No, this is not Nichole Kidman in a black and white shot. In order to understand and appreciate the motion picture arts, you have to do a little homework.Yesterday afternoon, I picked up the DVD copy of Gilda (1946) from the New Westminster library. The gal singing in arm-length evening gloves is Rita Hayworth. This is what the boys back from WWII went to see.
It had a a sophisticated script with lots of surprisingly adult innuendo. There were gay references, quite closeted but obvious. I still suffer from an ill-conceived impression of old media thinking it is all filtered in the same way as the unrealistic 1950's version of America and the world. However, if one steps back a bit further, more enlightened and bohemian material abounds.
The ending of this flick was a bit of a disappointment, but I cannot say enough about what a great job the experts are able to do in restoration! Black and white can be amazingly expressive when a copy is cleaned up and clear. The scenes are a year shy of turning 60 years old but they surely have held up a lot better than flesh and blood.