Critics reviews

1940s musicals have this reputation as sterling exemplars of Dream Factory razzle-dazzle. But some of them suck. A case in point is this wisp of wartime fluff from Columbia . . . The songs, a few of which hark back to vaudeville, are all second-rate. The gowns, lavish in Technicolor, amount to a dollop of visual pleasure amid a charmless love story.

Charles Vidor's COVER GIRL is one of those films that's arguably more interesting as a genesis for its players than as a film in its own right. That's not to say that it's a bad film, just that it's more compelling when viewed as a stepping-stone rather than as a golden platform. Critics at the time largely agreed with this assessment despite the film's popularity and eventual status as the second highest grossing musical of 1944.