cover girl

Although it’s pointless to reminisce about Hollywood’s good ‘ol days (agents, remakes and $100 million dollar budgets aren’t going away anytime soon), there’s something refreshing about watching Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly sing and dance their way through 1944’s Cover Girl. In a world where Rock of Ages is the best imitation of a classic Hollywood musical you can get, even a lesser-known film without a single recognizable song wipes the floor with it.

The rising star of a New York nightclub, Rusty (Hayworth) auditions for a cover model contest on a lark. But when she attracts the attention of the magazine’s editor (who just so happens to have had a thing for Rusty’s grandmother), she’s catapulted into a world of bright lights, Broadway and worldwide attention. That doesn’t sit so well with her boyfriend , Danny (Kelly), who thinks they’ve got a good thing going right there in Brooklyn.

Directed by Charles Vidor (who would reteam with Hayworth for Gilda) and choreographed by Gene Kelly himself, Cover Girl is a bright, colorful romp across stages big and small. The wartime setting pops in and out of the story as a gentle reminder of what they boys were fighting for in ’44. And Hayworth never lets them forget. She’s alive here with a bubbly enthusiasm and a legs that don’t quit, keeping pace with Kelly’s marvelously creative choreography step-for-step.

Even though there’s no real classic, the songbook is undeniably catchy. Kelly himself gets one of the best numbers: a lyric-less dance routine competing against his own reflection. Comedian Phil Silvers is on hand for comic relief and a key plot point or two as Cover Girl showcases the true talent behind all that old-Hollywood training.

Twilight Time’s Blu-ray presentation is limited to 3000 units and only available for purchase at Amazon or Screen Archives.