Columbia Pictures gave Gene Kelly almost complete control over the making of this film, and many of his ideas contributed to its lasting success. He removed several of the sound stage walls so that he, Rita Hayworth and Phil Silvers could dance along an entire street in one take. He also used trick photography so that he could dance with himself in one sequence.
During the middle of shooting Rita Hayworth eloped with Orson Welles. Coincidentally the film's wedding scene was shot that day.
Several Conover Cover Girl models appear in this film, including highest-paid model at the time, Anita Colby. Harry Conover, founder of one of the top leading model agencies, also served as advisor for the film. The title of the film stems from Conover's original concept and famous trademark "Cover Girl" (condensed from the phrase "Conover Cover Girl"). His model agency was so successful that his models appeared most often on the covers of magazines and advertisements.
The dance numbers were shot simultaneously by three cameras - one each for long, medium and close-up shots. This was done to cut down on the number of takes and saved time, according to a contemporary article in The Hollywood Reporter.
In the song "Make Way For Tomorrow" they use the term "solid sender" and mention gremlins. At the time these made sense. Gremlins were nasty little imaginary beings that caused trouble, especially on airplanes. If something went wrong it was the fault of the gremlins. Also at the time most communications were by short wave radio. If your radio transmission was coming through clearly you were doing great and were a "solid sender" meaning that your signal did not fade nor was it full of static noise. Being a "solid sender" meant that you were doing well.
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