The incandescent Rita Hayworth had undergone a lot of hardships in her life, but one thing she is always remembered for is her breathtaking beauty. Here, 25 years after she was an international star, she is very brave in presenting herself as a rather dowdy, tired waitress, a witness in the murder case that police officer Glenn Ford is working on, both surprised to see each other as they were lovers years before. Ford and Ricardo Montalban aren't exactly on the up and up, looking for stolen loot and determined to keep it. Ford is unhappily married to the grasping Elke Sommer, a lot younger than Hayworth, but driving Ford mad with her materialism. Hayworth, after the viewer gets over the shock of seeing how she looks in a matronly hairstyle, dominates this film with her shockingly gritty and real performance, playing a glamor girl who's best days are behind her, turning to drink to comfort herself, and sadly, there isn't enough of her.
Still hanging in there, Ford gives his usual dependable performance but it's nothing remarkable, and he's a hard-leading character to root for. Montalban once again plays a bad guy (doing so again in the same year's "Madame X"), and he's so delightfully hard boiled and in bittered that he's fascinating to watch. It's obvious that he's going to be grasping for the gold up until the last minute, with it just out of reach, but that dream still prevalent in his mind.
It's interesting to note that in the amusement park sequence, the rides feature songs from MGM musicals ("It's a Most Unusual Day", "You are My Lucky Star", "After the Ball"), obviously recorded and inserted in, because I can't imagine any amusement park using these songs, at least not consecutively if at all. This is fascinating as a B second stringer, gritty and filled with great moments and interesting supporting characters, but it's just missing that one bit of flour that makes the cake rise to complete success.
Still hanging in there, Ford gives his usual dependable performance but it's nothing remarkable, and he's a hard-leading character to root for. Montalban once again plays a bad guy (doing so again in the same year's "Madame X"), and he's so delightfully hard boiled and in bittered that he's fascinating to watch. It's obvious that he's going to be grasping for the gold up until the last minute, with it just out of reach, but that dream still prevalent in his mind.
It's interesting to note that in the amusement park sequence, the rides feature songs from MGM musicals ("It's a Most Unusual Day", "You are My Lucky Star", "After the Ball"), obviously recorded and inserted in, because I can't imagine any amusement park using these songs, at least not consecutively if at all. This is fascinating as a B second stringer, gritty and filled with great moments and interesting supporting characters, but it's just missing that one bit of flour that makes the cake rise to complete success.