Great films starring Anthony Quinn and Rita Hayworth

[Toto]

I noticed that for "Hispanic Heritage Month", TCM will show films starring Anthony Quinn and Rita Hayworth - two amazing talents.  I'm not sure they'll show all of the best performances featuring these two so here are my favorites.  I'd love to hear your opinions of favorite Quinn or Hayworth performances and movies.

Anthony Quinn

La Strada (1954) - my personal favorite with Quinn.   Quinn plays the itinerant performer in a circus who dominates his girlfriend.  He makes the role more than a portrayal of just a cruel savage character but shows his isolation and a dramatic character shift at the end of the film when he breaks down in tears.  This film is directed by Frederico Fellini.  It is a stirring story and filmed in a realistic style. 

Other Quinn favorites are:  Lawrence of Arabia, Viva Zapata, Zorba the Greek and Lust for Life.

Rita Hayworth

Gilda (1946) - one of my favorite noir movies with Hayworth playing a sexy femme fatale type.  I love the characters and twists and turns in this story that takes place in South America.

Other Hayworth favorites include:  The Lady from Shanghai, Separate Tables and Angels Have Wings.

        

[TopBilled]

Hayworth & Quinn costarred twice.

First in the remake of BLOOD AND SAND (1941):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_Sand_(1941_film)

Then in the Italian war flick THE ROVER (1967):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rover_(1967_film)

[unwatchable]

La Strada is, at its payoff, a truly moving film.  Although Quinn did a great job in his role, his brute could have been played effectively by other actors, but I cannot imagine anyone but Giuletta Masina in the role of Gelsomina. What an ending this film has.

Gilda - the first time I saw this film, I couldn't have been more than ten years old,  watching it late at night with the sound kept low to not wake my parents. I didn't understand the film, of course, but once I matured and began studying film noir, the sexual overtones in the triangle of characters made for much discussion with my friends.

[Toto]

1 hour ago, unwatchable said:

La Strada is, at its payoff, a truly moving film.  Although Quinn did a great job in his role, his brute could have been played effectively by other actors, but I cannot imagine anyone but Giuletta Masina in the role of Gelsomina. What an ending this film has.

Gilda - the first time I saw this film, I couldn't have been more than ten years old,  watching it late at night with the sound kept low to not wake my parents. I didn't understand the film, of course, but once I matured and began studying film noir, the sexual overtones in the triangle of characters made for much discussion with my friends.

Yes - Giuletta Masina is brilliant in her role as Gelsomina  in La Strada and as wonderful as Quinn is in this film, it's hard to beat Giuletta Masina's performance.

[Sepiatone]

I really don't much like these subjective at best threads.  Especially involving classic stars with top-notch filmographies.   But here goes....

Quinn's REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT is IMHO one of his best performances.  And for what it's worth, I never thought BARABBAS  was all that bad.  

As for Rita....

I too loved her in GILDA, but in MY GAL SAL and all the way up to THE STORY ON PAGE ONE.   and  THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. 

Too many great ones from both to narrow down sufficiently.   

Sepiatone

[rickdd]

I'm not sure Rita Hayworth really qualifies as Hispanic. I know Spaniards today do not consider themselves Hispanic, even some So. Americans don't.  She was half Irish with red hair and pale white skin, and just speaking Spanish, if she did, isn't a qualifier. There seems to be some appropriation of  Rita Hayworth as Hispanic for no reason.

[filmnoirguy]

Gilda is my favorite Hayworth movie.  But I also like 1944's Cover Girl and 1945's Tonight and Every Night.

[Swithin]

2 hours ago, rickdd said:

I'm not sure Rita Hayworth really qualifies as Hispanic. I know Spaniards today do not consider themselves Hispanic, even some So. Americans don't.  She was half Irish with red hair and pale white skin, and just speaking Spanish, if she did, isn't a qualifier. There seems to be some appropriation of  Rita Hayworth as Hispanic for no reason.

Actually, her Irish half (mother Volga Hayworth) was half English. Quinn was one quarter Irish.

