There are few films that I’ve seen that epitomize classic Hollywood as well as 1944’s musical hit Cover Girl. Starring an effervescent Rita Hayworth as Rusty Parker, a vaudeville-style dancer, and a typically earnest Gene Kelly as Danny McGuire, her manager/boyfriend, Cover Girl thrives on the pair’s dynamic charisma. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine this film being enjoyable without either of its principal actors.
Tag: Charles Vidor
A protagonist’s introduction on screen often plays an essential role in not only the character’s journey, but in cementing a film’s legacy. Iconic cinematic introductions range from Indiana Jones retrieving the golden idol (and being chased by the rolling boulder) to Vito Corleone taking meetings on the day of his daughter’s wedding. Audience members forever remember these characters, often through the way they are introduced to us on screen. Gilda exemplifies this statement in 1946’s eponymous film noir. Hayworth’s famous introduction is not only iconic to the film’s legacy, but also to the classic character trope of the femme fatale.
by Jason Haas
Gilda is a strange movie, and an unlikely classic. Artistically, it is no failure, but it is also far from an unqualified success. It is often mentioned in the company of the most famous film noir pictures, but it manages only to borrow from the genre without having many of the classic elements of noir. Instead, the movie turns on the personality and star-power mega-wattage of Rita Hayworth. Columbia boss Harry Cohn developed the film as a vehicle for this starlet on the rise, and few if any of her other films contributed so notoriously to her fame. While some of the star-vehicle concessions should just have turned Gilda into a passably entertaining film that time forgot, Hayworth does something rare – she earns the attention the camera gives her.