La reine de Broadway

For a non-MGM musical from the 1940s, this is quite a memorable and enjoyable film. Rita Hayworth, at the peak of her career, is stunning, a vision of loveliness and in full Technicolor, no less! Gene Kelly, in one of his earliest films, is a good match for her, although his character is really something of a jerk. Phil Silvers provides good comic relief, without being too obnoxious, but Eve Arden, with her dry one-liners, is an even bigger hoot.

The music score is quite good for the most part...with only one sour note ("Poor John"). The haunting "Long Ago and Far Away" is beautiful, "Put Me to the Test" is a good number for the two leads, and "Make Way for Tomorrow" is a lively, fun number. Of course, credit must be given to Gene Kelly for his fantastic "alter-ego" dance sequence, which is without a doubt, the highlight of the film.

Definitely worth seeking out for fans of Gene or Rita...this is one of the great 40s musicals. Top stars, sumptuous color, and a pleasing score. Terrific!

This is definitely an outstanding 1944 musical with great young stars and famous veteran actors under the direction of Charles Vidor. Rita Hayworth, (Rusty Parker),"Charlie Chan in Egypt", sang and danced with Gene Kelly,(Danny McGuire), "Anchors Away", Danny McGuire owned a night club in Brooklyn, N.Y. and was in love with Rusty Parker who was a dancer in his club along with Phil Silvers,(Genius),"Coney Island", who was the comedian in this picture and also worked and dance together with Danny, Rusty. Otto Kruger, (John Coudair),"Duel in the Sun" played the role as a promoter of a cover girl magazine and decided Rusty Parker was going to be his top model. Jerome Kern's music is heard through out the entire picture and the song, "Long Ago & Far Away" is the theme music for this musical. This film was nominated for many awards and was a big hit at the box office during WW II which kept peoples minds off of the war that was going on at the time. Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly were instant hits and their career's exploded on the silver screen for many many years. Great Musical and a film you will not want to miss, this is truly a great Classic Film. Enjoy

A good story about Rusty Parker (Rita Hayworth) who dreams of being on broadway which means she would have to leave the small dinner theater where she works with Danny (Gene Kelly) and Genius (Phil Silvers). Rusty is in love with Danny. All three are good friends and every Friday night they go to a local bar where they get oysters so they can look for a pearl (they never eat them). The story line provides numerous opportunities for songs and dancing. The movie has two questions that Rusty must answer: Is fame all that it is cracked up to be? and Is less really more if you are happy? Answering those questions makes the movie. The movie also does a good job of showcasing the talents that all three principals had. Never a dull moment!

Two of these things are to be expected, the third is a complete surprise (that would be Phil Silvers dancing).

This is a delightful, if longer than it needs to be musical. A sub-plot with flashbacks and probably the worst Jerome Kern number ever written (Poor John), do not contribute enough to make them worthwhile. It's as if they wrote the movie, realized they didn't have enough material to produce a full-length picture, and added these other scenes to "fill it out". They don't work.

It's funny to see a 1940's musical with Gene Kelly (on loan from M-G-M)clearly taking a backseat to his leading lady. His second act number where he dances with himself is one highlight of the film. Other strong points are "Make Way For Tomorrow" and the lovely, "Long Ago And Far Away" (although I thought it odd that the latter number did not have a dance sequence attached to it). "Put Me To The Test", a number where Rita and Gene get to dance together, is a very good number, but the title song does nothing for me, although it is staged wonderfully.

Rita Hayworth is absolutely breath-taking. Her dancing is excellent, and this is clearly a role that suits her. Some of her hair pieces, however are awful. In a few scenes, the color of them do not match the color of her natural hair. Very distracting.

Phil Silvers is wonderful as Genius, Gene and Rita's friend and co-worker. Seeing him dance, especially as well as he did, was a wonderful surprise.

The major problem I had with this movie was that I never believed the relationship between the three leads. I didn't believe that Kelly and Hayworth were in love, or that Kelly and Silvers were real friends. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I didn't buy it.

Excellent supporting work by Eve Arden, Otto Kruger, Edward Brophy and Leslie Brooks.

6 out of 10

Cover Girl's importance lies not in its originality as a book (it's a standard backstage Cinderella story), as much as it does in what happened to each of its stars. Gene Kelly was "loaned out" to do it when MGM boss L.B. Mayer didn't have much use for him at his own studio. His performance in this film, coupled with the ground-breaking 'Alter Ego' dance solo (duo?) was so successful that it made MGM take him seriously at last (he was never loaned out again) and allowed him to flourish with the soon-to-come hits of "Anchors Aweigh," "On The Town," and "An American In Paris." Likewise for Rita Hayworth; Columbia had been grooming her for years, but she had done mostly B-level films. CG showed her off as a lead in glorious Technicolor, and paved the way for GILDA, her signature (and much more adult) role. Here she and Kelly make a sweet couple, and dance well in "Put Me To The Test" and the fresh, energetic "Make Way For Tomorrow." They are at their most poignant in "Long Ago And Far Away," but the number (played on piano by Phil Silvers and sung as they both stack up nightclub chairs) seems to beg for a dance number, then doesn't have one. Another good number is the title tune, which pays tribute to the famous American magazines/cover girl models of the day. Hayworth appears as the last model, running down a curved runway in a gold dress with her flaming mane flying behind her. A dream in Technicolor!!