La reine de Broadway

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!

Rusty's a popular singer-dancer for small-timer Mcguire's club, but gets her head turned by fancy impresario Wheaton who wants her to leave her friends and take her talents to his swanky uptown stage show.

Talk about eye candy. There's enough glamour here to send guys into a sugar overload. I hope they didn't show this WWII production overseas, otherwise a million GI's would be swimming home. I've seen a sexier Hayworth, but never a more sparkling one. She's obviously enjoying herself, and why not, she's got Kelly as a partner and a goofy Silvers to keep her in stitches. And get a load of the hats the gals wear. Some look like they're getting messages from Mars.

Okay, except for "Long Ago and Far Away", the tunes are pretty forgettable, while that set-up in the trooper cattle car should have been seriously re-thought. Still, I thought that dancing threesome down the city street was utterly charming, and reminded me of Kelly's signature number in Singin' in the Rain (1952). Then too, actor Bowman (Wheaton) makes a perfect Manhattan lounge lizard.

For younger folks, there were a lot of references to Brooklyn during the war. That's because the New York borough came to symbolize the common man and the American melting pot-- in short, the kind of national unity that winning the war would need. So, naturally, good guy McGuire (Kelly) has his stage show there, while slickster Wheaton has his in more snobbish uptown Manhattan. So Rusty (Hayworth) has to learn it's more fun to crack oysters in a Brooklyn bar than sip martinis in an swanky lounge.

Anyhow, it's hard to think of a brighter, more colorful production than this line-up of Hollywood glamour that keeps "comin' at yuh", one pretty face after another.

Rita Hayworth as Rusty Parker is the COVER GIRL du jour--she's one of the dancing girls in Danny McGuire's club, the most special one according to Danny (Gene Kelly) and pretty much anyone who comes across her. Take for example, Vanity magazine magnate John Coudair (Otto Kruger): enchanted by Rusty's resemblance to her grandmother Maribelle (also played by Hayworth in flashbacks), whom he wooed devotedly when he fell in love with her, he tries to relive his youth by fixing what he thinks went wrong between himself and Maribelle. He doesn't believe that Danny could give Rusty happiness, or everything she should be entitled to--he even gets Danny believing this himself. When Rusty shoots to fame as Vanity's 'Cover Girl', Danny drives her away into the ready and waiting arms of Noel Wheaton (Lee Bowman). So what happens when Danny returns to town with his sidekick Genius (Phil Silvers) in tow, only to discover that Rusty is marrying Wheaton?

As a musical, COVER GIRL benefits from the beautiful score and songs written by Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin, including the Oscar-nominated 'Long Ago and Far Away' (possibly one of the most gorgeous ballads ever written and beautifully, sweetly sung as a duet by Hayworth and Kelly), Maribelle's number 'Sure Thing' (the more lacklustre 'Poor John' isn't a Kern/Gershwin collaboration) and 'Put Me To The Test'. The dancing, of course, is top-notch, since Gene Kelly had more than just a hand in the choreography. It shows in the simplest of dances, for example his dance with Hayworth to 'Put Me To The Test', or the joyfully exuberant 'Make Way For Tomorrow' number (performed by the trio of Danny, Rusty and Genius)... which foreshadows the reaction Gene's character has to the police cop in the title number in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Kelly especially scored a technological and artistic coup with the 'Alter-Ego' dance. Like its successors in ANCHORS AWEIGH and AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (Jerry the Mouse and the 16-minute ballet respectively), this dance is an example of the incredible innovation and creativity Kelly brought to the modern film musical: wanting to use the film medium to present dances that couldn't be showcased on a stage, and years before CGI, Kelly insisted on dancing with the one person who could possibly match him in talent and style--himself. The number is hardly five minutes long, but it (and Kelly's genius) still takes one's breath away, even sixty years down the line. This is the reason I watched COVER GIRL, and if nothing else, this dance is truly worth it.

You can tell that a great deal of money was lavished onto COVER GIRL and Rita Hayworth--not that she doesn't deserve it. Witness the scene when Rusty hits Broadway--the large screen showcasing all the different cover girls gives way to a staggeringly large stage rigged for Rusty's entrance. Hayworth is indeed one of the most effortlessly beautiful girls on show in the film, and she dances with a style and grace that is almost worthy of Kelly. (Very few of Kelly's co-stars have that honour.) She is hilarious in some scenes, for example her drunk scene when John and Wheaton come to get her from Joe's.

For some reason, however, her performance still lacks the spark of greatness which would help COVER GIRL overcome its general curse of mediocrity. That curse is only lifted whenever Gene Kelly is on the screen (dancing or no), or when Eve Arden as John's long-suffering secretary 'Stonewall' sidles by with another cutting comment or clever observation. Since the film, in the end, belongs to Hayworth, neither Kelly nor Arden can save it as a whole. This isn't to say that the film is bad--it isn't. It's enjoyable, with great songs and cute numbers and lots of pretty girls to look at. But it's just not quite a classic. The dancing is classic though--so watch COVER GIRL for that, and you won't regret it.

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!!

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