You Can Discover Rita Hayworth on the Little Screen; A Pair of Tough-Talking Drill Sergeants Available

Because Rita Hayworth was at her peak in the ‘40s and ‘50s, there is a whole generation of filmgoers who are unfamiliar with her movies. In her heyday, she was one of the most glamorous actresses in Hollywood. While she was admired more for her beauty than her acting talent, her death last week undoubtedly will provoke new interest in her movies at video rental stores.

Here are a few of her noteworthy films that are available on cassette.

In CBS-Fox’s “Separate Tables” (1957), considered one of the Top 10 movies of the ‘50s, Hayworth gives the best performance of her career in a meaty role as a divorcee trying to reunite with her husband (Burt Lancaster). Unfortunately, this drama, set in an seaside English town and based on two playlets by Terence Rattigan, featured so many terrific performances that Hayworth was overshadowed. David Niven won the best actor Oscar for his performance as a soldier with a dark secret, and Wendy Hiller, playing a mild-mannered mistress, was named best supporting actress. Deborah Kerr’s performance is considered by some critics to be the definitive lonely spinster performance.

RCA/Columbia’s “The Lady From Shangai” (1948) is an intriguing, self-indulgent thriller directed by and starring Orson Welles. You’ll remember the stunning camera work but not the details of the labyrinthine murder-mystery. Like any Welles film, it’s worth a look. Hayworth and the rest of the cast are merely Wellesian pawns and get lost in the shuffle.

RCA/Columbia’s “They Came to Cordura” (1959) is a talky, philosophical Western featuring a strong performance by Gary Cooper and a so-so one by Hayworth. It’s about a small group of people trekking through Mexico in 1916, pondering the roots of courage and cowardice. For Western fans, there’s too much ruminating and not enough fighting and shooting. Directed by Robert Rossen. Van Heflin and Richard Conte co-star.

RCA/Columbia’s “Fire Down Below” (1957) is set in the Caribbean, with Hayworth as the temptress locked in a triangle with Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon. It’s one of her typical glamour-girl roles where all she has to do is look pretty and mysterious. Lemmon and Mitchum, as the buddies who lust after her, are excellent. A lively melodrama crackling with sexual tension, which is unusual for a ‘50s movie.

RCA/Columbia’s “You’ll Never Get Rich” (1941) features Hayworth romancing Fred Astaire, starring as a theatrical producer who gets drafted while preparing a play. It’s a good look at Hayworth at the peak of her beauty. She doesn’t do much and watches as Astaire dances away with the movie. This relatively obscure musical-comedy boasts a fair Cole Porter score.

RCA/Columbia’s “Gilda” (1946) offers Hayworth’s sexiest performance. Her singing “Put the Blame on Mame” is a sizzler. This a tawdry melodrama about a gambler (Glenn Ford) who winds up running a casino with his late boss’s widow (Hayworth). It’s great fun up to the dissatisfying ending.

“Pal Joey,” by the way, is not yet available on cassette. The 1957 musical, featuring a superb Rodgers and Hart score, stars Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak.

NEW RELEASES: Warners’ “Heartbreak Bridge” is about an ornery, drunken sergeant (Clint Eastwood) who trains his young platoon members to be good fighting men. Meanwhile, he’s trying to reunite with his ex-wife (Marsha Mason). On one level, it’s a good blood-and-guts war movie, climaxing with the U.S. invasion of Grenada. But it’s also a celebration of the macho militarism that will offend many, particularly because of sexist and anti-homosexual language that’s apparently used commonly in barracks. Still, this movie, which grossed $42 million, shapes up as a huge rental hit because there’s a big audience for Eastwood’s crowd-pleasing action epics. Eastwood also directed.

Vestron’s “Tai-Pan,” an action/adventure movie set in Hong Kong in the 1800s, was a horrible flop. Critics hated it and fans didn’t go to see it. Bryan Brown and Joan Chen star as the lovers. If you’re willing to wade through bad dialogue and performances, there’s a great typhoon sequence. It was a major career setback for Brown, who was on his way to becoming a major star. Reportedly, Vestron’s purchase of the expensive video rights for this movie, which doesn’t look like a home video hit, is one reason for the company’s current financial crisis.

Media’s “Firewalker” is an action comedy that’s liable to disappoint some Chuck Norris fans--gluttons for hard-core action--because of the emphasis on comedy. For that reason, Norris fans didn’t flock to this movie, which is about a trio--Norris, Lou Gossett Jr. and Melody Anderson--hunting treasure in the jungles of South America.

OLD MOVIES: Warners’ “The D.I.” (1957, $59.95) features Jack Webb as a marine drill instructor whipping inductees into shape. He’s a ‘50s version of the Eastwood character in “Heartbreak Ridge.” Webb is terrific as the tough-talking, brutal sergeant who’s nearly undone by a reluctant recruit (Don Dubbins). Though it goes a little soft at the end and its relentless macho stance may be a turn-off to some, this is still one of the overlooked gems of the ‘50s.

Coming next week: Three Cary Grant movies--”Holiday,” “The Talk of the Town” and “The Howards of Virginia”--from RCA/Columbia. Also, Charter Entertainment is releasing Alain Resnais’ 1959 antiwar classic, “Hiroshima Mon Amour,” on July 8 at $29.95.

CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine)

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS 1--”Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (Paramount).

2--”Top Gun” (Paramount).

3--”Peggy Sue Got Married” (CBS-Fox).

4--”Legal Eagles” (MCA).

5--”Stand By Me” (RCA/Columbia).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES 1--”Top Gun” (Paramount).

2--”Jane Fonda’s Low Impact Aerobic Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).

3--”Callanetics” (MCA).

4--”Jane Fonda’s New Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).

5--”Sleeping Beauty” (Disney).