The scene that saw Rita Hayworth break Glenn Ford’s teeth
Born into a family of dancers, Rita Hayworth began training to be a star from a very early age. She was given dance lessons when she was still a toddler, subsequently appearing on Broadway when she was just four years old. Success was practically guaranteed, and as she continued to perform, using her father, Eduardo Cansino, as her dancing partner, she gained vital experience in the industry.
Small movie roles were given to the dancer, who then signed with Fox, allowing her to star in many films during the mid-1930s. From Only Angels Have Wings to The Strawberry Blonde, Hayworth demonstrated her talents as an actor – not just a dancer – and eventually, she bagged herself a career-defining role with Gilda. The movie is a classic from the golden era of Hollywood, following Hayworth’s character as she reunites with an ex-lover, played by Glenn Ford, after he is offered a job by Gilda’s husband, portrayed by George Macready.
The movie saw Hayworth and Ford work with each other for the second time following their roles in the 1940 movie The Lady in Question, and it cemented the pair as an iconic on-screen partnership. The actors became really close, simply getting on well and enjoying each other’s personalities, and they went on to star opposite each other in three more movies – The Loves of Carmen, Affair in Trinidad, and The Money Trap.
However, during the filming of Gilda, Hayworth was required to slap Ford on the face, something she hesitated to do. Yet, being the amazing actor she was, she did what she had to do, but the force in which she slapped her co-star shocked everyone, but no one more than Ford himself. The actor reportedly hit Ford so hard that several of his teeth broke, but he continued with the scene as though nothing had happened.
It’s an amusing tale, although something Ford perhaps wasn’t best pleased with. Still, filming continued and the movie became hugely popular, with Hayworth embodying the ultimate femme fatale archetype. Clearly, Ford’s infatuation with the actor wasn’t affected by her breaking his teeth, and they supposedly went on to have an affair. Ford’s son, Peter, told Closer Weekly, “It was a relationship that lasted many, many decades.”
He also stated that his father lived next door to Hayworth, explaining, “The day after he finished that house and moved into it, she filed for divorce. The two of them were back together again. He installed a little gate in the back of his property so she could come from her house over to his. She would spend a lot of time at my dad’s house sitting by the pool. They were constantly together.”
Hayworth and Ford arguably reached the peak of their collaborations with Gilda, directed by Charles Vidor, and the movie remains one of the best film noirs of all time. The production wasn’t without a few hitches – like some broken teeth – but that didn’t stop the film from turning out to be a simply incredible piece of cinema.
