James J Cremin
Last night, May 17, 2008, at the Starlight Studio hosted by Mark Viera, someone had brought in a 16mn print of a 1938 film that actually starred Rita Hayworth a few years before she became a star. This hour long movie was very low budget, curiously filmed in Canada, but shot mainly indoors on sound stages.The movie starts out with Hayworth billed as Jerry dancing up a storm in some nondescript night club. Though not a great actress, her acting ability actually beats just about anyone else in this. The only other familiar face for me was Marc Lawrence, who plays the nightclub owner and the villain of the piece. Her lovesick brother, Edgar Edwards, sees a blatant gold digger, Phyllis Clare, who shows she doesn't need him. She proudly shows a $10,0000 bracelet. Her maid comes to find the brother standing over the gold digger's body. The hero detective is played by Charles Quigley. a total non-actor. The rest of the plot is quite nonsensical. Hayworth gets saved by William Irving, who played an obnoxious drunk who later transforms into a obnoxious policeman. However, if you are a Rita Hayworth fan, it's fun seeing her as bright eyed and bushy tailed as the ingénue. We are treated with her giving another amazing dance just prior to fade out.
