Gene Kelly: "Cover Girl", "Lucky Guy" video

Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth in "Cover Girl" (1944) directed by Charles Vidor

Kelly's "Alter-Ego" dance with his own reflection inspired his "Singin in the Rain" solo in the film of the same name several years later. Kelly said remembered..." I wanted to further the plot emotionally and not just be a musical interlude. But unless you're in a ballet, you just can't start to dance... so in 'Cover Girl' what I decided to do at this point was not state my thesis in a song, but in a few words which came over the soundtrack as if they were my 'stream of consciousness' and then go into a dance."

Stanley Donen said, "We would have to repeat the camera moves by ourselves, with Gene performing the dance twice to the prerecorded sound track. I knew it could be done by having him hit the same spots the second time as he did the first, which Gene could do, and then we could film it by having the camera hit the same marks both times, which I knew I could do." The amazing precision had a lot to do with Kelly's incredible ability... some called him the human metronome.

"Cover Girl" was a crucial turning point in Gene Kelly's career. He was a contract player at MGM, and he was antsy. He dreamed of reinventing the Hollywood musical inspired by the model created by choreographer Agnes De Mille on stage. In her landmark Broadway dances in Oklahoma, the dance evolved from the drama, instead of interrupting it.

He got his chance when Cover Girl's producer wanted to borrow him from MGM for the part of nightclub owner Danny McGuire opposite Rita Hayworth. Columbia's belligerent mogul, Harry Cohn, was reluctant. He considered Hayworth his protegé and protested, "That tough Irishman with his tough Irish mug? You must be joking. You couldn't put him in the same frame with my Rita." Source: www.moviediva.com


Gene Kelly ("Lucky Guy") video, featuring stills of Gene Kelly and co-stars. Soundtrack: "You're a lucky guy" by Tony Pastor, "Paradise" (performed by Helen Forrest, composed by Artie Shaw),"You, Wonderful You" (performed by Gene Kelly, composed by Jack Brooks and Saul Chaplin) and "For Me and My Gal" (performed by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, composed by George W. Meyer).