Great clip from The Bribe, (1949) a steamy film noir starring Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, Vincent Price and Charles Laughton.
Taylor plays an FBI agent on a mission to break up an illegal war surplus racket. Ava’s an innocent femme fatale, the devil’s candy.
Here’s the moment Taylor—and the audience—first lay eyes on Ava.
Ava’s killer gown designed by the Irene (b. Irene Lentz.)
This scene channels Rita Hayworth’s classic “Put the Blame on Mame” moment in Gilda, 1946, which, to be honest, is more effective. Rita’s training as a dancer helps put it over in a big way. Nevertheless, Ava is such a luminous presence the scene in “The Bribe” is highly effective.
Let’s take a look at Rita:
Rita’s gown—also a total killer—by Jean Louis.
I’m curious to know which scene you prefer?
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
11 Comments
Re Johnny O’Clock
There are only grey market copies available. Some fairly good. Thomas Gomez as the villain is far more complex and interesting than MacReady in Gilda. Of course, he is not really the villain. Rossen indicates something more insidious. Frequently, this film is seen as a crime story. It is not. Not really, anyway. If you can’t find a copy, I’ll get you one.
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Barry:
I’ll look around for Johnny O’Clock and let you kow if I find it. Thanks so much.
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The Devil’s Candy – that pretty well describes Ava!
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Bill:
The Devil’s Candy is a label Brian De Palma used when we were working on Body Double. It’s how he described Holly Body AKA Melanie Griffith.
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Robert – I will have to include that in my lexicon – it perfectly describes something that is near irresistible but you realize is bad for you. One could see how she was affecting Robert Taylor!
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“The Devil’s Candy” totally sounds like an Alice Cooper song, in the same vein as “You’re My Temptation” or “Poison” or…well, a lot of his songs, really.
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Ava sang for Show Boat. The performance wasn’t used in the picture, but when the cast album was released, Ava’s work was right there. Johnny O’Clock is a direct descendant of Gilda, and while it does not have the signatue musical moment, it has everything else in spades. Including a sensual performance from Ellen Drew. Powell of course, is just fine in the lead.
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Barry:
I’ve never seen Johnny O’Clock. Have to put it on my list.
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Put The Blame on Mame is so great because Hayworth danced and sang (though she was dubbed) and she was electric in both this number and Amado Mio. Gilda is a better movie if for nothing else than her hair flip. Even John Wayne in Stagecoach didn’t make as beautiful entrance as that.
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Johnny:
I agree, Gilda is a better movie, though I’m not a big Glenn Ford fan. And yes, Rita sells the song with her body and hair in a way that’s made this scene iconic.
But I give points to Ava—also dubbed—who slinks through the fog machine as every great femme fatale should. I much prefer Robert Taylor as the male patsy, and the supporting cast is just great. However, The Bribe suffers from a very weak script. In any case, wasn’t Hollywood great at these musical intros that reeked of sexual subtext which were not really so, um, sub.
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Big agreement on Ford. I’m not sure anyone saw any chemistry between him and Hayworth or anyone else for that matter. Watching The Loves of Carmen I kept saying why I could see him wanting to run off with her but why would she want to spend any time with him?
Gardner and Hayworth were both movie stars when there was still a mystery about them. When they were in their prime it’s hard to think of a movie where they didn’t have the star aura about them and always gave the ticket buyer their money’s worth.
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