Gilda & In A Lonely Place
GILDA
“The Maltese Falcon” has many secret sexual innuendos that many people do not know about, however so do the next couple of movies, “Gilda” and “In A Lonely Place”.
“Gilda” is a movie overflowing with sexuality, from the character of Gilda herself, to the quasi amorous affair between Johnny Farrell and Ballin Mundson. “Gilda” is a film about a gambler named Johnny who is saved by a casino owner named Ballin. The two eventually become partners, however there is one catch. Mundson eventually marries this overtly sexual woman named Gilda, but at one point, she and Johnny were lovers. The makes for an unusual, but exciting love triangle.
If could tell you about the whole movie, but then I would just be giving you a review and spoilers, however luckily for you that is not what I will be doing. Instead I want to analyze the overtly sexual personality of Gilda and the quasi-amorous relationship between Johnny and Ballin.
First off, Gilda, whom the movie is named after, is a beautiful woman. She is somewhat of a tease, which becomes evident when she performs a semi-striptease, but really she does not take off her clothes. Instead, she moves around in a sexual manner, making sure that she is arousing all the men she performing for, while she sings a catchy song called “Put the Blame on Mame”.
Nowadays, when watching a scene like this, you would think that it is just a silly woman dancing around, however back then this was the hottest thing out there. Take a look at how Gilda is dressed. She is wearing a long silky dress that cut low on her breasts. Then she is wearing these sexy long gloves that go up to her elbows. Her low cut dress allows for her chest and shoulders to be bare, further putting emphasis on her shining gold necklace. As she swings her hips around, it almost seems as if she was trying to hypnotize the men watching. Then, all of a sudden, she does this move that shocks most people. Normally, this would be nothing, but in this context, this is huge. At one point, she bends over and drops her head, only to come back up, this time with her hair held up by her hands. Not only is this put major emphasis on her already striking chest, neck and shoulders, but this makes her even more enticing. Then she prepares herself for the icing on the cake, followed by the cherry on top. As she finishes her re-enactment of the Herbal Essences Hair flip, she stands up and slowly begins to roll down her left glove. This, of course, leaves her already exposed skin, even more exposed. As she gradually rolls down the glove, she exposes her arm. Anybody could re-enact this scene, but would it be just as sexy as the way Gilda does it. People call this the striptease scene, but really she does not take anything off. All she is doing is taking off what most people consider to be an accessory, but in this movie and context, this is arguably hotter and sexier than a real strip tease. Some say that less is more and in this case, they might be right. The fact that Gilda is almost fully clothed makes the act of taking off her glove even more arousing. The way in which she does it made a lot of men hoot and howl. Gilda makes taking off her one glove seem as though she was taking off all he clothes. These days, this seems like nothing but a silly scene, to most it is a joke, however, in the 1940′s and 1950′s this was really steamy and hot!
Rita Hayworth as Gilda
Now that I have written about Gilda, let us focus on her male counterparts, Johnny Farrell and Ballin Mundson. Not only are these two men friends and partners in crime, but they might also be secret lovers. Like in the case of ‘The Maltese Falcon” much can be said about Mundson’s cane. Some say that his cane is a phallic symbol of his own penis, that he often swings in Johnny’s direction, but obviously their relationship was not clearly outlined. However, one thing that does hint at the idea that these two men could be lovers is the fact that at one point, Johnny says to Ballin, “I was born last night when you met me in that alley.” Now, that could easily be taken in two different ways. You could say that it is just a simple statement of friendship, but I would like to think otherwise. Ballin and Mundson are more than just friends. Not many men will say that to another man because there is a lot of homosexual tones in that sentence. I could see a man say that to a woman, however a man saying that to man, is just not common, unless the two are lovers. Even Glenn Ford, the actor who played Johnny Farell said that he knew the relationship between Ballin and him was homosexual, “Of course, we knew that the relationship was homosexual.”
While the sexuality of Gilda is unquestionable, the homosexual relationship between Johnny Farrell and Ballin Mundson is. Although the hints suggest that their relationship is more than just a friendly one, it is not clearly outlined or directly pointed out. You can thank the Hays Code for that.
IN A LONELY PLACE
While “Gilda” featured two men in a homosexual relationship, “In A Lonely Place” is said to have featured a lesbian interaction. At one point, the dainty feminine character, Laurel Gray is receiving a massage from a rather butch-looking woman named Martha. While this would normally be considered a regular day at the massage parlor, the fact that there seems to be a sexual vibe, messes all of that up. Her body language suggests that she has some sort of sexual attraction towards Laurel. The masseuse, Martha, is roughly manhandling Laurel in every which way. Martha, a big-boned aggressive woman, is shown as having slicked back hair and a very rough and hard voice. Some say that the director, Nicholas Ray, who is said to be bisexual himself, slipped in a homosexual character, in the likes of Martha the masseuse.
Gloria Grahame as Laurel Gray
