Gilda

A recent thread on the aus.dvd newsgroup discussed the 'best babe' in film, and the usual suspects were wheeled out, the plastic-enriched Denise Richards and the bland 'n' blonde Cameron Diaz clambering their way to the top of a dreary pack. My personal pick was Beatrice Dalle, but I'd have to sit down and give serious consideration to the star of this film, Rita Hayworth.

Hayworth is at her most stunning in this film, the story of a gambling cheat, Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) who begins working at an illegal casino after the proprietor, Ballin Mundson (George MacReady) saves his life.

Things turn all treacle-y when Mundson turns out to have his hands in more dodgy activities than we first thought and his supremely yummy new wife, Gilda (Hayworth), shows up on the scene. Gilda and Johnny have a secret history, and sparks fly when Mundson assigns Farrell to look after his wife. No, Mundson! Noooo!

What a film! The plot twists like a snake, Hayworth sizzles and I was entertained!

From the opening frames, I was impressed! This film was painstakingly restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive with Sony providing funding, and the results are quite magnificent. The print seems to have been thoroughly scrubbed clean, and this has resulted in a beautifully prestine image with virtually no film artifacts or grain to be seen.

Though shadow detail is not as high as other black and white films I've seen, it's fine considering the age of the film, and detail is nearly as high as you'd expect from a recent blockbuster. The image is full-frame, but don't be confused, it's not pan-and-scanned, it's the original Academy (1.33:1) ratio.

It's amazing what a bit of money can do to keep our film history alive, and unfortunately, this level of care just wasn't provided for many films. It's very rare for a movie this old to look this great, and plenty of films decades younger look worse.

Obviously the soundtrack is mono, and is typical of films from the 40s. It appears to have been run through a noise-reduction device to remove hiss, and the results are quite effective. Bass is noticeable by its absence and voices have that distinctive thin quality that lends old films some of their nostalgic charm.

While distortion never occurs during the film, the dynamic range is extremely small and the soundtrack becomes shrill as it gets busy, but that is to be expected for a film of this vintage. If you want to listen at reference level, some kind of cinema equalisation will be required.

Wow and flutter can be a problem on old prints with analog tracks (see my Five Easy Pieces review), but there is little to complain about here. If you listen carefully, you can hear some pitch instability, but by and large it's unnoticeable.

Not a lot here, but more than I expected.

• Original Theatrical Trailer - in obviously worse condition than the feature, but always very appreciated.
• Talent Profiles - basic profiles of the director and three main stars.
• "The Lady With The Torch" Clips - a nine-minute featurette (taken from a longer Columbia documentary), focusing on Rita Heyworth's musical film career. It might be interesting to try and track down the full documentary - perhaps it will turn up on cable at some point?

A fabulous restoration of a very entertaining film. Much of the dialogue is wonderfully quoteable, the direction is capable and assured, and it would be worth a look even if only to realise that sex symbols didn't come into existance in the 90s.

Luckily Gilda is more than a support system for a beautiful woman, it's a classic noir piece that demands your investigation. Highly recommended.