Gilda

This is iconic. Obviously Rita Hayworth is the best thing about Gilda. She's incredible, unexpected, unpredictable, sexy as all hell, compelling, gorgeous, and nearly every other adjective you can throw at her. It's extraordinary that she went from singing and tapping with Fred Astaire in 1941 and '42 to playing this role in a Columbia noir with Glenn Ford. Extraordinary. But the picture itself is also exquisitely written. I had no idea what was going to happen for most of the movie, and most of the Gilda is terrifyingly menacing. It's shot beautifully in a noir style, and I loved it from start to finish.