The plot is ludicrous and rather boring (tungsten cartel anyone?)
It is the performances that make this a worthy watch. Hayworth is smoking hot as the eponymous temptress. At one point she performs a sexy striptease and manages to drive a crowd of men bonkers rapey, even though she only removes her evening gloves! A highly unpleasant character though. The entire film oozes misogyny. The character of Gilda is seemingly a metaphor for womankind. Whores who drive men mad and create havoc wherever they are. Serious mommy issues from the writer.
Gilda is merely a distraction of a bad element. As a post-war film we do get the requisite German bad guys, but they are such downplayed characters they exist only as plot devices. The main bad egg is Ballin Mundson, lusciously played by George Macready. He steals the show for me as a man who is not only full of hate, but positively thrives on it. His relationship with Johnny and Gilda (for it does play like a strange threeway) is a powder keg ready to explode.
Sadly the story just gets a bit too messy. After a bizarre plot twist where Ballin fakes his own death and does one, the Gilda abuse fires up even more, so much so that I really didn't buy the neat ending.
It is a gorgeous film to look at. The entire film seems to be set at night as the cast is swathed in gorgeous evening wear. Rita Hayworth's hair should really have billing. It is a wonder to watch when she dances.
So worthy of a watch for the performances and the quite blatant homoeroticism between Ballin and Johnny.
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