Fashions of 1934 (Warner Bros.) (1934)

~ New York Campaign AUDIENCE RE. CTION? .. here it is by the toughest audience in all America! DAILY. NEWS. FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1934 Fashion Parade [ In Film at Hollywood | In New Warner | ‘ Musical Movie). NEW YORK EVENING JOURNAL * FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1934 eR ea eer AER 7 ; 7 Fashions of 1934 psame Busby Berkeley’ who put on Ad the Hollywood Theatre. A First Nu ‘the waterfalls and other song-~ tional picture directed by William /and = dance extravaganzas of Collins, Screen play by-F. |‘“Footlight Parade,” “42nd Street” = ond Cort Erickson jand.“Gold Diggers of 1933.” tation by Gene Markey z ig z Fashion Pirate Powell is grand as Sherwood Nash,, @ suave scoundrel who pro= tional production, directed by WilM. Sautler, fiobart Covanaugn | Motes anything that looks promisHam Dieterle and presented at the meio) Tau? Reed ping. You'll recognize the part as Hollywood Theatre. ; See a a i ra Ns Drei, boreess “High Pressure” about two years x * 7 SES ¥tlenne Giradet |ago. With the assistance of Bette . THE CAST: _Nellx Walker | Davis, who has evolved some Spencer Gharters anaes coiffures, and Frank McZul : “Frank Darien | HUgh, who supplies his customary. Book-eeller Harry Beresford | comedy, he pirates styles from New York's leading modistes and At the Hollywood then goes to Paris. There he Ushered in with all the dazzling Mrs. Van Tyle. Wiliam Powell Telephone Man. Caponelll mreets the amusin; ee ae actuate who owns an erican ostrich” trimmings of a gala world prem-| farm, but can’t get anybody to fre, Fusions of 1084 came to | uy cirich plumed. Aad har he Ding on the first of Hollywood's | suo. ets, the Grand: os “style” pictures, From where | refugee from Russia, but whom he we're sitting, it looks like the start|;new as Mabel somebody-oraoe “parhions of 1924” hes = | Ot" DE re ie ccmich ing signed up Her! "s ostric! plot in which William Powell por| output, he exerts some polite trays an unscrupulous racketeer |blackmail and gets the Grand lor the fashion’ world, the story | Duchess to star in a revue backed serves mainly as a framework for |by the most important of the several. opulent spectacles. Some | Paris style kings. That’s where of these are fashion parades, in | the ostrich feather number is inwhich models parade costumes detroduced, and that, it appears, is Nella Walker ree Humbert Frank Darien Sener oeones Peace pare Verree Teasdale and William Powell in a seene from “Fashions of ket. Their new First National 1934,” which had its premiere at the Hollywood Theatre last night. production, “Fashions of 1934,” which opened at the Hollywood] rade that will delight the hearts|Parisian dressmakers. Reginald thee Sh By before a smarey of women and will not be without |Owen i afnusing as Baroque, the’ stakes all Oreo tha shal The fascination for men. Some of the|famous designer. Hugh Herbert, one elaborate ensemble number is|clothes are very beautiful, all the] in the role of the ostrich king, is a fen dance, in which a great many | models sre lovely and thé manner! ,+funny as he’s always been. gorgeous looking girls take part, st presente the fashions is novel | Frank McHugh is sometimes amusan i iS w the world became ostrichall dressed, a la Sally Rand, in interesting. . ing as Powell's assistant. Bette ‘ ne ye rarer sui oh. | ae, ot eume_ Se creat Sao Pitta | Fe cart th te seame Siac Mwai eae WU, —— COLE Altrargs is an ostrich feather number in | ‘The gowns are smart and the fans. This ensemble is beautifully |has snap. William Powell is mostly | but at times extrernely decorative, Cart ‘ErichiaPted hy” * First Nationay x | ion which 200 Sally Rands go through | production is lavish. It’s good photographed and gracefully done| responsible for the quick pace of| plays a fashion artist and lieutenM Scolar Gene May tith Herb + if csec |] |e"fan dance routine, staged by the | box-office. to the tune of the one song hit of pend tees He plays with his| ant to Powell in his shady schemes. : nd Wy fish things i re eee the picture called “Spin A Little} usual finesse a slicker who battens | Dorothy Burgess has a good bit as done itself in Dream.” on the designers of fashionable | hard-boiled dress model and Hen Whereas “42nd Street,” “Gold| clothes by stealing their designs | ry O’Neill plays an American dress Diggers of 1933” and “Footlight}and copying their models and | designer with some distinction. Parade,” all Warner musicals, hadj finally by ‘getting their business} The action moves from New ing, while three and four big song and dance | away from them. Powell and the/ york to steamer to Paris. The’ art Thursday even! became evider ensembles that took up most of|rest of the cast work at top speed | backgrounds are elaborate, the diay, it the footage of the films, and|to keep this fashion business in-|jogue is amusing and the whole “Fashions of 1934” has aor one | teresting and amusing. __ . | production. adds wp to an enterformal musica] number, the latter; Verree Teasdale is stunning’ in| taining picture. . picture makes up for this Jack in|the role of s Russian Grand speed and presents a fashion pa-! Duchess, fiancee of one of the great NEW YORK TIMES An Ace of Swindlers. PASHIONS OF 1934, based on a story by Word may be dropped which gives ‘Warren Duff and Harry Collins; directed him an idea and it results th sevLA arco eb 7 et eral thousand dollars coming his Ms . ~ William Power; Way. He outwits dressmakers who iriow‘Metlueh ‘tempting them to send him abroad ” tempting them to sen +Verree Teesdale on a munificent salary when at wanaugh | the moment he cannot boast of et tari sessing half a dollar. { His nimble mind {s too much: even for Oscar Baroque, a Parisian ; gown designer, and another of his} JANUARY 20,1934 DAILY MIRROR JANUARY 20, 1934 eee i, “Fashions of 1934” at the; The fashion show, a novelty in Hollywood. films, is the important feature of A tavish spectacle, pretty and. Fashions of 1934.” A story to indiverting. troduce it was concocted consciA First National production, | entiously. The story describes directed by William Dieterle, William Powell, a gifted style th _ with spectacles by Busby Berkethief, who uses bribery te procure at “fey. original Paris sketches, and proHo dupes is Joe Ward, the bibulous ‘AST: Wines Walker |owner of an ostrich farm. Matters etarwrond aS sae tte ceeds from bribery to larceny to arri It is a brisk show that has come’|2re Made easy for him in his enpiscine pis etter ee lounge Posturi be to th of the Holly counter with Baroque, for the latStyle King of the World. ne Of “Fashioning in abled and his 6 screen ie Hollywood | 527 happens to be infatuated with the role is not sympathetic, WillOns of 1934 ° to stai Theatre under the tag of “Fashions }. yseudo-Grand Duchess, who 1s iam Powell plays it with his usual fill eds Column mir, hen the , of 1934." The story is lively, the | really of the Hoboken, (N. J.) noskill and charm. Pages: “ith name; inte On the oes, PY aad On gowns are interesting and the |bility. She is, however, very atBette Davis is introduced for Stage an Style : ved fable ‘The wer the fastions display’ Busby Berkeley spectacles. with | tractive, being acted by the capable Dorothy Burgess love interest as the. young sketch “amoneud Screen, fo tertaining ga ga over Yeast, the young tady Hollywood dancing girls are im| Verree Teasdale, and not for worlds -Etlenne Giraéot artist who tries to persuade the on an ed Present» © un dntendeg ing. -Ja. Mode the screen. At lea! ith me was ™ pressive. Instead of the stereotyped | would Baroque like Paris to know hero to reform. Verree Teasdale And it’ °n into the Wo! h Powell @ -. usually who goes places Wi fear for my Darrative about the -enchantress |that the woman who has accomis her rival, playing..2 phone Picture +2, Pretty tribune eat ture the cast, a3 is ¥ who B: npressede \ who becomes an overnight queen | panied him to theatres, the Opéra Duchess from Hoboken.” Frank their, ti ean te ere is mo OP cours ¢ important. The than boey, Sherwood . ef the Broadway stage, there is |and restaurants is naught but an @ McHugh contributes his’ familiar rather ttention on StS: focus Contriby the case, # mos' seempocke tory concems ee Sordinary, in this film something