Awful songs and plot.
I stopped it halfway because it was so bad and then finished it about 6 weeks later.
Phil Silvers is supposed to be funny, but his character is just pathetic.
Rita Hayworth's songs (not really her singing) are done in a style which thankfully hasn't lasted.
The love triangle: will Rita Hayworth's character choose riches by marrying a Broadway producer and dancing on Broadway, or will she marry the Gene Kelly character and dance on his stage in Brooklyn instead?
She never discusses just working with the Broadway producer while marrying the Gene Kelly character. The movie just treats it as a given that she needs to choose the same man for her romantic-and-professional interests.
I didn't even like how Rita Hayworth looks in this movie. Wearing 1940s makeup with lots of blush while being shown in Technicolor, isn't flattering for her.
"Singin' in the Rain" was great because the Donald O'Connor character was admirable and the Debbie Reynolds character was appealing. Their counterparts in "Cover Girl" (Phil Silvers, Rita Hayworth) not so much in this movie.
The only scene I liked was when two images of Gene Kelly dance together.
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movie "Cover Girl"
Added 4/9/2009
As always Rita Hayworth is a fine a performer as she is beautiful to look at.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Poor man's 'Singin in the rain'
Added 3/14/2009
Like 'Singin' in the Rain', 'Cover Girl' has a trio of two guys and a girl. In 'Cover Girl', Phil Silvers (Genius) is the comic relief. He corresponds to Donald O'Connor's funny man part in 'Singin in the Rain'. In Cover Girl, Gene Kelly's love interest is Rita Hayworth and in 'Rain', it's Debbie Reynolds. That's where the comparison ends.
Whereas "Singin' in the Rain' is a classic American movie musical, 'Cover Girl' is mediocrity incarnate. The story isn't very complicated. Rusty Parker (Rita Hayworth) is a dancer in Danny MacGuire's low-rent nightclub in Brooklyn. Rusty decides to enter a Cover Girl contest sponsored by a wealthy publisher, John Coudair, who made an unsuccessful play for Rusty's grandmother years ago. Coudair introduces Rusty to Broadway producer Noel Wheaton who makes her into a star. Danny feels slighted when Rusty starts showing up late for rehearsals at the nightclub and decides to close the club down and go on the road entertaining the troops along with his sidekick, Genius. At the last minute, with Rusty at the altar with Noel, she realizes the error of her ways and runs back to Danny. They live happily ever after.
Gene Kelly has the least developed part in the movie. All we find out about him is that he owns a nightclub and is madly in love with Rusty. Coudair and Wheaton act like besotted teenagers toward Rusty and Phil Silvers delivers some thoroughly goofy but unfunny shtick. The most interesting aspect of Rita Hayworth's performance is the scene in which she gets drunk. This foreshadows what happened to her in real life. Anyone who has read her biography will learn that she disliked Hollywood, pined away for a normal home life which she could never attain but eventually began drinking and ended up with full-blown Alzheimer's during the last years of her life.
Almost all of the songs in Cover Girl are old-fashioned and not very tuneful. Gene Kelly has only one really excellent dance number and that's the scene where he dances with his 'alter ego'. Earlier, the trio has another number which is a pale precursor of 'Make em Laugh' from 'Singin' in the Rain'.
The most annoying thing about 'Cover Girl' is the way in which Rita Hayworth is put up on a pedestal. A couple of decades later, Raquel Welch had the same problem. Both actresses later in their careers would always try and find scripts that showcased their acting abilities. They wanted to be known as 'actresses' and not 'pinup girls'. Unfortunately, 'Cover Girl' is an example of how Hollywood used to exploit women for financial gain.
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Rita at her most dazzling!
Added 2/14/2009
A great movie from Hollywood's Golden era. Rita Hayworth at her most beautiful. She and Gene Kelly team up with great music and dancing. A must for classic movie buffs!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Classic Musical
Added 11/11/2008
Cover Girl is a classic musical with Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly were co-choreographers, marking the beginning of their partnership.
Beautifully photographed in glorious Technicolor, Cover Girl is a pure joy.
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