When Johnny Farrell, a professional card shark, is caught cheating at blackjack in a Buenos Aires casino he convinces the owner, Ballin Mundson, to give him a job. Soon he is the manager of the casino and he and Mundson are good friends. Out of the blue Mundson gets married...to Gilda, and ex-flame of Johnny's. Their relationship ended badly and soon Johnny realises that Gilda is just after Mundson's money. She starts cheating on Mundson and Johnny covers for her to prevent his friend from being hurt. Johnny also discovers that Mundson is involved with some shady German characters.
A film that started very well. We have the slick-talking, quick-thinking, streetwise Johnny getting a job on the hire-a-thief-to-catch-a-thief principle, the success he makes of this and his relationship with his employer, Mundson.
Enter Gilda, played by Rita Heyworth. Stunningly beautiful and beguiling, she threatens to ruin Johnny's perfect world. What secrets do Gilda and Johnny have that they can't speak about them?
Johnny's covering for her infidelity can only end badly and what's up with the shady Germans (especially considering that this is Argentina immediately post-WW2)?
The tension is high and it's all set up for some very intriguing plot developments and twists, Hitchcock style.
Unfortunately, after such a great setup, the remainder is rather disappointing. No great twists, intrigues or thrills, everything unfolds in predictable, linear fashion. Rather than being a thriller it's more a romantic drama and a fairly conventional one at that.
Ultimately it's interesting enough but it seemed destined to be far better than that. The most memorable aspect to the movie will always be Rita Heyworth's smouldering femme fatale performance and appearance rather than the overall quality of the film.
A film that started very well. We have the slick-talking, quick-thinking, streetwise Johnny getting a job on the hire-a-thief-to-catch-a-thief principle, the success he makes of this and his relationship with his employer, Mundson.
Enter Gilda, played by Rita Heyworth. Stunningly beautiful and beguiling, she threatens to ruin Johnny's perfect world. What secrets do Gilda and Johnny have that they can't speak about them?
Johnny's covering for her infidelity can only end badly and what's up with the shady Germans (especially considering that this is Argentina immediately post-WW2)?
The tension is high and it's all set up for some very intriguing plot developments and twists, Hitchcock style.
Unfortunately, after such a great setup, the remainder is rather disappointing. No great twists, intrigues or thrills, everything unfolds in predictable, linear fashion. Rather than being a thriller it's more a romantic drama and a fairly conventional one at that.
Ultimately it's interesting enough but it seemed destined to be far better than that. The most memorable aspect to the movie will always be Rita Heyworth's smouldering femme fatale performance and appearance rather than the overall quality of the film.