Rita Hayworth (cont'd)

 In 1946, Rita starred in GILDA, which shattered box office records and catapulted her to worldwide fame. Her next film, the fantasy musical DOWN TO EARTH, was also a huge success. In 1948, THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI, directed by Rita’s then-husband Orson Welles featured Rita with short blonde hair and though it did not do well at the time, it is considered a classic today.

Columbia then renewed Rita’s contract, and in 1948 she also made THE LOVES OF CARMEN through her Beckworth Production company. The film featured several members of her family.

After a four-year hiatus, Rita returned to the big screen in 1951’s AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD, which did so well it exceeded the box office revenue of GILDA. She then made SALOME, MISS SADIE THOMPSON, and FIRE DOWN BELOW. PAL JOEY, which partnered Rita with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, was the final film she completed under her twenty-year contract with Columbia Pictures.