Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney want to know “The Secret of Convict Lake”

The Secret of Convict Lake (1951) is an American Western film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, and Zachery Scott. The cinematography was by Leo Tover (The Snake Pit, The Heiress, and The Day The Earth Stood Still).

Six convicts escape from a Carson City prison in 1871 during a blizzard. One freezes to death, while the others find their way to Lake Monte Diablo, where eight women are on their own while their men are away prospecting. At first, the women are reluctant to have anything to do with the convicts, but eventually, they break down and offer them shelter and food. One of the men, Jim Canfield (Ford) is looking for the man who lied about him on the witness stand, which resulted in him going to prison. The man Canfield is looking for, Rudy Schaefer (Harry Carter) happens to be the man one of the women, Marcia Stoddard (Tierney), is planning to marry. Carter stole $40,000 and perjured himself, which led to Canfield being convicted of killing a mine owner and stealing his money. The convicts traveling with Canfield are convinced he hid the money somewhere in Lake Monte Diablo. Canfield denies he has the money hidden and explains he is only out for revenge; he plans on killing Schaefer for putting him in jail.

Will Canfield be successful in his quest for revenge? And what about the other convicts? What will their fates be?

Gene Tierney with rifle, flanked by Ann Dvorak on her right and Ruth Donnelly on her left; Ethel Barrymore in the doorway with a pistol

Michael Gordon (1909 - 1993) was an American film director who directed a wide variety of movies including melodramas, films noir, and comedies. His career as a director spanned almost 30 years. Some of his films include Cyrano de Begerac (1950), Pillow Talk (1959), Boys' Night Out (1962), and Move Over, Darling (1963). Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his grandson by his daughter Jane.

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contract player, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. Ford came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Gene Tierney, Glenn Ford, and Ethel Barrymore

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London, where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant, who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

Zachary Scott (1914 - 1965) was an American actor on stage and most notably in film. He made his film debut in the film noir The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). As a contract player at Warner Bros., Scott was the perfect slick, film noir villain. Before his career in film noir took off, he starred in The Southerner (1945) directed by Jean Renoir. It would be his role as Monty Beragon in Mildred Pierce (1945) that would be his most enduring role with film fans. Scott worked in film, stage, and television until 1963. He died of a malignant brain tumor.

Gene Tierney in a costume test for the film, with the scenes listed for when it would be worn.

The Secret of Convict Lake trivia:

• Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell were originally set to star as Jim Canfield and Marcia Stoddard respectively.
• The story is fictional but it is inspired by a real incident where a posse had a shoot-out with escaped convicts from the Carson City prison. Convict Lake is a real place in California that was named after the incident.
• This was actress Ann Dvorak’s last film role

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, June 23, 2025, 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. What do you think the film’s major theme is? Does it have one in your opinion?
2. Were you surprised by women’s roles in the film?
3. The film features a great cast of supporting actresses. Did one actress’s performance stick out to you more than the others?
4. Did Gene Tierney and Glenn Ford have good on-screen chemistry?
5. Did this movie remind you of other films you’ve seen?

Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Broderick Crawford star in Fritz Lang’s “Human Desire”

Human Desire (1954) is an American film noir directed by Fritz Lang and starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Broderick Crawford. Peggy Maley, Kathleen Case, and Edgar Buchanan round out the supporting cast.

Korean War veteran Jeff Warren (Ford) is a train engineer for the Central National Railroad. Jeff’s involvement with Vicki Buckley (Grahame) puts him in peril with Vicki’s sadistic husband Carl (Crawford).

Will Jeff and Vicki be able to overcome the evil shadow of Carl Buckley?

Gloria Grahame and Glenn Ford

Fritz Lang (1890 – 1976) was an Austrian-German-American director. Lang is the director of the silent film classic Metropolis (1927). After serving in World War I, Lang worked as an actor in the theater and then worked as a writer at Decla Film in Berlin. Lang’s first talking picture was M (1931) a story about a child murderer. Due to his growing renown, Joseph Goebbels offered him the position of head of the German film studio UFA in 1933. Lang emigrated to Paris and then to the United States in 1936. Lang worked for all the major studios, making twenty-three feature films in the United States. Some of Lang’s films include Scarlet Street (1945), The Big Heat (1953), and While the City Sleeps (1956).

