Fashions of 1934 (1934)

The next to last film in William Powell's hiatus at Warner Brothers between his long stints at Paramount and MGM was Fashions of 1934. He got to work with two Warner Brothers institutions for the one and only time, Bette Davis and Busby Berkeley.Powell probably knew he would be leaving shortly and plays his part in his usual charming manner. Davis had the trapped look of a wild animal who wanted desperately not to be where she was. Things would drop into place for her later in the year with Of Human Bondage.Powell had to do a lot to make his character likable, quite frankly he's an out and out crook. He moves from one racket to another in the fashion business, from stealing designs to then working for the folks he's stealing from. He cons and blackmails people into partnership, all and all, a despicable figure. But it's William Powell so you almost forget to hate him.One who doesn't is Davis who would dearly like to see him give up his evil ways, but you certainly would think the odds were against that even at the end of the film.Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal wrote the theme for Fashions of 1934 which was Spin a Little Web of Dreams. It was used as the background for one of Busby Berkeley's more opulent numbers from the cinema. It was Berkeley's contribution to the film.The fashion industry would have seemed a natural for a Berkeley type extravaganza. I'm surprised that so mediocre a film resulted from the idea. But a pair of bored and mismatched stars didn't help the proceedings.Best in the film is Frank McHugh as Powell's assistant in scheme and Hugh Herbert the ostrich feather magnate.

Warner Bros. had a major actress within their midst with the addition of Bette Davis. However, they didn't know what to do with her during her early years there so they tried to primp her "feminine" image by putting her in a movie about fashion thieves in a type of plot that seemed made to order during the Thirties.Seeing how dolled up she looks here (with that platinum, shoulder length wig, caked on make-up and and those screaming dresses), it now becomes unthinkable to even imagine her having been picked up by MGM (where Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, and Adrian dresses ruled supreme) because she would have been completely miscast in every ultra-melodramatic movie given to her there. Not that Davis wouldn't do her own share of melodramas, but for the attention they gave to the creation of iconic screen goddesses dressed in impeccable gowns and inaccessible, airbrushed looks as they left the real, heavy acting to a side, it would have been a matter of time before Davis would have been devoured by that studio or even relegated to second-fiddle.It's why she fared better in the grittier dramas that Warner Bros. pushed out, but this particular movie wasn't where her talents became the main focus -- she gets very little to do even in key scenes. She is teamed well with William Powell, however, and I wonder why wouldn't they be matched up again in another movie but that's a secondary issue. FASHIONS is, however, quite an entertaining movie with a lightweight plot and performances in the good sport vein, with Veree Teasdale a secondary standout as a Hoboken native who poses as a Russian countess and rival to William Powell. Also of note is the fashion show done in the style of the times, and the musical number with Busby Berkeley's blonde beauties who look exactly alike and are dressed in lush ostrich feathers.The good thing about FASHIONS is that it comes right before her loan-out to RKO and her career-turning OF HUMAN BONDAGE. When seeing how little quality time she has on camera in this movie, one can only think this is the same woman who at twenty-five would explode out of her mold and rip up the screen as Mildred Rogers.

I really wanted to love this movie. After all, it starred William Powell and Bette Davis--two of my all-time favorite actors. Yet despite this, it was a pretty miserable little film.First, it was really tough to care about William Powell and company. While in the past they have "skirted the edges" of the legal system in some films, here they were simply thieves. This isn't exactly endearing! Second, there wasn't a whole lot of movie. It was only about 75 minutes long and much of this was spent watching some Busby Berkely numbers. As a result, acting and plot development could have definitely stood some work. Plus, I doubt that people that like Berkely's style films and people that like light comedy are one in the same--many people wanting more comedy would hate the over-the-top dance numbers and the few people who actually think Berkely's numbers were worth watching may not like comedy.Third, the basic plot involving high fashion is just dull. Who cares about a lot of rich fools who like to walk around with ostrich feathers sticking out of their dresses?! The overall package just isn't very entertaining. In fact, it's downright dull. Do yourself a favor and find pretty much ANY other Powell or Davis movie!

FASHIONS OF 1934 (Warner Brothers, 1934), directed by William Dieterle, is a light comedy that pairs debonair William Powell for the one and only time opposite the very young but unrecognizable Bette Davis. Although an unlikely pair, there isn't much chemistry between them. It is also surprising for a first time viewer to find Bette in platinum blonde shoulder length hair supported with heavy eye lashes and lipstick. One can only imagine Davis detesting such an assignment having her look more like a department store mannequin than herself, but it was one of many such "nothing" film roles before the studio would know what to do with her. In spite of it being labeled a musical, Davis does not sing a note nor dance, but the movie itself does consist of one lavish production number, choreographed by Busby Berkeley, which needs to be seen to be believed, but otherwise, worth the price of admission. On and all, FASHIONS OF 1934 (TV and video title: FASHIONS), solely relies on comedy and its presentation of the latest fashions, which were probably never seen again after this movie finished its theatrical run.The story opens with Sherwood Nash (Powell), a smooth operator who can talk his way in and out of anything, being evicted from his Golden Harvest Investment Corporation for back payment of rent. While his furniture is being moved out, Nash encounters Lynn Mason (Bette Davis), a fashion designer seeking employment. Looking over her drawn sketches, Nash, finding Lynn to be very talented, decides to pursue another kind of racket, that as a fashion swindler. He uses theatrical methods to steal dress designs from famous designers and presenting them to potential buyers at cut-rate prices. After getting caught, Lynn, Nash and Snap (Frank McHugh), Nash's girl-chasing partner, shipboard their way to Paris to get the latest designs. Trying to come up with new and original ideas, Nash meets and befriends Joe Ward (Hugh Herbert), a California feather merchant hoping to interest designers into using more ostrich feathers on their creations. With the help of his former girlfriend, Mabel Maguire (Verree Teasdale), posing as the Grand Duchess Alix, a Russian noblewoman, presently engaged to designer Oscar Baroque (Reginald Owen), Nash arranges to get revue and fashion show together featuring the Grand Duchess Alix. Nash meets further complications when there is a possibility that Lynn might walk out on him, and of he being exposed by Baroque, who wants to ruin him.FASHIONS OF 1934 very much belongs to Powell, quite amusing and self-confident man. His performance itself never disappoints. The fashion show is preceded by a Busby Berkeley number, "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" (music and lyrics by Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain), as sung by Verree Teasdale. It highlights several chorus girls as human harps and others in pre-production code bikinis, exposing more skin of the female body than any other Berkeley number has up to that time. However, the heavy blonde wigs the semi-nude girls wear make them appear older than their actual youthful ages. And of course, in true Berkeley tradition, the girls in ostrich feather gowns form themselves into one large blooming rose.In the supporting cast are Philip Reed as Jimmy Blake, a struggling songwriter in love with Lynn; Gordon Westcott and Dorothy Burgess as a couple of swindlers working for Nash in the early portion of the story; Henry O'Neill, Etienne Girardot and George Humbert as famous fashion designers who have their designs stolen by Nash; Hobart Cavanaugh as a man with a box of dancing worms; and Jane Darwell in a small role as a patron during the fashion show sequence. And then there is that Frank McHugh laugh, especially while either looking at some "naughty girlie photographs" or encountering them in the flesh. FASHIONS OF 1934 is enjoyable fluff from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and would be recommended to those who enjoy watching pre-code production movies. Formerly presented on commercial television's WPHL, Channel 17, in Philadelphia prior to 1974, and available on video cassette in the mid 1980s from Matinée Classics, it can be seen occasionally on late night Turner Classic Movies.(***)