Why One of the Greatest Actresses of All Time Turned Down Rita Hayworth’s Co-Star in Movie Classic Gilda

Gilda is a classic in film history and a classic in film noir. Released in 1946, it is a “vehicle” film for actress Rita Hayworth to wear her image as a “pinup” of American soldiers during World War II and finally give her the big movie she deserves.

The producer of this project for Columbia, Virginia Van Upp, directed the script to adapt it to the persona of Rita Hayworth and her public image.

Again, Van Ap sent the script to Humphrey Bogart, then a film noir star with such titles as The Port of Anguish, The Kingpin, Death Was Not There, The Maltese Falcon, and Une Dangerous Woman. But the latter does not appreciate the film according to his taste.

“woman’s film”

In GildaThe book by Melvin Stokes is published in the BFI Film Classics collection (cited Collider), we can read that Bogart turned down the role of Jonny Farrell after reading the script on the pretext that it was a “women’s movie”. In other words, where the star is a woman. And where he would potentially only have a supporting role.

One evil for two good

But his refusal was a blessing. First of all, because we have to admit that Gilda – and this is far from a crime in Hollywood – tries to reproduce the formula of Casablanca, the huge Warner success that came out four years ago, starring (precisely) Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

There is a love triangle, an expatriate bar owner in a white suit, and a complicated political context. The comparison ends there, but Bogart’s refusal may have allowed the screenwriters to move on to the Gilda we know today and differentiate it from Casablanca.

Above all, Bogart’s rejection highlighted the talents of Glenn Ford, the ultimate interpreter of Johnny Farrell, and really launched his career as a leading actor. This would allow him to appear in the excellent Seeds of Violence, 3h10 for Yuma, The Enigma of Black Lake, or The Deserter of Fort Alamo.