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"Put the Blame on Mame" is a song by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, [1] originally written for the classic film noir Gilda (1946) in which it was sung by the titular character, played by Rita Hayworth [2] with the singing voice of Anita Kert Ellis dubbed in.[ citation needed ]
In keeping with the film character Gilda being "the ultimate femme fatale", the song sung by her in two scenes facetiously credits the amorous activities of a woman named "Mame" as the true cause of three well-known cataclysmic events in American history: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Great Blizzard of 1888 in New York City and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Mame is also credited with causing the fictional shooting of Dan McGrew during the Yukon Gold Rush, an event derived from a short narrative poem published in 1907 by Robert W. Service.
The song was later reprised as an instrumental version in another quintessential noir film, 1953's The Big Heat , when Gilda star Glenn Ford first meets Lee Marvin's character in a bar. It is again played in 1954's Human Desire , also starring Glenn Ford. But even in 1946, the year it was released, the song was employed in the B-movie Columbia release The Secret of the Whistler when the protagonist (played by series lead Richard Dix) meets the femme fatale.
It was later also recorded by:
A clip of Hayworth singing the song in Gilda was to be included in Michael Jackson's performance of "Smooth Criminal" in the planned show This Is It ; the song was included in the posthumously released film version. [6]
The song is featured in the 2024 DC Studios miniseries The Penguin , a spin-off of the 2022 film The Batman . A clip of Hayworth's performance of the song is featured in the first episode, "After Hours", and the song is used again in the sixth episode, "Gold Summit", with protagonist Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) comparing his elderly, dementia-ridden mother to Gilda.
In 2004, "Put the Blame on Mame" finished #84 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.
Doris Fisher was an American singer and songwriter, collaborating both as lyricist and composer. She co-wrote many popular songs in the 1940s, including "Whispering Grass", "You Always Hurt the One You Love", "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", "That Ole Devil Called Love", and "Put the Blame on Mame." Her songs were recorded by the Ink Spots, Louis Prima, Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, Pearl Bailey, the Mills Brothers and Ella Fitzgerald amongst others.
Rita Hayworth was an American actress, dancer, and pin-up girl. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and appeared in 61 films in total over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth, after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II. It is also rumored she was disturbed by how her face was painted on atomic bombs during testing. America's reasoning was because, "She's a bombshell." She called for a press conference to condemn these actions but was convinced by Harry Cohn her objection would undermine her career.
A femme fatale, sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant, entice and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as verging on supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, witch, having power over men. Femmes fatales are typically villainous, or at least morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification, and unease.
Affair in Trinidad is a 1952 American film noir directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. It was produced by Hayworth's Beckworth Corporation and released by Columbia Pictures.
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford, known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-American actor. He was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and had a career that lasted more than 50 years.
The Big Heat is a 1953 American film noir crime film directed by Fritz Lang starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Jocelyn Brando about a cop who takes on the crime syndicate that controls his city.
Gilda is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.
Dead Reckoning is a 1947 American film noir directed by John Cromwell and starring Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, and William Prince. It was written by Steve Fisher and Oliver H.P. Garrett, based on a story by Gerald Drayson Adams and Sidney Biddell, adapted by Allen Rivkin. Its plot follows a war hero, Warren Murdock (Bogart) who begins investigating the death of his friend and fellow soldier, Johnny Drake (Prince). The investigation leads Murdock to his friend's mistress, a mysterious woman whose husband Drake was accused of murdering.
The Lady from Shanghai is a 1947 American film noir produced and directed by Orson Welles and starring Rita Hayworth, Welles, Everett Sloane, and Glenn Anders. Welles's screenplay is based on the novel If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King.
The Loves of Carmen is a 1948 American adventure drama romance film directed by Charles Vidor. The film stars Rita Hayworth as the gypsy Carmen and Glenn Ford as her doomed lover Don José.
Laura Elena Harring is an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1985 and later began acting in television and film. She is known for her roles in movies, including The Forbidden Dance (1990), John Q (2002), Willard (2003), The Punisher (2004), The King (2005), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Ghost Son (2007), The Caller (2008), Drool (2009), Sex Ed (2014), and Inside (2016). She also played Carla Greco in General Hospital (1990–1991), Paula Stevens on Sunset Beach (1997), and Rebecca "Becca" Doyle in The Shield (2006). She is best known for her lead role as Rita in the 2001 movie Mulholland Drive.
The Bribe is a 1949 American film noir directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Marguerite Roberts, based on a story written by Frederick Nebel. The drama features Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, and Vincent Price.
Anita Ellis was a Canadian-born American singer and actress. She famously dubbed Rita Hayworth's songs in Gilda.
Myriam Alejandra Bianchi, known by her stage name Gilda, was an Argentine cumbia singer and songwriter.
Katherine Joan Greer, known professionally as Jo Ann Greer, was an American singer.
In the 1946 film Gilda, Rita Hayworth wore a black dress made by American costume designer Jean Louis. It was used in a scene in which the character of Gilda sings the song "Put the Blame on Mame", improvising a quick striptease, choreographed by Jack Cole. The dress has helped consolidate the image of the femme fatale, as well as being universally recognized as an icon of fashion and cinema. The Independent named it as one of the Ten Best Fashion Moments in Film.
Allan Roberts was an American musician and songwriter, whose songs, co-written with Doris Fisher and other writers, were successfully recorded by the Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, the Ink Spots, Billie Holiday, the Andrews Sisters, Marilyn Monroe, Perry Como, and many others.
The depictions of women in film noir come in a range of archetypes and stock characters, including the alluring femme fatale. A femme fatale, is a prevalent and indicating theme to the style of film noir.
Playing the Field is a studio album by Mark Murphy.
The Best of Mark Murphy: The Capitol Years is a compilation of selected highlights of singer Mark Murphy's recordings for the Capitol Records label. It was released in 1997.