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contract player, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career took off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. Ford came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his films were more uneven than in the previous decade. However, he had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman (1978). His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Gloria Grahame (1923 – 1981) was an American actress. She began her career on the stage and then went to Hollywood in 1944 where she was under contract to M-G-M. At M-G-M, they didn’t know what to do with Grahame. She was loaned out to play Violet Bick in It’s a Wonderful Life, earning good notices but M-G-M decided to sell her contract to RKO. She played minor and secondary roles in several film noirs, but her career didn’t gain any traction at that studio. She had good roles in Sudden Fear (1952) and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Bad and the  Beautiful (1952). Grahame’s performance in that film lasted just over nine minutes. She was the Elephant Girl, performing her stunts, in Cecil B. De Mille’s The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). Other films include Not as a Stranger (1955) and Oklahoma! (1955) where she played Ado Annie, a change of pace from her typical femme fatale roles. Grahame died of cancer at the age of 57.

Broderick Crawford (1911 – 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor. Born in Philadelphia to a show business family, Crawford acted with his parents on stage. As an adult, he won acclaim as Lenny in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men in 1937. He later moved to Hollywood and began acting in small roles and bit parts throughout the 1940s. He finally got his chance at stardom in All the King’s Men (1949), the film version of Robert Penn Warren’s award-winning novel. The film was a big hit and Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Willie Stark. Now a star, Crawford starred in more prestigious productions including Born Yesterday (1950) receiving top-billing over co-stars Judy Holiday and William Holden. Crawford became a television icon as Dan Matthews in the police dram Highway Patrol (1955 – 1959.) 

Human Desire trivia

• Fritz Lang didn’t like the title. He thought it was redundant. “What other desire is there?”
• Lang wanted Marlon Brando to play the role of Jeff. Brando thought Lang had lost his way and called the screenplay “crap.”
• Rita Hayworth was originally scheduled to co-star with Ford but she was tied up in court with divorce proceedings.
• Olivia de Havilland and Jennifer Jones were mentioned as possible leads.
• Ford and Broderick Crawford worked together in Convicted (1950) and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956).

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube.

Click HERE to join the discussion on September 23, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. If you saw The Big Heat (1953) also starring Ford and Graham, which do you think is the better film?
2. Do you think Vicki loved Jeff or was she just using him to get rid of her husband?
3. Some critics have called Human Desire a low-rent Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Do you agree with that criticism?
4. Ford and Grahame were paired again because of their previous success in The Big Heat. Do you think their on-screen chemistry is as good in this film?
5. How much of the action is based on fate and the characters' choices?
6. Was the ending a surprise to you? Was it satisfying?
7. Does this film qualify as a film noir in your opinion? Yes or no? Why?

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford burn up the screen in “Gilda”

Gilda (1946) is an American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. The cinematography is by Rudolph Mate and Hayworth’s legendary costumes were designed by Jean Louis. The supporting cast includes George Macready, Joseph Calleia, and Steven Geray.

Johnny Farrell (Ford), a new arrival to Buenos Aires, Argentina almost loses his life after cheating at craps, he finds himself being saved by Ballin Mundson (Macready). Ballin tells Johnny about a high-class casino and recommends that he not try to cheat there.

Johnny ignores Ballin’s advice and starts winning at blackjack. Little does Johnny know that the casino is owned by Ballin. Instead of getting kicked out of the casino, Johnny convinces Ballin that he should hire him. Ballin hires Johnny and soon he becomes Ballin’s right-hand man.

When Ballin brings home Gilda (Hayworth) as his new wife, things get a bit rocky. Unknown to Ballin, Johnny and Gilda have a romantic history beginning to crack in public. Will Ballin discover the truth? And what will that mean for Johnny and Gilda?