[brianNH]

In response to Sepiatone, let me echo my fondness for Barabbas. It wasn't until in the last few years that I really came to savor this movie, but my predilection for it stems more from the religious story that unfolds.  Quinn handles it as only Quinn can, so I won't match this performance against any other that some people may press for.   

As for Rita Hayworth, "Gilda" is a movie I enjoy watching every so often, but "Cover Girl" is something I enjoy over and over again.  What can I say; I love watching Hayworth on screen.  

[rickdd]

1 hour ago, Swithin said:

Actually, her Irish half (mother Volga Hayworth) was half English. ....

A difference without a distinction. . .in this context.😉

[Sepiatone]

20 hours ago, rickdd said:

I'm not sure Rita Hayworth really qualifies as Hispanic. I know Spaniards today do not consider themselves Hispanic, even some So. Americans don't.  She was half Irish with red hair and pale white skin, and just speaking Spanish, if she did, isn't a qualifier. There seems to be some appropriation of  Rita Hayworth as Hispanic for no reason.

So....

I'm from a Polish-Rusian Father and a Polish-French Canadian Mother.   What do you make of that?

But I figure since there's more Polish combined than Russian and French, and since my surname is Polish,  I more consider myself more of Polish descent.    Same with Rita, whose real name was Margarita Carmen Cansino,  Would have stronger Spanish roots than her Mother's heritage, therefore can be considered Spanish(or "Hispanic")  

And I'm only PART French, which means I don't fight with my feet!   

Sepiatone

[rickdd]

On 9/17/2021 at 9:06 AM, Sepiatone said:

So....

Same with Rita, whose real name was Margarita Carmen Cansino,  Would have stronger Spanish roots than her Mother's heritage, therefore can be considered Spanish(or "Hispanic")  

 

Sepiatone

Do we know what Rita thought??????????? What her father thought? I know for certain today Spaniards do not consider themselves Hispanic. It's more likely Hayworth is a big name being usurped for her star power.

[UMO1982]

They only made 2 films together. Neither one was great.

[Sepiatone]

17 hours ago, rickdd said:

Do we know what Rita thought??????????? What her father thought? I know for certain today Spaniards do not consider themselves Hispanic. It's more likely Hayworth is a big name being usurped for her star power.

My wife went through something like that.  Her being Mexican would resent those "gringos"  who would refer to her as a "****".  Telling me that it was Puerto Ricans  who, by other Latinos, would be referred to with that name.  And when growing up, many Mexicans considered Puerto Ricans to be of the same class many whites considered African-Americans to be in.  You know...

Unfavorable.  Like, the "ni**ers of the Latino culture.  

Sepiatone

[rickdd]

On 9/21/2021 at 10:26 AM, Sepiatone said:

My wife went through something like that....

Sepiatone

You completely missed the point of my post. Go back a reread it.

[Sepiatone]

8 hours ago, rickdd said:

You completely missed the point of my post. Go back a reread it.

So, is it the Spaniards still living in Spain who don't consider themselves "Hispanic?"   Or too, Spaniards living in the U.S. ?

And are you suggesting TCM added Hayworth's name to the fray to try and make them look "Chicano savvy?"   (a term my wife coined to describe "gringos"  who only bother with things Hispanic on Cinco de Mayo and come to the "barrio" for the food, tequila and walk around mispronouncing all sorts of Spanish words).   

Far as that goes, many Mexicans don't consider themselves as "Hispanic" either.  Just Mexican.  But obviously, the word was coined in order to wrap all Spanish speaking people from ALL Spanish speaking countries in the same serape.( kinda pun intended).  Like Poles, Romanians,  Czechs, and other Eastern Europeans all put together in the "Slavic" bucket.  Some resent it, others(like me) don't let it bother them.  

Szepiatone(  )

[rickdd]

11 hours ago, Sepiatone said:

So, is it the Spaniards still living in Spain who don't consider themselves "Hispanic?"   Or too, Spaniards living in the U.S. ?

