Ever on the lookout for talent, and after several writers failed to create a satisfying screenplay of Cover Girl (1944), Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures hired Van Upp from Paramount to rewrite the script.

Cohn surrounded his star with the best talent available, such as costume designers Travis Banton and Gwen Wakeling, who had extensive experience in big budget 20th Century Fox films.

Not only did Cohn recognize the importance of appealing to the large female audiences, while men were away during World War II, but Van Upp's broad experience in the film industry at all levels made her a rarity: as opposed to most screenwriters who resented studio interference with their work,[4] she understood and welcomed diversity of opinion and pressure from the studio to complete a successful film.

On January 7, 1945, The New York Times commented: Miss Van Upp's new berth is considered to be the most important position yet for a woman at a major studio.

[5]As a producer, Van Upp's work was often uncredited, such as the recutting of Orson Welles's vehicle for his wife Rita Hayworth, The Lady from Shanghai.

[8] During this visit, Van Upp announced that she would produce films based on the novels Christ the Man and Tolvanera by Spanish writer Dr. Ginés de La Torre, but these plans never came to fruition.

[11] She returned to Columbia to work on Rita Hayworth's comeback film Affair in Trinidad (1952), which reunited her with Gilda co-star Glenn Ford.