Film studies

The opening scene The film begins with an establishing shot of the city. There is a boat sailing across the screen in the foreground. Due to the films lack of colour, lightening is important. There are lights from the bridge and from the buildings in the back. During the period of time in which the film was created, colour in film was available, however due to the low budget, Orson Welles had to create the film in black and white. This scene then begins to fade out. This editing technique was standard for the time. As the next shot fades in, there is a pan from the ground to the carriage as the camera begins to zoom on a woman. We know from costume that this woman is the femme fatal. Rita Hayworth for the role bleached her hair blonde and cut it short to better suit the character. Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth were in a relationship during the production of the film but were struggling. The film wasn't intended to be a star vehicle as Orson Welles initially wanted to cast an