Convicted

"Convicted" is worth seeing if only for a glimpse of Rita Hayworth before she was de-Latinized.

Rita was being groomed for stardom by Columbia and had roles in B films; she also did Charlie Chan in Egypt for Fox using her real name, Rita Cansino. Then someone changed her name, gave her electrolysis on her forehead, and dyed her hair.

Here she plays a dancer, Jerry Wheeler, whose brother Chick (Edgar Edwars) has been framed for the murder of his gold-digging girlfriend. Jerry is determined to save her brother from execution and works with a police detective (Charles Quigley) to find the identity of the real killer.

By this time, she was Rita Hayworth and of course was a beauty even before the drastic changes. She also gives a very earnest performance and dances beautifully.

This is a pretty routine B, and short at that, but Rita made it worthwhile.

Rita Hayworth is a night club dancer. She has looked after her kid brother, Edgar Edwards, since she first went to work. Now Edwards is in love with gold digger Phyllis Clare. They are going to go away together with what Miss Haywrth thinks is embezzled money. An interview with Miss Clare yields a "so what?". But those plans are cut short when Miss Clare is found murdered. Edwards is Convicted (1938) and due to be executed. Miss Hayworth and lovestruck cop Charles Quigley investigate,, with Miss Hayworth dancing at Marc Lawrence's night-club and moving in as his girlfriend.

Miss Hayworth dances three times for about a minute a dance, and given this movie's status as one of the quota quickies produced by Kenneth Bishop in British Columbia, I wasn't expecting much, even though it's drawn from a story by Cornell Woolrich. It's straightforward, short and its interest for film buffs is that it's an early leading role for Miss Hayworth, one of five she co-starred in with Quigley.

Rita Hayworth was a woman on the upward move in her Hollywood career. Convicted was one of a series of B films she did honing her craft before she became Columbia Picture's ruling queen. Studio head Harry Cohn brought her along slowly, but the results were worth it.

The role in Convicted call for a couple of dance numbers and as we know before she was Rita Hayworth she was Marguerite Carmen Cansino of the Dancing Casinos. Hayworth is the sister of Edgar Edwards and she's trying to break up his romance with golddigger Phyllis Clare. When Clare is strangled Edwards is found bending over the body at the scene by a maid. Her testimony convicts Edwards and he's facing the electric chair.

That's when his loyal sister goes to work with some help from police detective Charles Quigley who never quite believed Edwards was guilty.

Other than Rita Hayworth the only other person who had any real career in the cast is Marc Lawrence who plays both a nightclub owner and owner of the building where Clare was killed.

Convicted is a chance to see a star being born.