Far as that goes, many Mexicans don't consider themselves as "Hispanic" either.  Just Mexican.  But obviously, the word was coined in order to wrap all Spanish speaking people from ALL Spanish speaking countries in the same serape.( kinda pun intended).  Like Poles, Romanians,  Czechs, and other Eastern Europeans all put together in the "Slavic" bucket.  Some resent it, others(like me) don't let it bother them.  

Szepiatone(  )

I don't know any Spaniards that consider themselves Hispanic but, I don't know every Spaniard.

And to kind of make my point, Romanians and Czechs aren't Slavic peoples (you think Nazi Germany would have them as allies if they were?) Romanians are  descendants of peoples from the old Roman empire. Romanian is a romance language Italian or French, they just use the Cyrillic alphabet. So you see how easy it is for people to claim a person as someone their not.

[Sepiatone]

Seeing as the entire name is CZECHOSLOVAKIA,   I'd beg to differ.  And be Nazi allies?  The Munich agreement merely made a large part of the nation a part of Germany in a land grab.

This, from WIKI:

Place names that are of Slavic origin abound in Romania, indicating that a significant Slavic-speaking population used to live in the territory.^[64] The first Slavic groups settled in Moldavia and Wallachia in the 6th century,^[65] in Transylvania around 600.^[66] After the Avar Khaganate collapsed in the 790s, Bulgaria became the dominant power of the region, occupying lands as far as the river Tisa.^[56] The Council of Preslav declared Old Church Slavonic the language of liturgy in the First Bulgarian Tsardom in 893.^[67] The Romanians also adopted Old Church Slavonic as their liturgical language.

Sepiatone

[rickdd]

3 hours ago, Sepiatone said:

Seeing as the entire name is CZECHOSLOVAKIA,   I'd beg to differ.  And be Nazi allies?  The Munich agreement merely made a large part of the nation a part of Germany in a land grab.

This, from WIKI:

Place names that are of Slavic origin abound in Romania, indicating that a significant Slavic-speaking population used to live in the territory.^[64] The first Slavic groups settled in Moldavia and Wallachia in the 6th century,^[65] in Transylvania around 600.^[66] After the Avar Khaganate collapsed in the 790s, Bulgaria became the dominant power of the region, occupying lands as far as the river Tisa.^[56] The Council of Preslav declared Old Church Slavonic the language of liturgy in the First Bulgarian Tsardom in 893.^[67] The Romanians also adopted Old Church Slavonic as their liturgical language.

Sepiatone

You can ''beg to differ'' but I cant be responsible for your ignorance.  And CZECHOSLOVAKIA was a creation of the Treaty of Versailles not exactly a national consensus. And slavs migrated to Romania, so, they migrated to the US also, is the US a Slavic country. And Romanian is still a romance language. Fun fact: Tsar is derivative of the honorary ''Caesar''. As is Kaiser.

[Sepiatone]

It isn't a matter of the country's origin a near millenia ago, but of what it's NOW considered.  By your reckoning, then Puerto Rico  shouldn't be considered a "Hispanic" country as originally, the indigenous peoples of the island weren't Spanish.    

But as my insert points out, Romania was once home to a significant Slavic-speaking population.  Which is likely why it gets considered by many to be a Slavic enclave.  Eastern European, y'know... "guilty" by association.   

The Slavs who migrated to the U.S. wasn't a large enough migration to be a "significant" Slavic-speaking population as in Romania. Plus, even the largest Slavic immigration didn't hit these shores until well after this nation was established, which wasn't the case over in Romania.   And over history, many borders of many countries were unstable and often moved West t0 East and back again several times.  For example...

Both of my Grandfathers came from small Polish villages so far East in Poland that when one was born the village was considered to be in Poland, and when he immigrated to the U.S. that village was considered to be a RUSSIAN village, so the staff at Ellis Island designated him as Russian.  The other grandfather, before coming here, married a Russian girl from a neighboring village that was over the Russian border when she was born(a Grandmother I only met once) but was back in Poland by the time they married and came over here (1905).  And if the Russian/Polish border was so fluid in the 19th and 18th centuries (and likely earlier as well), it's not hard to imagine other Eastern European  nations experiencing a similar situation.

Sepiatone