(1944)
3
Craig Butler
Gene Kelly had been a presence in films for a couple of years, but it wasn't until MGM loaned him out to Columbia for Cover Girl that he first made his mark. Rita Hayworth is definitely (and deservedly) the star of the film, but Kelly more than holds his own with her. There's a wonderful chemistry between them, the kind of hesitant give-and-take of two people in love but who haven't yet learned to trust themselves enough to be totally honest. Hayworth looks smashing, costumed to the teeth in an array of fabulous outfits and given lavish productions for her numbers. (The title number in particular is given a stunning production.) She also acts her role very affectingly, believing in the somewhat clichéd situations, and her dancing is stupendous. Kelly, looking very boyish, sounds great and displays his first real choreographic sparks during the famous "Alter Ego" sequence. The score is first rate; the beautiful "Long Ago and Far Away" is justifiably a highlight, but there are great pleasures as well in the more obscure "The Show Must Go On," "Sure Thing" and "Make Way for Tomorrow." Phil Silvers and Eve Arden supply dependable comic relief, and Charles Vidor's direction is sure. Too slight to be a bona fide classic, Cover Girl still holds abundant delights.
Cover Girl on AllMovie
Cover Girl (1944)