original, for | American gold-digger. : comedy.: Hugh Herbert, that mager than moo? ho aa ted i Willia! Powell, the “GetThe & fidence man ¢% is neta it is concerned with a scamp who| Reginald Owen appears to. adHaving created some handsome pificent comedian, plays the unan innocent nd ay. ngly can ore ret Bie sacketeets i Be to Paris, itoriel —s ine. oF Invaclerenhend Is heighten od by Frank’ “McHugh, routines in “Forty-Second Street” | happy owner of an ostrich farm tion 2? otfered keen 4 Berkeley in) rok” lad at a fail. He tches, 01 creations or invents others en 'y / McHugh, | and “Gold Di ” OW, », 4 Ape . Te ~e ui ckets sketc! ' Go! iggers, ‘arner’s | whose dream of restoring feathers B TDSi cee vorges fashion SCH owPa ig etd pre ee Mir Dee tT anioe Busby Berkeley was permitted to|to favor is realized through style a Ing the story ae ormer fart Byres Powell, who" never rewisies that he would “abandeactie Staging the musical numbers of this i ae is the scene of the hero’s erent va: . one Writing of n usie 8 sorts to half-way measures in the | reckless mode of living. Hugh Hernew revue. In opulence and splen-/Jater triumphs in the world of this ¢} en, let's tay Oe “expert ngs and matter of his personationg, appearpark: is quite droll _as Ward, who, dor Gey sarpess any oak fashion and it is there that he bringing 3,125 tertatn; lece, ang ing either as a clever criminol w "s astute ass! ce, hopes musical films have uced. Two! sta; is stupendous style show. oad) Mak, or REG crook, thls ite ehetees ae ee FES marhundred mage Rand 3 gyrate FFashion a 1934,” mary probwre aspombinati. W idea e last word, an amiable indler, known | Ket. rt. Powell never ers in throu; a fan dance. Swarms 0! i al di ; tip. as Sherwood Nash. He is never |his fast-moving interpretation of hate mass themselves into a ably, wil mrevoks it BOG sag: Faceented wit ther nt and ng trae? downhearted, not even when the |the everconfident Nash. Spanish galleon and glide over a| cl. SE poopie han dis ishn, that at gesture of de, if intelephones are being stripped from | William Dieterie, that expert diaatachon Velvet: beds, Mantking |S and immoderately elaborate. ae petish Re * e to b way er r RR Ro gt Parade telnet fashions from Ene pari a Me ltr ase ceil ae he he section $8 || Be S# without funds. An innocent | well by this particular production, Onn males cet ee rag on fPecial-extraaqacy Without’ ite “sree musi. They Rave, Uo the spec“Yriniam _Dieterles, a find quite 38 yoke ‘a revolution in the: Garment conten WOUld be tins factions foe jous re, to say thE ooth and ine ee intent and pur Center, they ara distinctive’ and Suspense, tp /2uehs, thrille + are” as s 4 with, rich. i Pow 1 Pay pre: ro} mo e allure wees t. An Di. XEW YORK WORLD-TELEGRAM, FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1934. ¥ | Style Film a Glamorous Affair BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1934 The Screen 9 Gowns and Dances in| “Fashions of 1934” Hide Its Flaws. “FASHIONS OF 1934." First National Pictures present a screen draina from @ story by Warren Duff and Harry Collins. Directed by William Dieterle. At the Hollywood Theatre. By MARTIN DICKSTEIN ‘Fashions of 3934’ Offers Drama and a Style Pageant at the Hollywood —‘I Am Spzanne’ Is New Music Hall Featurc e Unb ery 7 “Fashions of 1934,” which arrived last night at the Hollywood Theater, is not, as one might be led to believe from the title, another of the Warner Brothers’ elaborate. musical creations, True, the Hollywood’s play bill discloses the fact that Busby Berkeley, the movits’ dean of dance directors, “created and directed the ensembles.” These ensembles consist mainly of a lavishly mounted fashion pageant and & magnificent ostrich-plume dance number, which are introduced as logical incidents in the story...But the new attraction at the Hollywood isn’t a musical film in the real sense of that recently overworked term. It’s a drama, and its theme is the fashion racket. ‘ Here we find the suave and fault-©. ae Herbert mn Westcott Dorothy Burgess tienne Glardot ‘iliam Burress -Nella Walker meer Charters ecorge Humbert Frank Darien larry Beresford By WILLIAM BOEHNEL, DEVOTEES of women’s fashions, musical extravaganzas and William Powell _gathered together last night at the Hollywood Theatre to share in the festivities surrounding the world premiere of the Warner Brothers’ latest cinema spectacle, ‘“Fashions of 1934.” In its superWarner way it is sumptuous and vivid and a first cousin, I imagine, to.