The 4th Annual SEX! Blogathon…

source: Columbia Pictures

You can’t discuss great classic Hollywood movies without talking about the actors that made them.

There have been plenty of leading pairs throughout the years that have been seared into the movie-going public’s mind; Day and Hudson, Bacall and Bogart, Rogers and Astaire – the list goes on.  One couple that doesn’t nearly get enough attention is the superb twosome of Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth.

Starring in 5 films together during the course of their careers, Hayworth and Ford, in the eyes of the average classic film fan, looked like they were great friends. They were, to a certain extent, but, there’s a reason why I chose them for this blogathon.

In 1946, Gilda was released to moviegoers around the globe to critical acclaim. The sleek production, the angsty storyline and the underlying hate/sexual tension between the two leads made for a thrilling film experience.

source: Columbia Pictures

I suppose that’s what made Gilda so successful.

Not only is Gilda and Johnny’s relationship one of the main driving point of the picture, it also helps when Hayworth and Ford made the romance seem so unforced.

Scrolling around the internet for hidden classic Hollywood tidbits, I stumbled upon this interesting article about some letters of correspondence between Rita and Glenn.

According to ‘Stars and Letters‘, the pair kept in touch with each other for many years, even inviting one another to each other’s houses for drinks and general fraternizing.

What may look like an innocent conversation to you, may look awfully suspicious to folks with a more keen eye towards covert romance.

Here comes the fun part!

Glenn Ford‘s son, Peter Ford, recently (and by recently, I mean 7 years ago) released a biography that insinuated that his father and Rita had an affair that lasted years. 

source: Columbia Pictures

The funny thing about this is, Peter alleges that Rita even got knocked up with Glenn‘s love child and was more or less pressured to get it aborted for the sake of their careers.

Now, let’s put two and two together.

If the younger Ford alleges that his dad had an affair with Hayworth, then it’s pretty obvious during the production Gilda, clearly – something – was going on between the two.

That explains why their relationship in the movie worked so well. It was built on top of something that was already real and very passionate.

The looks they shared, the way they interacted with each other, and the tender emotional moments all give the movie an extra added layer of sensuality and lust that we see in modern movies like Unfaithful and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

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Gilda will forever be one of the greatest movies of all time but discovering that the two leads were involved make the love scenes even more enthralling.

 

To read more posts in this blogathon, click here.