Cover Girl

Rating:
Summary: LOVELY RITA.....
Review: If you can get past the zany (and tiresome) antics of Phil Silvers and the corny, cliched script, there's a wonderful Technicolor musical here called "Cover Girl". Gorgeous Rita Hayworth is Rusty Parker, a nite club chorine who becomes the toast of Broadway overnite when she's chosen to be the cover girl of Vanity magazine---albeit to the chagrin of the club's owner Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly) who's her boyfriend and her catty co-workers. Hayworth is absolutely beautiful and dances with the most natural grace and elegance ever captured on screen as far as I'm concerned. Gene Kelly's acting is stiff but HIS dancing is what you're watching here as well. Boy, could he dance! He has a great solo number on an empty street where he dances with his reflection from an empty store window. Absolute artistry in motion. Eve Arden, as a talent scout, brings much needed relief to the tired script with her right-on-the-money delivery of brittle comebacks and one liners. She's also outfitted in the most outre' chic costumes and hats Hollywood ever laid out. All the costumes (by the great Travis Banton) are something to behold. But it's the Technicolor that brings things to life and Hayworth who brings the Technicolor to life. In her Broadway debut, she comes running down a seemingly endless elevated platform in a flowing gold gown like a goddess descending from the heavens---her long red hair cascading behind her. Then, after a dance number with chorus guys, she runs back up the platform through a downpour of shimmering sparkles and into a cloud of pink smoke. Sheer Technicolor movie magic. "Cover Girl" isn't the best musical ever made, but as a showcase for one of the most beautiful actresses ever photographed in Technicolor and a very nice song called "Long Ago and Far Away" it gets 5 stars from me. When you watch this, you can see there was only ONE Rita Hayworth and her grace, talent and beauty are captured in splendor on this DVD print.

Rating:
Summary: LOVELY RITA.....
Review: If you can get past the zany (and tiresome) antics of Phil Silvers and the corny, cliched script, there's a wonderful Technicolor musical here called "Cover Girl". Gorgeous Rita Hayworth is Rusty Parker, a nite club chorine who becomes the toast of Broadway overnite when she's chosen to be the cover girl of Vanity magazine---albeit to the chagrin of the club's owner Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly) who's her boyfriend and her catty co-workers. Hayworth is absolutely beautiful and dances with the most natural grace and elegance ever captured on screen as far as I'm concerned. Gene Kelly's acting is stiff but HIS dancing is what you're watching here as well. Boy, could he dance! He has a great solo number on an empty street where he dances with his reflection from an empty store window. Absolute artistry in motion. Eve Arden, as a talent scout, brings much needed relief to the tired script with her right-on-the-money delivery of brittle comebacks and one liners. She's also outfitted in the most outre' chic costumes and hats Hollywood ever laid out. All the costumes (by the great Travis Banton) are something to behold. But it's the Technicolor that brings things to life and Hayworth who brings the Technicolor to life. In her Broadway debut, she comes running down a seemingly endless elevated platform in a flowing gold gown like a goddess descending from the heavens---her long red hair cascading behind her. Then, after a dance number with chorus guys, she runs back up the platform through a downpour of shimmering sparkles and into a cloud of pink smoke. Sheer Technicolor movie magic. "Cover Girl" isn't the best musical ever made, but as a showcase for one of the most beautiful actresses ever photographed in Technicolor and a very nice song called "Long Ago and Far Away" it gets 5 stars from me. When you watch this, you can see there was only ONE Rita Hayworth and her grace, talent and beauty are captured in splendor on this DVD print.

Rating:
Summary: DVD heaven-glorious technicolor.
Review: Ok, here's the real deal on this latest Hayworth release. The movie looks incredible. The colors are vibrant and seem to jump off the screen. This quality transfer from "Columbia" is crisp, clean and eye-popping. Sure, the backstage story is a little hokey and quite dated (even for it's time)- but all is forgiven once Hayworth's energy and appeal shine so brightly. Despite it's creaky plot, I still give a 5 star rating. Why? For the opportunity (thanks to DVD) to watch Rita dance. The experience is electrifying, watching Hayworth move with such carefree abandon and sensual grace while exhibiting a natural charisma that is literally breathtaking. Bonus tip: try watching Rita in slow-motion (via the dvd remote button-try the slowest motion possible). There's the scene where Lee Bowman brings her onto a large empty theatre stage urging her to "try it out"- Rita then floats into a short solo dance displaying her magical "It" factor to the max! Also, the "Cover Girl" number where she descends down a giant ramp, like a true goddess from the heavens, as well as the "Put me to the test" routine with Kelly. The noise-free clarity of these slo-mo/frame by frame images are truly mesmerizing.