“Footlight Parade,” “Gold Diggers of 1933” and “42nd Street.” For its elaborate revue scenes are by the director of the. dance numbers in “Footlight Parade,” “Gold Diggers of 1933” and “42nd Street,” and represents Busby Berkeley in Bette Davis is in “Fashions of 1934,” which had its World. Premiere at the Hollywood Theatre last night. his most elaborate, if not in his most original creative mood. s A Pirate of Designs, Eventually, this high pressured One musical film plot belng more| jgeg man opens his own shop and or less like the next musical film| becomes the rage of Paris with his ‘plot, it needs only the recital that gowns. But the other designers “Fashions of 1934” is about one of} catch on to his scheme and he is g those high-pressured idea men wh0} forced to retire from business, goes to Paris where, with his accomCast Is Excellent. plices, he steals the designs of origSokar inal dress creations and sends them| That, briefly, is the plot o: back to New York so that dress| “Fashions of 1934” from which the manufacturers there need not pay| director manages to extract an occafabulous sums for the original| sional parcel of fun, largely. I models. imagine. because of the excellent work of the cast which, in addition to Mr. Powell, includes Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Verree Teasdale, Reginald Owen and Dorothy Bur ess. The film undoubtedly will be tremendously successful, since the idea of blending a ‘fashion show and & musiéal film has the makings of a movie natural. fessly tailored William Powell in the role of a fake stock promoter who g0es broke and, by a stroke of good fortune, lands in the fashion racket. The racket, as far as we were able to determine, consists of copying expensive Parisian models and turning them out for the basement trade at a fraction of the price they would bring in the exclusive shops. “ Of course, Sherwood Nash’s (Mr. Powell's)” little business quickly >thrives, and accompanied by his fashion artist (Bette Davis), who is * most adept at copying the creations of. the world’s famous coutouriers, he sails for Paris in quest of broader fields of operation. Inthe capital of fashion he meets the owner of a California ostrich farm and at once conceives a plan for making: the world ostrich-plume minded. A ‘born promoter, it is Sherwood Nash's idea, you see, to produce a revue in which all the gowns of his lovely mannequins would be trimmed with the luscious feathers of the ostrich. The revue, needless to say, proves 8& huge success, dnd Mr. Nash not only cashes in on the new worldwide demand for plumes:-but’ sets himself up as the czar of the profitable fashion “racket”. in Paris. “Fashions of 1934” thus might be described as another “racket picture” with a new twist. Mr. Powell is the Little Caesar of the dress business, and that, we suppose, represents as fresh an. idea as the talkies have hit upon in ‘quite a while. ‘The pageant of the ostrich plumes is, of course, worked in logically as part of the revue, and. it is responsible for some of the most eyefilling scenes in the production. The fashion parade, similarly, is‘a justiflable episode in the modiste shop sequence and. displays a number of stunning frocks and gowns modeled by some of. the ‘most beautiful mannequins in. captivity. There is, we are certain, a large feminine audience for such a picture as’ “Fashions of 1934,” which combines a reasonably exciting drama with the optic appeal of a brilliant style show. And so probably the Warner Brothers have another success on their hands. In addition to William Powell and Bette Davis, the large cast of the new film at the Hollywood includes such favorites as Frank McHugh, Hugh Herbert, Veree Teasdale, Reg--. inald Owen, Dorothy Burgess and’. Henry O'Neill. ’ FRAME IT FOR THE HOME FOLKS! Page Sia