Donald O'Connor's dance number on roller skates precedes by two years the better remembered sequence with Gene Kelly in It's Always Fair Weather (1955).
Howard Keel originally was to have been the star in Judy's, i.e. Debbie Reynolds's, dream, but Keel and his song "And There You Are" were cut after previews and replaced with a brief scene between Debbie Reynolds and Robert Taylor.
The opening sequence may well have helped inspire the memorable number "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" performed by Marilyn Monroe and company in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), which went on to inspire Madonna's video for "Material Girl". To quote a famous bard, who knew his Bible verses well, there is nothing new under the sun.
The opening segment is Debbie Reynolds singing "A Lady Loves (to Love)" in a sophisticated setting. A second version in a rural setting was shot but cut from the film; it can be seen in That's Entertainment! III (1994).
Melvin works for "Look" magazine, a real photo-magazine which ran from 1937 - 1971. It was an extremely popular competitor to other other large-size magazines of its day and ran second only to "Life," beating out "The Saturday Evening Post" and "Colliers."