Cover Girl (1944)
(Charles Vidor, US 1944, 107 min., DCP)
Rita Hayworths’ first color musical, she is the Cover Girl of the title in her only pairing with the legendary Gene Kelly. Rusty Parker (Hayworth), a chorus girl at Brooklyn nightclub, enters a contest to be the new face of Vanity magazine, distressing her boyfriend and nightclub owner, Danny (Kelly). When the publisher of Vanity turns out to be a long-time admirer of Rusty’s grandmother, she wins the job and begins her rise as a model. When success and Broadway call, taking her away from Danny, she must choose between her heart and her career. Filled with Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin songs, including “The Show Must Go On” and the title tune, the film also features Kelly’s famous double-exposed “Alter Ego” dance.