“Put the Blame on Mame”  

Charles Vidor (1900 – 1959) was a Hungarian film director whose career started during the early days of talking pictures. Vidor is most famous for the work he did under contract to Columbia Pictures including Ladies in Retirement (1941), Cover Girl (1944), Together Again (1944), A Song to Remember (1945), and Gilda (1946). After leaving Columbia, Vidor directed Hans Christian Andersen (1952) for Sam Goldwyn, Love Me or Leave Me (1955) for M-G-M, and The Joker is Wild (1957) for Paramount. Vidor suffered a heart attack and died three weeks into filming.

Rita Hayworth (1918 - 1987) was an American actress, dancer, and producer. She was one of the biggest stars of the 1940s and was the top pin-up among GIs during World War II. Hayworth was Gilda (1946) opposite Glenn Ford. A still from this film made it to the cover of Life magazine where she was dubbed “The Love Goddess,” a title she hated. An accomplished dancer, she starred with Fred Astaire in two films: You’ll Never Get Rich (1941) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942). In 1944 she starred in Cover Girl with Gene Kelly. Other popular Hayworth films include Tonight and Every Night (1945), Down to Earth (1947), The Loves of Carmen (1948), Affair in Trinidad (1952), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), Fire Down Below (1957), Pal Joey (1957) where she received top billing over Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, Separate Tables (1958), and They Came to Cordura (1959). Hayworth was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which contributed to her death at age 68.

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contract player, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. Ford came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Gilda trivia

• Rita Hayworth’s voice was dubbed by Anita Ellis.
• Humphrey Bogart was offered the role of Johnny Farrell but declined reasoning that no one would notice him playing against the beautiful Hayworth.
• Hayworth wore a corset when she shot the “Put the Blame on Mame” number. She had given birth to her first daughter, Rebecca Welles, just months before filming.
• Gilda was such a financial success that Hayworth’s agent negotiated that going forward, she received 25% of her films’ profits.
• Glenn Ford hadn’t been on the screen since 1943 due to his service in the Marines during World War II.
• Charles Vidor previously directed Hayworth in Cover Girl (1944).

To watch the movie on YouTube, click here.

 

To join the discussion on September 11, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation to join with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Glenn Ford and George Macready

Discussion questions

1. Gilda is considered one of the great films noir. Does it work as a film noir for you?
2. Is Gilda a femme fatale? Why or why not?
3. Modern reviewers make much of the relationship between Ballin and Johnny. What do you think is at the heart of their relationship?
4. What did you think of the on-screen chemistry between Hayworth and Ford?
5. We don’t get a lot of backstory, but do you think Gilda and Johnny really love each other?
6. The “Put the Blame on Mame” number has reached icon status. Do you think it’s deserved?
7. Could you follow the plot? Was that important?

Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney discover “The Secret of Convict Lake”

The Secret of Convict Lake (1951) is an American Western film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, and Zachery Scott. The cinematography was by Leo Tover (The Snake Pit, The Heiress, and The Day The Earth Stood Still).

Six convicts escape from a Carson City prison in 1871 during a blizzard. One freezes to death, while the others find their way to Lake Monte Diablo where eight women are on their own while their men are away prospecting. At first, the women are reluctant to have anything to do with the convicts, but eventually, they break down and offer them shelter and food. One of the men, Jim Canfield (Ford) is looking for the man who lied about him on the witness stand which resulted in him going to prison. The man Canfield is looking for, Rudy Schaefer (Harry Carter) happens to be the man one of the women, Marcia Stoddard (Tierney) is planning to marrying. Carter stole $40,000 and perjured himself which lead to Canfield being convicted of killing a mine ower and stealing his money. The convicts traveling with Canfield are convinced he hid the money somewhere in Lake Monte Diablo. Canfield denies he has the money hidden and explains he is only out for revenge; he plans on killing Schaefer for putting him in jail.

Will Canfield be successful in his quest for revenge? And what about the other convicts? What will their fates be?

