Cover Girl - 1944 * * * *

Slowly I'm working my way through the musicals that I haven't been lucky enough to see yet from the 30s and 40s. I am very lucky to have seen so many already and was privileged to have a mother and grandmother who had an endless supply of them to keep me occupied.

Despite being one of the most well known musicals of the 40s and one of Rita Hayworth's most popular I had never watched Cover Girl until recently.

Well to have a film with both Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth is something of a treat, and when I watched it it totally blew me away.

Cover Girl is the story of a beautiful girl called Rusty who, after some good luck, lands herself a job as a popular Cover Girl. Gene Kelly plays Rita's love interest and is on top form as usual. Highlights include the astounding duo dance sequence he does with another version of himself in the dark streetas which is just so Gene Kelly. For me this is the best part of the film. That and being able to see Rita Hayworth in her run up to Gilda ( I haven't seen that either...) which plummeted her to stardom. She was a talented woman and one of the most beautiful to look at in the whole world. Her dance routines remind me quite a lot of 'My Gal Sal', ( a movie she did with Victor Mature) where she plays Paul Dresser's love interest and has to perform early 20th century dance routines in beautiful outfits. She is certainly showcased perfectly in both films (where she gets to show off her highly prized legs.... so jealous!), but as regards to storyline (and not counting the fact that I love Gene Kelly and don't particularly like Victor Mature) I'm going to have to nominate 'My Gal Sal' over this, although there is no doubt that this is a classic and will stay in my collection.