"Put the Blame on Mame" is an song by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, originally made for the film Gilda in 1946 - where it was sung by the title character, played by Rita Hayworth and with the singing voice actually that of Anita Kert Ellis.
In keeping with the film character Gilda being "the ultimate femme fatale", the song sung by her at two scenes facetiously credits the amorous activities of a woman named "Mame" (the name evidently chosen to rhyme with "blame") as the true cause of three well-known cataclysmic events in American history: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, 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.
Already in 1946, the song was also recorded by Nat Gonella & His Georgians.
Put the Blame on Mame also appeared as a mini-short film for "Smooth Criminal" for Michael Jackson's This Is It. Shortly after Gilda sings the song, Jackson is chased down the stairs and into a hardware store floor, where he jumps out of the window, and falls. The man chasing him shoots at him, but instead hits the marquee. The marquee reads "Smooth Criminal" and Jackson performs the song. Shortly after the song is finished, the scene is repeated again, except Jackson is seen jumping out of the window
The film's plot is continually narrated by Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford), a small-time gambler newly arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When he wins a lot of money cheating at craps, he has to be rescued from a robbery attempt by a complete stranger, Ballin Mundson (George Macready). Mundson tells him about an illegal high-class casino, but warns him not to practice his skills there. Farrell ignores his advice, cheats at blackjack, and is taken by two men to see the casino's owner, who turns out to be Mundson. Farrell talks Mundson into hiring him and quickly gains his confidence. However, the unimpressed washroom attendant, Uncle Pio (Steven Geray), keeps calling him "peasant".
One day, Mundson returns from a trip with a beautiful new wife, Gilda (Rita Hayworth). Unaware that she was once Farrell’s lover, Mundson assigns Farrell to keep an eye on her. Farrell keeps track of her, his loathing for her intensifying as she cavorts with men at all hours.
Meanwhile, Mundson is visited by two German businessmen. Their secret organization had financed a tungsten cartel, with everything put in Mundson's name to hide their connection to it. However, when they decide it is safe to take over, Mundson refuses to transfer ownership to his backers. The Argentine secret police are interested in the Germans; government agent Obregon (Joseph Calleia) introduces himself to Farrell to try to obtain information, but the American knows nothing about that aspect of Mundsen's operations. When the Germans return later, Mundson shoots and kills one of them.
That same night, at Mundson's house, Farrell and Gilda describe how much they hate each other, then end up kissing. Mundson arrives at that moment, then flees to a waiting airplane. Farrell and Obregon witness its short flight; the plane explodes shortly after takeoff and plummets into the ocean. However, Mundson has parachuted to safety, thus FAKING HIS OWN DEATH.
With Mundson dead, Gilda inherits his estate. Farrell marries her, but not out of love. He stays away, but has her guarded day and night out of contempt for her and loyalty to Mundson. Gilda tries to escape the tortured love-hate relationship, but fails. Finally, Obregon tells Farrell that Gilda was never truly unfaithful to Mundson or to him, prompting Farrell to try to reconcile with her.
At that moment, Mundson reappears, armed with a gun. He faked his death to deceive the Nazis. Mundson tells them he will have to kill them both, but Uncle Pio manages to fatally stab him in the back. Obregon shows up and confiscates the estate for the government. Farrell and Gilda are free to leave the country