Gene Tierney with rifle, flanked by Ann Dvorak on her right and Ruth Donnelly on her left; Ethel Barrymore in the doorway with a pistol

Michael Gordon (1909 - 1993) was an American film director who directed a wide variety of movies including melodramas, films noir, and comedies. His career as a director spanned almost 30 years. Some of his films include Cyrano de Begerac (1950), Pillow Talk (1959), Boys' Night Out (1962), and Move Over, Darling (1963). Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his grandson by his daughter Jane.

Caricature of Glenn Ford from Punch

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contract player, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. Ford came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Gene Tierney, Glenn Ford, and Ethel Barrymore

Gene Tierney (1920 – 1991) was an American actress. Tierney got her start on the stage where she played the ingenue lead in The Male Animal. She was spotted by 20th Century-Fox Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and he offered her a movie contract. Zanuck said that Tierney was the most beautiful woman in the movies. Tierney proved that she could carry a film not completely based on her beauty in films like Laura (1944) and Leave Her To Heaven (1945) for which she was nominated for her first and only Best Actress Academy Award. Other important films include The Razor's Edge (1946), Dragonwyck (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), The Iron Curtain (1948), Whirlpool (1949), and The Mating Season (1951). In the late 1940s, she struggled with mental illness which negatively affected her career. After 1955’s The Left Hand of God, Tierney was off the screen until Advice & Consent (1962). She appeared in two films after that, but her career in film effectively ended in 1964 after a guest appearance in The Pleasure Seekers.

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

Zachary Scott (1914 - 1965) was an American actor on stage and most notably in film. He made his film debut in the film noir The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). As a contract player at Warner Bros.Scott was the perfect slick, film noir villain. Before his career in film noir took off, he starred in The Southerner (1945) directed by Jean Renoir. It would be his role as Monty Beragon in Mildred Pierce (1945) that would be his most enduring role with film fans. Scott worked in film, stage, and television until 1963. He died of a malignant brain tumor.

Gene Tierney in a costume test for the film with the scenes listed for when it would be worn.

The Secret of Convict Lake trivia:

• Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell were originally set to star as Jim Canfield and Marcia Stoddard respectively.
• The story is fictional but it is inspired by a real incident where a posse had a shoot-out with escaped convicts from the Carson City prison. Convict Lake is a real place in California that was named after the incident.
• This was actress Ann Dvorak’s last film role.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join the online discussion of this film on May 18, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to the discussion on Zoom.

Questions for discussion:

1. What did this film have in common with the other two films we watched: The Walking Hills and Lust for Gold?
2. How did Glenn Ford’s performance in this film compare with his characterization in Lust for Gold?
3. Was Tierney believable as a western heroine? Was her chemistry with Ford believable?
4. Did you have a favorite character in the film?
5. Were you surprised by anything?

Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford have a “Lust for Gold”

Lust for Gold (1949) is an American western directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford. The supporting cast includes Gig Young, William Price, Will Geer, Edgar Buchanan, and Paul Ford. The movie is based on the book Thunder God’s Gold by Barry Storm. The cinematography was by Archie Stout who was the second unit director on several John Ford films including Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), Wagon Master (1950), and The Quiet Man (1952).

The plot concerns the legend of the Lost Dutchman gold mine. Ford is Jacob “Dutchman” Waltz and Lupino is Julia Thomas. 

The film begins in the present (1949-present) with a descendent of Waltz trying to find the mine himself. Then the movie flashes back to 1880 when Waltz and Wiser discover the mine and how Waltz managed to keep the mine a secret from the people of Phoenix, Arizona. 

Julia Thomas wants to escape her dreary life as a baker and sees Waltz as her ticket to wealth and happiness. One problem, she’s married to Pete Thomas (Young) who objects to her plans. Will she manage to get a hold of the gold from the Dutchman’s mine or will Pete and circumstances out of her control keep that from happening.

S. Sylvan Simon (1910 - 1951) was an American stage and film director and producer. He directed many films during the 1930s and 1940s including These Glamour Girls (1939), Whistling in the Dark (1941), Son of Lassie (1945), Abbot and Costello in Hollywood (1945), and Bad Bascomb (1946). Simon produced the film Born Yesterday (1950). Lust for Gold was the last picture he directed. He died of a heart at age 41.

Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford in a publicity still from the film

Ida Lupino (1918 – 1995) was an English-American actress, director, and producer. She appeared in over 50 films and was one of Warner Bros.’s biggest contract players during the 1940s starring in High Sierra (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), and The Man I Love (1947). After she left Warner Bros., Lupino formed her own production company, producing, writing, and directing films that tackled subjects the big studios wouldn’t touch. During the 1950s, Lupino was the only female director working in Hollywood. She directed several small independent films but really made a name for herself directing for television. Lupino directed episodes of The Twilight Zone (starred in one too), The Rifleman, Bonanza, Rifleman, Gilligan’s Island, It Takes a Thief, Family Affair, and Columbo. In 1966, she directed her one-and-only big-budget studio picture, The Trouble with Angels starring Rosalind Russell and Haley Mills.

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contracted, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. For came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Lust for Gold  trivia

• There are over 60 versions of the Lost Dutchman legend.
• George Marshall was the original director but quit after four days.
• One of the few films in movie history where the lead characters (Lupino and Ford) are shown in flashback.
• Some of the film was shot on location in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains.

To watch the film on YouTube, please click on the link below.

Join us on Zoom May 11, 2021 for a discussion of Lust for Gold at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Click here for details on how to participate. It’s free!

Questions for discussion

1. What did you think of the film narrative? 
2. Had you ever heard of the Lost Dutchman legend?
3. Noir or not? Would you consider this a western film noir?
4. Was Lupino’s character a femme fatale? 
5. What did you think of Ford’s characterization?

Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford

Rita Hayworth in "Gilda"

There never was a woman like Gilda!
That was the tagline for Gilda, the 1946 film classic starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. Hayworth caused a sensation as the conflicted title-named heroine. When she sang "Put the Blame on Mame," in a skintight Jean Louis gown, Hayworth secured her place in film history.

The story begins with Johnny Farrell (Ford), a down-on-his-luck small-time gambler who ends up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After cheating two men at craps, a mysterious man (George Macready) saves him from being robbed. He proceeds to tell Johnny about an illegal casino and warns him not to use his cheating skills there.

Right-hand man
Intrigued, Johnny finds the high-class gambling joint and begins cheating the house. Before he knows what's happening, Johnny is surrounded by the casino's watchful staff and taken to the owner, Ballin Mundson, the mysterious man, who saved him from thieves! Johnny convinces Mundson that he should hire him. Mundson does just that and before you know it, Johnny is his right-hand man. 

"I hate you, Johnny!"
When Mundson returns from a trip with a beautiful, young wife (Gilda,) he asks Johnny to watch over her for him. What Mundson doesn't know is that Gilda was once Johnny's lover. The tension and hatred between Gilda and Johnny grows with each passing day. But is it really mutual hatred that stands between them?

Chemical reaction
The on-screen chemistry between Hayworth and Ford set tongues wagging about a possible off-screen relationship. Both stars denied they were ever romantically involved, but remained life-long friends.

The "Love Goddess" is born
After Betty Grable, Hayworth was the most popular pin-up girl during World War II. In a cover story in Life magazine, Hayworth was dubbed the "Love Goddess" a label that she personally hated, but one that followed Hayworth throughout her career.

Gilda was given the A-treatment by her home studio, Columbia Pictures. Charles Vidor (Cover Girl, Love Me or Leave Me) directed and cinematographer Rudolph Mate (The Pride of the Yankees, To Be or Not to Be) lovingly photographed Hayworth. As already mentioned, Jean Louis designed Hayworth's form-fitting costumes, which only served to reinforced her love goddess label.

Icon Status
Almost everything surrounding Gilda is iconic. Hayworth's look, her clothes, her "Put the Blame on Mame" performance, and even the movie poster itself is considered an iconic piece of promotional art. The Artist's Cafe in the Fine Arts Building, 412 S. Michigan Ave. has a foreign version of the Gilda poster hanging on its wall.

There were many memorable movies made and released during the late 1940s, but Gilda stands out among them and remains a classic today.