Height: 5’6″
Weight: Between 114 and 129 lbs
Religion: Roman Catholic
Collected: Perfumes
Father: Eduardo Cansino (dancer)
Mother: Volga Hayworth (Ziegfeld Follies showgirl)
Brother: Vernon (younger)
Brother: Eduardo, Jr. (younger)
Her Husbands:
Edward C. Judson (married – May 29, 1937, divorced – May 22,1942)
Orson Welles (married – Sept. 7, 1943, divorced – Dec. 1, 1948) *
Prince Aly Khan (married – May 27, 1949, divorced – Jan. 27, 1953)
Dick Haymes (married – Sept. 24, 1953, divorced – Dec. 23, 1955)
James Hill (married Feb. 2, 1958, divorced – Sept. 1961)
Her Children:
Rebecca Welles (December 17, 1944)
Yasmin Khan (December 28, 1949
* Although they fought more often than not, Rita would, later in life, refer to Orson Welles as “the great love of my life.”
Rita Hayworth
Margarita Carmen Cansino was born on October 17, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother was of Irish descent, her father, Spanish. She would later shorten her first name to Rita and use her mother’s maiden name, Hayworth as her own.
As a child (and later as an adult) Rita was extremely shy. The only time she really came out of her shell was when she was dancing (or, later, acting).
Along with her dad, she danced as part of “The Cansinos” – and was apparently unusually talented, even as a pint-sized beauty. I have read so many varied accounts about the relationship between Rita and her dad: Some say he was overly-domineering, basically “pushing” her into entertainment. Others say she called her own shots and he was a kindly man who allowed her to make her own mind up. Me? I think it was closer to the first than the second. I believe it was his presence that accounted for her shyness and insecurities – she never seemed to think she was good enough for him.
It was while performing with Eduardo at The Caliente Club that she caught the eye of a vice-president at Fox Film Corporation. He invited Rita to join him and his dinner companion, columnist Louella Parsons. Louella would later refer to Rita as a “Painfully shy” girl who “couldn’t look strangers in the eye” and whose voice was so low it could hardly be heard. Sheehan (which is why he was the vp instead of Parsons!) saw the remarkable beauty and potential star quality in Rita and set her up with a screen test.
After several such tests, she was signed to a contract and began taking acting and diction lessons. The rest is, of course, film history.
The beauty above is Silent Film star Mildred Davis. She was a frequent co-star (and longtime wife) of legendary actor Harold Lloyd. She’s one of my favorite silent film actresses and one I can’t understand not being a household name!
There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.
Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)
We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)
The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)
The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)
The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)
Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)
El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)
Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)
Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)
The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)
Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)
To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)
Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)
Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)
The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)
More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews
Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…
Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!
