Rita Hayworth

Actresses

Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987) was an American actress and dancer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era’s top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined the term “The Love Goddess” to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II.

Hayworth is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1946 film noir Gilda, opposite Glenn Ford, in which she played the femme fatale in her first major dramatic role. She is also known for her performances in, Only Angels Have Wings (1939), starring Cary Grant; The Strawberry Blonde (1941), with James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland; The Lady from Shanghai (1947), directed by and costarring her husband at the time, Orson Welles; Pal Joey (1957), with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak; Fire Down Below (1957), Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon; Separate Tables (1958), with Debra Kerr and David Niven; Robert Rossen‘s They Came to Cordura (1959), with Gary Cooper; The Happy Thieves (1961), with Rex Harrison; and Circus World (1964), with John Wayne. Fred Astaire, with whom she made two films, You’ll Never Get Rich (1941), and You Were Never Lovelier (1942), once called her his favorite dance partner. She also starred in the Technicolor musical Cover Girl (1944), with Gene Kelly.

She is listed as one of the top 25 female motion picture stars of all time in the American Film Institute’s survey, AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars. In 1980, Hayworth was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which contributed to her death at age 68. The public disclosure and discussion of her illness drew attention to Alzheimer’s, which was largely unknown by most people at the time, and helped to increase public and private funding for Alzheimer’s research.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Cruz Diablo (1934) – directed by Fernando de Fuentes – uncredited
In Caliente (1935) – directed by Lloyd Bacon – credited as Rita Cansino
Under the Pampas Moon (1935) – directed by James Tinling – credited as Rita Cansino
Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) – directed by Louis King – as Rita Cansino
Dante’s Inferno (1935) – directed by
Harry Lachman – credited as Rita Cansino
Piernas de seda (1935) – directed by John Boland – uncredited
Hi, Gaucho! (1935) – directed by Tommy Atkins – uncredited
Professional Soldier (1935) – directed by Tay Garnett – credited as Rita Cansino
Paddy O’Day (1936) – directed by Lewis Seiler – credited as Rita Cansino
Human Cargo (1936) – directed by Allan Dwan – credited as Rita Cansino
Dancing Pirates (1936) – directed by Lloyd Corrigan – uncredited
Meet Nero Wolfe (1936) – directed by Herbert Biberman – credited as Rita Cansino
Rebellion (1936) – directed by Lynn Shores – credited as Rita Cansino
Old Louisiana (1937) – directed by Irvin Willat – credited as Rita Cansino
Hit the Saddle (1937) – directed by Mack V. Wright – credited as Rita Cansino
Trouble in Texas (1937) – directed by Robert N. Bradbury – credited as Rita Cansino
Criminals in the Air (1937) – directed by Charles C. Coleman
Girls Can Play (1937) – directed by Lambert Hillyer
The Game That Kills (1937) – directed by D. Ross Lederman
Life Begins with Love (1937) – directed by Ray McCarey – uncredited
Paid to Dance (1937) – directed by Charles C. Coleman
The Shadow (1937) – directed by Charles C. Coleman
Who Killed Gail Preston? (1938) – directed by Leon Barsha
Special Inspector (1938) – directed by Leon Barsha
There’s Always a Woman (1938) – directed by Alexander Hall – uncredited
Convicted (1938) – directed by Leon Barsha
Juvenile Court (1938) – directed by D. Ross Lederman
The Renegade Ranger (1938) – directed by David Howard
Homicide Bureau (1939) – directed by Charles C. Coleman
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) – directed by Peter Godfrey
Only Angels Have Wings (1939) – directed by Howard Hawks
Music in My Heart (1940) – directed by
Joseph Santley
Blondie on a Budget (1940) – directed by Frank R. Strayer
Susan and God (1940) – directed by George Cukor
The Lady in Question (1940) – directed by Charles Vidor
Angels Over Broadway (1940) – directed by Ben Hecht & Lee Garmes
The Strawberry Blonde (1941) – directed by Raoul Walsh
Affectionately Yours (1941) – directed by Lloyd Bacon
Blood and Sand (1941) – directed by Rouben Mamoulian
You’ll Never Get Rich (1941) – directed by Sidney Lanfield
My Gal Sal (1942) – directed by Irving Cummings
Tales of Manhattan (1942) – directed by Julien Duvivier
You Were Never Lovelier (1942) – directed by William A. Seiter
Cover Girl (1944) – directed by Charles Vidor
Tonight and Every Night (1945) – directed by Victor Saville
Gilda (1946) – directed by Charles Vidor
Down to Earth (1947) – directed by Alexander Hall
The Lady from Shanghai (1947) – directed by Orson Welles
The Loves of Carmen (1948) – directed by Charles Vidor – also uncredited producer
Affair in Trinidad (1952) – directed by Vincent Sherman – also uncredited producer
Salome (1953) – directed by William Dieterle – also uncredited producer
Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) – directed by Curtis Bernhardt
Fire Down Below (1957) – directed by Robert Parrish
Pal Joey (1957) – directed by George Sidney
Separate Tables (1958) – directed by Delbert Mann
They Came to Cordura (1959) – directed by Robert Rossen
The Story on Page One (1959) – directed by Clifford Odets
The Happy Thieves (1961) – directed by George Marshall – also executive producer
Circus World (1964) – directed by Henry Hathaway
The Money Trap (1965) – directed by Burt Kennedy,
The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966) – directed by Terence Young – TV movie
The Rover (1967) – directed by Terence Young
The Bastard (1968) – directed by Duccio Tessari
The Naked Zoo (1970) – directed by William Grefé
Road to Salina (1970) – directed by George Lautner – aka La Route de Salina
The Wrath of God (1972) – directed by Ralph Nelson

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