CULVER CITY, CALIF. (August 30, 2010) – One of the most glamorous movie stars of all time, Rita Hayworth was the ultimate bombshell of the 1940s. Known as “The Love Goddess,” she was equally adept at playing sultry temptresses or dancing her way through splashy Technicolor musicals. On November 2, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and The Film Foundation have teamed again to present The Films of Rita Hayworth, five of Hayworth’s finest films on DVD — three of them for the first time. These fully restored and remastered films highlight her charm, grace and allure as a dancer, dramatic actress, and vamp—while charting the exceptional range of her career. It’s a collection that showcases one of Hollywood’s most unforgettable stars … and is certain to win her legions of new admirers as well. The collection includes the Technicolor war-time musical Tonight and Every Night, the lavish biblical spectacle Salome, and the dramatic musical Miss Sadie Thompson (each making their DVD debuts), as well as the Rita’s most iconic films Cover Girl with Gene Kelly and the celebrated Gilda with Glenn Ford.
The Films of Rita Hayworth also features all-new bonus materials, including special introductory featurettes with a trio of award winning talent: “Baz Luhrman on Cover Girl,” “Patricia Clarkson on Tonight and Every Night,” “Martin Scorsese and Baz Luhrman on Gilda,” and “Introducing Miss Sadie Thompson with Patricia Clarkson.” In addition, acclaimed author and film critic Richard Schickel offers commentary on Hayworth’s defining role, Gilda. The Films of Rita Hayworth will be available for $59.95 SRP.
About Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987) was born Margarita Cansino in Brooklyn, New York. She began her career as a professional nightclub dancer and segued into movies with her feature film debut in Dante’s Inferno (1935). She continued to play minor roles for several studios before signing with Columbia Pictures in 1937. After two years of starring in B pictures, her big break came in 1939 when Howard Hawks cast her as Cary Grant’s hardboiled ex-flame in Only Angels Have Wings. After loan-outs to other studios, Hayworth returned a full-fledged star after memorable performances in Fox’s Blood and Sand and Warner’s The Strawberry Blonde (both 1941).
Back on the Columbia lot, Hayworth starred opposite Fred Astaire in two musicals, Cole Porter’s You’ll Never Get Rich (1941) and Jerome Kern’s You Were Never Lovelier (1942). When a sultry publicity photograph of Hayworth kneeling on a bed in a negligee was published in Life Magazine, it became a favorite pin-up for American GIs fighting overseas, and one of the most iconic images of the war years.
Hayworth starred in two more musicals, Cover Girl (1944) and Tonight and Every Night (1945), before making the film that would establish her as a legend. Her performance as Gilda (1946) –in which Hayworth in black satin performed a legendary one-glove striptease – made her into a cultural icon as the ultimate femme fatale and gave Columbia one of Hollywood’s biggest postwar hits.
Hayworth would make three more films—Down to Earth (1947), the noir classic The Lady From Shanghai (produced 1946, released 1948), directed by her ex-husband Orson Welles, and reteaming with co-star Glenn Ford for The Loves of Carmen (1948)—before her marriage to Prince Aly Kahn led to a four-year absence from the screen. Returning in 1952, she made three hit films in a row— once again with Glenn Ford for Affair in Trinidad (1952); Salome (1953) with Stewart Granger and Charles Laughton; and the musical drama Miss Sadie Thompson (originally released in 3-D, 1953)—before her tumultuous marriage to singer Dick Haymes kept her off the screen for another four years.
Hayworth returned to Columbia in 1957 and made three more films at the studio: Fire Down Below (1957) with Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon; Pal Joey (1957) with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, her last appearance in a musical (available on DVD in The Kim Novak Collection); and Robert Rossen’s They Came to Cordura (1959) opposite Gary Cooper and Tab Hunter.
Hayworth continued to work throughout the 60s, retiring after the offbeat Western The Wrath of God (1972). After her death in 1987, President Ronald Reagan eulogized “Rita Hayworth was one of our country’s most beloved stars. Glamorous and talented, she gave us many wonderful moments on stage and screen and delighted audiences from the time she was a young girl. In her later years, Rita became known for her struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Her courage and candor, and that of her family, were a great public service in bringing worldwide attention to a disease which we all hope will soon be cured.”
Cover Girl (1944)
Rita’s gorgeous red hair made her a natural for Technicolor, and her beauty is amply displayed in this musical, directed by Charles Vidor, about a dancer who unexpectedly becomes a magazine cover model. Dance partner and love interest Gene Kelly becomes jealous when her rising celebrity clashes with his ambition. The songs are by Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern, with supporting actors Phil Silvers, Lee Bowman, Otto Kruger, and Eve Arden rounding out the superb cast. Nominated for five Academy Awards® and winning for “Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture,” Cover Girl has a running time of 107 minutes and is not rated.
Tonight and Every Night (1945)
This moving picture of life in war-time London is a tribute to those enduring the nightly bombing raids that strafed the city, and Hayworth is radiant as an American showgirl in London. Another gorgeous Technicolor musical and an unusual dramatic role for Rita, based on the real theater troupe who never missed a performance, despite increasingly dangerous circumstances. Victor Saville (Goodbye, Mr. Chips) produced and directed the film, which co-stars Lee Bowman, Janet Blair and Leslie Brooks. Nominated for two Oscars®, Tonight and Every Night has a running time of 92 minutes and is not rated.
Gilda (1946)
Gilda (Rita Hayworth), the wife of a casino owner (George Macready) in Buenos Aires, is surprised to be introduced to her husband’s new casino manager (Glenn Ford), a man from her past. Rita’s legendary striptease to “Put the Blame on Mame” is an unforgettable moment in one of the greatest of all film noirs, and the peak of her career–not to mention a searing depiction of one of the most erotic and tortured relationships on film. Directed by Charles Vidor, the film co-stars Joseph Calleia, Stephen Geray and Gerald Mohr. Gilda has a running time of 110 minutes and is not rated.
Salome (1953)
Rita plays the gloriously beautiful but wicked Salome with relish in this Biblical tale of the stepdaughter of Roman King Herod (Charles Laughton), who’s growing lust for his charge leads her to make a very unique demand involving John the Baptist (Alan Badel). William Dieterle (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) directed this lavish production, which also stars Stewart Granger, Dame Judith Anderson and Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Salome has a running time of 103 minutes and is not rated.
Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
The fourth screen version of the famed Somerset Maugham story details the arrival of a free-spirited woman to Samoa, where she naturally arouses the interest of the Marines based there (especially sergeant Aldo Ray), as well as the wrath of the fire-and-brimstone preacher (Jose Ferrer) who wants her sent away immediately. Curtis Bernhardt (A Stolen Life) directed the film, which was originally released in 3-D. The song “Blue Pacific Blues” by Lester Lee and Ned Washington was nominated for Best Original Song. Miss Sadie Thompson has a running time of 91 minutes and is not rated.
All New Special Features Include:
§ “Baz Luhrman on Cover Girl”
§ “Patricia Clarkson on Tonight and Every Night”
§ “Martin Scorsese and Baz Luhrman on Gilda”
§ Commentary with Author Richard Schickel on Gilda
§ “Introducing Miss Sadie Thompson with Patricia Clarkson”
§ Original Trailers
