Meus Dois Carinhos

I enjoyed this film about a man (Frank Sinatra) who is being kept by a wealthy older woman (Rita Hayworth) despite being more interested in a young chorus girl (Kim Novak). Sinatra allows the wealth and social standing of Hayworth to lead him astray from the affections of Novak. He initially seduces Hayworth to get her to bankroll his dream nightclub--Chez Joey (corny name). Unfortunately, Hayworth ends up falling in love with Sinatra, while he still holds a torch for Novak. The crux of the story is that Sinatra ends up having to choose between his club/Hayworth (obviously dumping Hayworth and thus, dumping her money, would spell the end of Chez Joey) and his true love, Novak.

I thought Hayworth was very beautiful as "the older woman" (even though she's younger than Sinatra). My only complaint about Hayworth's appearance, like my complaint about her appearance in Cover Girl, is that the makeup she has on is almost garish. She's wearing too much rouge or something, which I think aged her. Novak, on the other hand, was wearing more subtle makeup (save for the red lip) and was absolutely gorgeous as the young chorus girl. It's hard to look at anyone or anything else when Novak was on the screen. I especially loved her performance of "My Funny Valentine." Aside from 'Valentine,' many Sinatra standards were featured, like "Bewitched" ("performed" by Hayworth, dubbed by Jo Ann Greer) and "The Lady is a Tramp" (performed by Sinatra).

The role of Joey Evans was pioneered by Gene Kelly on Broadway seventeen years prior on Broadway. However, for the film version, he was turned down (or perhaps not considered) for the film version and Sinatra got the role.