Rating:
Summary: ravishing, enchanting musical dream
Review: Rita Hayworth has never looked better than in the charming musical COVER GIRL, where she displays her astute dancing and singing skills.

Also starring, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers and Eve Arden, COVER GIRL tells the story of nightclub hoofer Rusty Parker (Hayworth) and her rise to stardom after being made the cover girl of a magazine's 50th anniversary issue. The editor of the magazine (Louis Calhern) is taken with her, she reminds him of a girl he fell in love with long ago, who turns out to be her grandmother!

Hayworth plays the grandmother in several well-costumed flashback scenes, and she is very fetching .

Featuring the song "Long Ago And Far Away" and Kelly's bravura "Alter Ego" dance number, COVER GIRL is a bright, bouncy, musical delight.

Rating:
Summary: "Cover Girl" covers it all!
Review: This is my favorite movie of all time. That might not mean much since you don't know me, but believe me I have seen a LOT of movies and NOT ONE compares to this one. As musicals go, it is the best - the dance numbers are inventive, complicated, and extremely entertaining; the songs are all catchy and lyrically brilliant("Tomorrow," "The Show Must Go On," "Long Shot," "Put Me to the Test," and, of course, "Long Ago and Far Away"); the plot is fast-paced and believable; and even though Rita Hayworth is not my favorite, she absolutely dazzles in this movie. Not to mention Gene Kelly at his best - he was given full artistic liberty with all the numbers, and boy does it show. I love this film. There are no words to describe how wonderful it is.

Rating:
Summary: "Cover Girl" covers it all!
Review: This is my favorite movie of all time. That might not mean much since you don't know me, but believe me I have seen a LOT of movies and NOT ONE compares to this one. As musicals go, it is the best - the dance numbers are inventive, complicated, and extremely entertaining; the songs are all catchy and lyrically brilliant("Tomorrow," "The Show Must Go On," "Long Shot," "Put Me to the Test," and, of course, "Long Ago and Far Away"); the plot is fast-paced and believable; and even though Rita Hayworth is not my favorite, she absolutely dazzles in this movie. Not to mention Gene Kelly at his best - he was given full artistic liberty with all the numbers, and boy does it show. I love this film. There are no words to describe how wonderful it is.

Rating:
Summary: "Cover Girl" is a musical/comedy worth the watch!
Review: This musical/comedy is the story about Rusty Parker (Rita Hayworth) who decides to take a chance at becoming a cover girl. But she knows that her boss and boyfriend, Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly) believes that the easy way to stardom is not the way to happiness. At first, Rusty goes to audition for being the cover girl but when a jealous friend and co-worker Maurine Martin (Leslie Brooks) tells her to act 'animated', she blows her chance in front of Cornelia 'Stonewall' Jackson (Eve Arden). So when Cornelia and her boss, John Coudair (Otto Kruger), go to 'McGuire's Nightclub' to see Maurine, Coudair immediately takes a fancy to Rusty instead! The reason is because she looks exactly like Coudair's someone long ago whom he loved, Maribelle Hicks (also played by Rita Hayworth). He finds out that Rusty is Maribelle's granddaughter then makes her his cover girl and she is suddenly flung into the world of stardom and fame! But Danny and great friend Genius (Phil Silvers) try to get Rusty back on her feet when she starts getting high and mighty ideas. On the other hand, Coudair and producer Noel Wheaton (Lee Bowman) want to give Rusty all that they think is happiness; money, fame, and stardom. But could Rusty ever be happy without the one most important thing she needs, love?

A truly dynamic movie with terrific dance numbers, hilarious humor, romantic romance, and dramatic drama. Who can't help but hum along when Kelly and Hayworth sing the lovely song, "Long Ago and Far Away", laugh when the three main stars do their 'come on pearls' bit, sigh in happiness whenever Kelly and Hayworth kiss, and be in agony at the part where Hayworth realizes her mistake? If you haven't seen this movie, I can only say that you're missing out on a lot!

My favorite dance/song numbers are:
"Long Ago and Far Away": The romantic dance number with superb Kelly and Rita Hayworth.
"Who's Complaining?": Phil Silvers is just totally hilarious!
"Alter Ego": Gene Kelly is the best! Want proof? Watch this number where he dances with himself!
"Put Me to the Test": Both versions are wonderful. One is with Kelly and Hayworth, the other one is a much funnier version with Kelly and Silvers.
"Tomorrow": And who can forget this number with all three main characters Danny, Rusty, and Genius?

Here are some of my other favorite musicals/comedies which I highly recommend. "Silk Stockings", "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", "Bandwagon", "Tea for Two", "Singin' in the Rain", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "The Barkleys of Broadway", the three "That's Entertainment" videos, and "Guys and Dolls". Of course there's plenty more!