Gilda

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Removing a glove has never been so sexy.

Ballin Mundson: Gilda, are you decent? Gilda: Me? [long pause] Sure. I'm decent.

Gilda is a 1946 Film Noir about the epynomous Femme Fatale, a nightclub singer named Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford and George Macready. The film is notable for its excellent cinematography, music and particularly Hayworth's stunningly sexy performance.

The story takes place in Argentina where a dice gambler called Johnny Farrell ends up becoming the right-hand man of Ballin Mundson, the owner of an illegal casino, who is constantly under the watchful eye of local authorities. The situation becomes more complicated when Johnny meets Ballin's wife, the nightclub singer Gilda, who was once his lover.

Struggling between his loyalty to Ballin and his hatred for Gilda, Johnny grows increasingly conflicted, which isn't helped when on the night he kisses Gilda, the event is witnessed by Ballin who flees only to seemingly plummet to his death in an exploding airplane. Saddened by his friend's demise, Johnny begins controlling Gilda's goings even more rigorously while the local authorities question him about details of certain cartel plans which Ballin has presumably been involved with.

Despite all of this, Johnny can't forget what he once felt for Gilda, but he can't be sure if Gilda shares his feelings. To make things worse, a shadow of the past still looms over them...

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Gilda provides examples of:

• Affably Evil: Ballin Mundson.
• Anti-Hero: Johnny Farrell.
• Deadpan Snarker: Johnny.
• Destructive Romance: Johnny and Gilda. SO MUCH.
• Everyone Can See It
• Faking the Dead: Ballin Mundson.
• Femme Fatale: Gilda, Gilda, Gilda.
• Have a Gay Old Time: See quote in the YMMV tab.
• Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Johnny Farrell.
• The Masochism Tango: Johnny and Gilda.
• Meaningful Echo: Pio calling Johnny a "Peasant."
• Opera Gloves: Gilda removes her glove while singing.
• Pass the Popcorn: Many characters remark to this effect.
• Pretty in Mink: Gilda has a few furs, including a chinchilla jacket, a mink coat, and an ermine coat that she carries in the first part of "Put the Blame on Mame".
• Slap Slap Kiss: Johnny and Gilda. Their only on-screen kiss is preceded by them professing their mutual hate for one another.
  • Gilda also slaps Johnny three times in succession, and Johnny slaps her once; however, both scenes are played extremely seriously and are not followed by a kiss or anything else remotely romantic.
• Sword Cane: Ballin has a switchblade cane.
• Those Two Actors: Gilda is the second of the five films starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.
• Woman in Black: Gilda.
• Would Hit a Girl: Johnny hit Gilda after she performed her striptease.
• You Can Leave Your Hat On: Gilda's glove-removing scene (she would've gone further but Johnny stopped her).