MovieChat Forums > Ride the Pink Horse (1948) Discussion > Pila, the most interesting character

Pila, the most interesting character

posted 9 years ago by Jimmy_the_Gent4
1 reply | jump to latest

In the world of film noir,usually the hard boiled hero,the femme fatale or the psycho villain is the most interesting.

However it's a teenage Mexican girl who is the most compelling character and ends up being the real hero of the film. Wanda Hendrix plays her beautifully,she is naive,sweet but almost magical, there is an early scene outside the cantina with Montgomery where her eyes seem to be glowing. She is who I was thinking about even when she was not on screen.

Does anyone else feel this way?

[–] ridge-m-1 9 years ago

What many people fail to understand that filming in B & W can, at times, be more emotionally effective than filming in color. This fact is never more true than when filming a woman's eyes. Usually a pin-spotlight is used to help achieve the effect of the scene you are referring to. For another example of the pin-spot used to great effect along with the tremendous talent of the actress, in this case Ingrid Bergman, study her eyes, especially during her interactions with Bogie. BTW, it is necessary to watch the film in Blu-ray.