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DVD Cover Girl
Cover Girl was one of the big hits of Rita Hayworth's run as movie queen (and World War II pinup girl), a splashy musical geared to the talents of its redheaded star. Be warned: this is the kind of movie in which a single magazine cover turns an unknown dancer into the toast of her own Broadway show, virtually overnight. The corn runs high, but so do the spirits; plus, Eve Arden is around to toss in her trademark one-liners. Gene Kelly, as Hayworth's sulky choreographer and part-time boyfriend, stops the movie cold with his brilliant dance alongside his own reflection. The Jerome Kern-Ira Gershwin songs are middling, except for the lovely "Long Ago and Far Away." One number presents a parade of magazine cover girls come to life (great snapshot of an era). And check out the movie's hats: a parade of insane creations, perched uncertainly on many beautiful women's heads. --Robert Horton
My wife wanted this movie, and I was surprised to find it on DVD. Was I glad! If you've forgotten about how good movie musicals can be, give this one a try. With Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly and Phil Silvers at the top of their form and with words and music by the Gershwins, this is about as good as it gets. Of the great female dancers in movie musicals, there is Rita Hayworth, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron and a few others. Trained as a dancer since childhood, Hayworth always was right up at the top of the list. This movie shows why. And of course, she's drop-dead gorgeous and a darn good comic actor. Gene Kelly's dance with his alter-ego in this movie may not be as famous as his Singin' in the Rain number, but it should be! Try it. You'll like it!
Wonderful Rita Hayworth And Some Great Kern/Gershwin Songs
This Columbia musical may be something of an artifact now, but it was designed to showcase Rita Hayworth. It does it so professionally that the movie is still a lot of fun to watch. The story is almost irrelevant to the movie. Rusty Parker (Hayworth) is a talented dancer working at a struggling dinner theater, Danny McGuire's Place, in Brooklyn. Danny (Gene Kelly) and Rusty love each other, and Danny is determined that one of these days his talents as a choreographer, dancer and showman will lead to the big time with Rusty. But Rusty gets noticed by John Coudair (Otto Kruger), a wealthy, high society publisher, and he makes Rusty the cover girl of one of his most popular magazines, Vanity. And the rest is history. Rusty becomes the hit of New York; a theater producer wants her for a show and wants to marry her. And Danny, seeing this happen, reluctantly decides he can't stand in her way. There's another story going on, too. Forty years ago Coudair had fallen hard for a showgirl, Maribelle Hicks. Despite Coudair's riches and position, Maribelle left him at the last minute to marry the poor piano player she really loved. Rusty doesn't know this story...and it turns out she was Maribelle's grand daughter. What will Rusty do? Well, watch the movie if you're in any doubt. The movie, however, is worth watching for several other reasons.
First, is the performance by Rita Hayworth. In fact, just the presence of Hayworth. She really was a beautiful creature with those long legs, red hair and a perfectly natural and friendly personality. She also was a first-rate dancer. Betty Grable once said Hayworth could dance rings around her. Many critics agree that Hayworth was the best dance partner Astaire ever had. Even when doing a fast tap routine, Hayworth could carry it off with great grace and look completely relaxed, as if she were having great fun. Check her out, for instance, in the Shorty George tap routine with Astaire from You Were Never Lovelier. She gives that same feeling of joy in dancing while working with Kelly.
Second, are the songs by Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin. Long Ago and Far Away was the big hit, but the entire score is one classy song after another, including Make Way for Tomorrow, Cover Girl, Sure Thing and The Show Must Go On. Long Ago, in fact, was the biggest money earner for Gershwin, bringing in considerably more than any of the songs he wrote with his brother. He said several times that he didn't think the lyric was as good as it could have been. One of the songs, Put Me to the Test, has a lyric that Gershwin originally wrote for a song with his brother. It never went anywhere, so when he had some trouble with the idea he mentioned to Kern that he had a lyric that had already been set to music by George. He said he didn't know whether Kern would be offended, but Kern just laughed and asked to see the words.
Third, are some nice performances by the supporting players. Phil Silvers, as the best friend of both Rusty and Danny, plays comic relief and matchmaker. He does a nice job of it. Otto Kruger as usual plays a smoothie, but he has a few subtle double takes he handles skillfully. He also, of course, does the right thing by Rusty. He manages to show regret and affection. And it is always fun to see Eve Arden, once again as the sardonic, wise-cracking side kick, this time to Coudair. She was so type cast in granite that I always wonder how well she could have managed in a few really serious roles. I don't recall ever seeing her in one.
