The Films of Rita Hayworth in November

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE: TITLES:

The Films of Rita Hayworth November 2nd Sony Retail $59.95, Our: $44.99 Cover Girl (1944), Tonight and Every Night (1945), Gilda (1946), Salome (1953), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)

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Long expected, Sony has announced a November 2nd release date for The Films of Rita Hayworth.

The 5-disc set will contain five films with Tonight and Every Night, Salome and Miss Sadie Thompson being new-to-DVD. Cover Girl and Gilda have been previously released, but will likely be remastered. Bonus features (below) are typical of Sony's Collector's Choice series.

Retail will be $59.95, but it's available at ClassicFlix.com for only $44.99.

SYNOPSIS:
These films highlight Hayworth's charm, grace and allure as a dancer, dramatic actress, and vamp--while charting the exceptional range of her career. It's a collection that showcases one of Hollywood's most unforgettable stars...and is certain to win her legions of new admirers as well.

Cover Girl (1944)
Rita Hayworth, Academy Award winner Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers and Eve Arden star in this lavishly produced musical about a nightclub dancer from Brooklyn who leaves her sweetheart after winning a Cover Girl contest -- only to learn that fame and fortune are no substitute for true love.

Rusty Parker is a chorus girl at a nightclub run by her sweetheart, Danny McGuire. Driven by ambition, she enters a "Cover Girl" contest. When Coudair, the magazine's publisher, discovers that she is the granddaughter of a former Broadway belle with whom he had been in love, Rusty wins the contest.

Cover Girl proved to be a turning point in the history of the Hollywood musical. For the first time, the songs were not merely strung together, but were themselves vital elements, serving to move the story forward. Cover Girl was also a major turning point in the career of Gene Kelly, as it established him as a virtuoso choreographer as well as a major dancing talent. Cover Girl also cemented Hayworth's reputation as Hollywood's most talented female dancer. Betty Grable herself admitted Hayworth danced rings around her.

Tonight and Every Night (1945)
This moving picture of life in war-time London is a tribute to those enduring the nightly bombing raids that strafed the city, and Hayworth is radiant as an American showgirl in London. Another gorgeous Technicolor musical and an unusual dramatic role for Rita, based on the real theater troupe who never missed a performance, despite increasingly dangerous circumstances. Victor Saville (Goodbye, Mr. Chips) produced and directed the film, which co-stars Lee Bowman, Janet Blair and Leslie Brooks.

Gilda (1946)
The legendary Rita Hayworth sizzles with sensuality and magnetism as she sings "Put the Blame on Mame" and delivers a dazzling performance as the enticing temptress Gilda. In the story of Gilda, Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) goes to work for Balin Mundson (George Macready), the proprietor of an illegal gambling casino in a South American city, and quickly rises to become Mundson's "main man." All is well until Mundson returns from a trip with his new bride Gilda -- a woman from Johnny's past. Mundson, unaware of their previous love affair, assigns Farrell the job of keeping Gilda a faithful wife. Fraught with hatred, Gilda does her best to antagonize, intimidate, and instill jealousy in Farrell -- until circumstances allow him to get even.

Salome (1953)
Rita plays the gloriously beautiful but wicked Salome with relish in this Biblical tale of the stepdaughter of Roman King Herod (Charles Laughton), whose growing lust for his charge leads her to make a very unique demand involving John The Baptist (Alan Badel). William Dieterle (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) directed this lavish production, which also stars Stewart Granger, Dame Judith Anderson and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.

Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
The fourth screen version of the famed Somerset Maugham story details the arrival of a free-spirited woman to Samoa, where she naturally arouses the interest of the Marines based there (especially sergeant Aldo Ray), as well as the wrath of the fire-and-brimstone preacher (Jose Ferrer) who wants her sent away immediately. Curtis Bernhardt (A Stolen Life) directed the film, which was originally released in 3-D.

BONUS FEATURES:

• Baz Luhrmann on Cover Girl
• Introducing Miss Sadie Thompson with Patricia Clarkson
• Patricia Clarkson on Tonight and Every Night
• Commentary with Author/Filmmaker Richard Shickel