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Living in Hollywood is never so fun as when attending an old-school movie event.
Granted, there wasn't anything highly unusual about the screening of "Gilda" at the Silent Movie Theater yesterday -- it was the third movie in the Cinefamily's month-long series, Femme Fatale Hall of Fame. But some things happen in Hollywood that just can't happen elsewhere. In this case, it was Peter Ford, son of Glenn Ford - the star of the film - casually introducing the movie.
Ford talked briefly about the golden days of Hollywood just like anyone else would talk nostalgically about their childhood - you know, like back when dad lived next door to Rita Hayworth (the other star of the film) and had a gate that went directly from one house to the other. Or when another famous actress casually asked, "Is there any woman in Hollywood your father hasn't slept with?"
The movie theater has a few rows of couches up at the front and folding seats with individual throw pillows throughout the rest of the room. They're also now serving, as a completely unexpected joyful bonus, Crumbs cupcakes at the concession stand. Delicious.
Rita Hayworth as the title character of the movie defines the femme fatale. Charming and quickly marrying a wealthy casino owner, she then finds herself face-to-face with a former lover, only to be torn between her attempts to make him sick with jealousy, her desire to be free, and her need to be taken care of. Classic!
And who else could possibly deliver the line, staring straight into her scorned lover's face as she leaves with another man, "If I had been a ranch, they would have named me the Bar None."