Fourth, is the glossy, professional, Technicolor sheen of the movie. Everything, the sets, the costumes, the lighting, the makeup is handled with the kind of Hollywood studio perfection that isn't seen anymore. Even when the showgirls are putting on their makeup, they're perfectly made up.
Kelly does a good job, especially with the alter ego dance he does with himself and which is often highlighted in specials about his career. But Cover Girl remains very much Rita Hayworth's movie.
The Dvd transfer is excellent; Technicolor never looked better. There are no extras.
GREAT MUSICAL WOTH THE MONEY
I don't know what the other neg. reviewers are talking about. This is a great film. It's very entertaining and wonderful to look at. Your DVD collection is incomplete without this film.
The devil is in the details when it comes to this effervescent Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth musical. The slight storyline is a hook upon which to hang dance sequences, bits of humor, and songs by Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer. Set in Buenos Aires, it's a remake of an Argentine feature from the previous year and followed You'll Never Get Rich. Astaire stars as a professional hoofer and Hayworth is Adolphe Menjou's second oldest daughter. The wealthy businessman won't let his youngest daughters marry until Maria (Hayworth) ties the knot. She couldn't care less--until a case of mistaken identity leads her to believe that Robert (Astaire) is in love with her (he's just looking for a job at her father's club). Highlights include a tap dance set to "Shorty George" and the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Rita Hayworth Director(s): William A. Seiter DVD Release Date: Released the 25 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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They don't make the most obvious screen couple--if you squint, you might think Stan Laurel had gotten together with Lauren Bacall--but their differences only serve to make this effervescent musical all the more entertaining. You'll Never Get Rich is the first of two that Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth made together (followed by You Were Never Lovelier). Astaire, who stars as choreographer-turned-soldier Robert Curtis, has rarely been looser, and Hayworth, as dancer Sheila Winthrop, has rarely been more graceful. As in Royal Wedding, Astaire also engages in some fancy solo footwork. Robert Benchley and Frieda Inescort provide priceless support as Robert's philandering boss and his clever wife, and Cole Porter composed the music, including "So Near and Yet So Far,"... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Rita Hayworth Director(s): Sidney Lanfield DVD Release Date: Released the 21 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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All film noirs need deceit, betrayal, dialogue hard as diamonds--and dames even harder than that. But Gilda is the only one with the dame front and center, and for good reason. Rita Hayworth shimmers in the 1946 classic, which spins on a tortured plot involving the title character (Hayworth); her imperious husband (George Macready), a ruthless casino owner and head of an Argentine tungsten cartel (!); and Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford), Gilda's ex-lover and now her husband's go-fer. But no one watches Gilda for the plot, except to learn that all the characters have secrets--perhaps even ones they would kill for. Hayworth captures Gilda's vulnerability beneath her devil-may-care front ("If I'd been a ranch, they would have named me the Bar Nothing"). Not to be missed: Hayworth's... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Rita Hayworth - Glenn Ford Director(s): Charles Vidor DVD Release Date: Released the 07 November 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This silky smooth film noir pits gruff police detective Dana Andrews, stiff and blunt in his street-bred manners, against a cultured columnist and acidic wit (Clifton Webb at his prissiest) in a battle of wits during a murder investigation. The cop is a romantic hiding under a hard-boiled exterior who falls in love with the beautiful victim through the portrait that hangs in her apartment. Gene Tierney, whose heart-shaped face mixes the exotic with the girl next door, brings the poise and calm of a model to her role as the object of every man's gaze and the target of a killer. Laura, handsomely shot in dreamy black and white, is the first and best of Otto Preminger's cool, controlled murder mysteries. In the gritty world of film noir it remains the most refined and elegant example... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gene Tierney - Dana Andrews Director(s): Rouben Mamoulian - Otto Preminger DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Fans of classic movie musicals will be in heaven with Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1, featuring the DVD debut of five films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the quintessential dancing duo. The two gems of the set are Top Hat (1935), generally considered their definitive movie, and Swing Time (1936), which many consider their most enjoyable. Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) fill out the set, each with its own charms.
