Cover Girl (1944)

Rusty Parker wins a contest and becomes a celebrated cover girl; this endangers her romance with dancing mentor Danny.

Director:

Charles Vidor

Writers:

Virginia Van Upp (screenplay), Marion Parsonnet (adaptation),

Stars:

Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Lee Bowman

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rita Hayworth	...	Rusty Parker / Maribelle Hicks (flashback sequence)
Gene Kelly	...	Danny McGuire
Lee Bowman	...	Noel Wheaton
Phil Silvers	...	Genius
Jinx Falkenburg	...	Jinx Falkenburg
Leslie Brooks	...	Maurine Martin
Eve Arden	...	Cornelia Jackson
Otto Kruger	...	John Coudair
Jess Barker	...	Coudair as a Young Man
Anita Colby	...	Miss Colby
Curt Bois	...	Chef at Danny McGuire's
Jean Colleran	...	Cover Girl: American Magazine
Francine Counihan	...	Cover Girl: American Home
Helen Mueller	...	Cover Girl: Collier's Magazine
Cecilia Meagher	...	Cover Girl: Coronet

Storyline

Rusty Parker, a red-headed leggy dancer at Danny McGuire's Night Club in Brooklyn, wants to be a successful Broadway star. She enters a contest to be a 'Cover Girl' as a stepping-stone in her career. She reminds the publisher, John Coudair, of his lost love, showgirl Maribelle Hicks. He was engaged to Maribelle, although his wealthy society mother made fun of her. Maribelle left John at the altar when she saw the piano at her wedding. It reminded her of the piano-player she truly loved. Rusty is Maribelle's granddaughter and there are musical sequences with Maribelle dancing to songs from the beginning of the 20th century. Rusty lands on the cover of her grandmother's former fiancé's magazine (as a bride). She is pursued by Coudair's pal, the wealthy theatrical producer, Noel Wheaton. He produces a lavish musical to star Rusty, surrounded by real cover girls of the mid 1940's. Rusty runs down a huge spiral into the arms of dozens of men who seem clumsy next to her ethereal dancing. ...

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Plot Keywords:

cover girl | magazine | contest | 1940s | pearl | 

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Taglines:

TOO THRILLING FOR WORDS...SO THEY SET IT TO MUSIC, ROMANCE, DANCE AND SONG! (original poster - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Modelka

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rita Hayworth's singing voice was dubbed by Martha Mears, not Nan Wynn as erroneously reported by some sources.

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Goofs

When Rusty's face appears on the cover a top fashion magazine, someone rips the cover off and there is no ad on the reverse side - traditionally (along with the back cover) one of the most sought-after pages for magazine advertisers.

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Quotes

Rusty Parker: Oh, how I hate oysters!
Genius: Ain't they repulsive?

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Connections

Featured in Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004)

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Soundtracks

"WHO'S COMPLAINING?"
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Sung by Phil Silvers and danced with Rita Hayworth, Leslie Brooks and two chorus girls

User Reviews

Put To The Test And Passes With Flying Colors

It took a loan out film to Columbia for Gene Kelly's home studio MGM to realize his creative talent and give him some control over what he did in his own films. Cover Girl also became Rita Hayworth's signature film for the GIs and their pinup fantasies during World War II.

Kelly plays the owner of a small nightclub in Brooklyn where Rita is a featured dancer and Phil Silvers the comic. Of course Kelly does a bit of hoofing himself there.

Hayworth comes to the attention of millionaire Otto Kruger when it turns out that Kruger had loved and lost Hayworth's grandmother. In some flashback sequences from the gaslight era, Hayworth also plays her own grandmother with Jess Barker playing the young Kruger. You might remember Jess Barker was the husband of that other legendary screen redhead, Susan Hayward.

Broadway producer Lee Bowman also is attracted to Hayward, but he's not interested in nostalgia. He wants her for his Ziegfeld Follies revue and in fact the biggest number of Cover Girl is the title song of the film. It's nicely done in Follies style.

Hayworth also gets to sing A Sure Thing in a gaslight era number and in the only song in the show not written by Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin, Hayworth also does an old English music hall number Poor John. When I say sing, as everyone knows Rita mouths words. Singing here is done by Nan Wynn.

The biggest hit of the show is Long Ago and Far Away which is introduced by Gene Kelly. It was one of the biggest hits of the World War II era and one of the biggest sellers Jerome Kern ever wrote. It happens in fact to be a favorite of an aunt of mine who with my uncle will be celebrating 60 years of marriage this September. Long Ago and Far Away was nominated for Best Song, but lost to Swinging on a Star.

What really sets Cover Girl apart and what makes it a milestone film for Gene Kelly is the two numbers Put Me to the Test and the Alter Ego number. Harry Cohn decided to do what Louis B. Mayer had refused at MGM, to give Kelly creative control of his own material. Kelly later said the alter ego number was one of the hardest things he ever attempted in his career. In it he dances with a pale reflection of himself and the choreography is dazzling and intricate.

In fact after one more loan out film, Christmas Holiday at Universal, Louis B. Mayer never loaned out Gene Kelly for the rest of the time he was at MGM. And he did get creative control from then on.

With that dazzling technicolor cinematography and Rita's red hair and Gene Kelly's boundless creativity, Cover Girl was and is a classic and will forever be so.