Directed by Charles Vidor, Gilda is Rita Hayworth's most famous film. It is a classic film noir, the story of Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford), a young American in Argentina at the end of WWII. At the beginning of the film, he is in some trouble, having just cheated a group of sailors in a game of loaded dice. He escapes from the sailors, but is about to be robbed of his ill-gotten gains when Ballin Mundsen (George Macready), a casino owner, arrives. He chases away the thief with a sword concealed in a cane, and eventually hires Johnny as his casino manager (and, it is implied, his lover).

Things are going well until Ballin goes away on a trip, leaving Johnny in charge, and returns with a new wife, Gilda. Ballin notices that Johnny and Gilda have an unusually antagonistic relationship for two strangers, and is strangely excited by the sparks between them.

This movie has great dialogue as well, e.g.:

Ballin: You see, I thought I'd lost you.
Gilda: Me? Ha, ha. Not a chance.
Ballin: And that couldn't be replaced.
Johnny: (sarcastically) Should we have a drink before I start to cry?
Gilda: You see, Johnny doesn't think that would be a tragedy - if you lost me.
Johnny: Statistics show that there are more women in the world than anything else - except insects.

Eventually, the connection between Johnny and Gilda is explained, and we get to see Rita Hayworth sing, dance, flip her hair around, and take off a pair of gloves more sexily than Angelina Jolie could take off her underwear.