I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

William Powell heads a house of fashion known for its knock-offs of Parisian gowns, and utilizes the assistance of a former lover turned phony duchess (Veree Teasdale), whom he immediately recognizes upon their meeting. This upsets his "Girl Friday" and current love interest (Bette Davis), but they reach their goal of putting on a fantastic fashion show where threats of a lawsuit ensue for fraud.This intended follow-up to the success of "Gold Diggers of 1933" is basically a second string romantic comedy with one huge Busby Berkley musical number, "Spin a Little Web of Dreams", an outlandish combination of feathers, human harps and a set that goes on forever. (In other words, clothes that every woman would probably drool over but never find an opportunity to wear). It is worth seeing entirely for that and its fantastic cast-in addition to Powell, Davis and Teasdale (an almost forgotten clothes horse who was quite an adept scene-stealer), there's also Hugh Herbert, Frank McHugh and Reginald Owen (truly droll as Teasdale's stuffy husband), lots of witty pre-code wisecracks and innuendos, and a romantic view of the world that probably never existed yet is still fun to dream about. McHugh is very funny as he keeps trying to find places to have "private" time with different chorus girls and keeps getting caught as sets fall over, move or are lifted. While mothers of young girls complained about not wanting their daughter to grow up to be a "human harp", you can't help but wonder if it is because they secretly desired to be the ones covered in the feathers themselves.

This amusing concoction is worth the money because of two dyed blonds and one extravagant, divine musical number. The bleached Bette Davis as a fashion designer smitten with the antics of professional crook William Powell, who appears too well dressed and polite to be totally believable in the job. Bette actually manages to look great as an ornamental sidekick to Powell, but underneath the determined designer girl we can detect the power house that will culminate in her unsurpassed rendition of Queen Elizabeth with Errol Fllynn years later.The second bleached blonde is Verree Teasdale who plays a fake Russian grand-duchess from Newark, NJ, who not only manages a phony accent and some extraordinary clothes and jewels for every scene, but has also managed to convince "Baroque" the king of Parisian fashion that she is the real thing and worth marrying, this feat alone deserves an Oscar, at the very least.Drag-Queens beware: This is an undiscovered treasure performance,that can give enough material for a national tour show, including her musical name itself which is a cocktail of sound effects: How many Es can you squeeze in one word? Her off-key, fluffy delivery of the lyric to the song "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" has all the components for a drag anthem, in any language, and huge cross over potential as impromptu cabaret number. The 'Broadway Follies" sequence itself, directed by Busby Berkeley, is the other real reason to watch this film. For one thing, this scene has illustrated the cover of that most necessary book on film : "Holywood Babylon" and although there is absolutely nothing Babylonian about it, except perhaps the excess of ostrich feathers, there is a horde of platinum blonds festooned with endless variations on the 'white ostrich feathers fan motif' moving and dancing in hypnotic coordination. Some are actually part of the harps that others play, they curve at the harp's end like the wooden sculptures of sail vessels for a fetish-furniture look that is perfection. The scene includes an overhead shot that demonstrates the complex flower patterns that can be achieved with all this female trouble.There is also a fashion show. This one obviously influenced Cukor's in "The Women" when all those nice ladies go to 'Fraks', but is actually much better. For one thing we see a painting before the model comes out wearing an adaptation of the design. The first one is Cardinal Richelieu, followed by a model wearing an evening gown inspired on his cape, but the others are more generic of different periods, the adaptations are all very 30's and all considerably better than that weird stuff out of Halloween that comes out in "The Women" as supposedly 'haute couture'. In the movie itself, Bette had discovered that Baroque was buying old books on fashion to inspire his designs, so we know it was her idea to develop that into a fashion- show-extravaganza, and she watches it approvingly from what looks like an opera box, opera glasses in hand. That shot catches her in a more regal pose than the grand-duchess could muster through the film in its entirety, and the impact of that image puts all those ostrich-fan bearers in perspective too: this woman is no one's ornament and she sure could be a queen anytime she wanted to.This movie is a most for Bette Davis fans, musical comedy lovers and all those interested in the historical development of camp. Highly recommended!

Don't let the title fool you. Fashions or Fashions of 1934 is just inocently fun to watch. Considering that it was made in the middle of the depression, it gave American's what they were looking for--humor, a love story and a considerable amount of extremely sexy costumes (pre-censor). As always, William Powell is at his best and Bette Davis, is well, Bette Davis--younger and more innocent but absolutely stunningly beautiful. Powell's performance is always enhanced by supporting actors--in this case Frank McHugh who has played his comedic side kick in several other movies. The direction is excellent--good continuity tells an simple but excellent story. Fun to watch--in 1934 or today.

Despite its garish title, "Fashions of 1934" is actually a pretty decent movie, certainly better than the bad reputation it's stuck with. Armed with a snappy script and fast paced direction, the actors in "Fashions" shine, showing off their abilities, whether they be comedic, dramatic or both. William Powell makes a good old rascal, the decent "un decent" man that was a virtual staple at Warner Bros. (the studio who produced this film) at the time. Bette Davis, all glammed up in red lipstick and classy dresses, shows off a rare ability for humor, fitting right in to the film's light hearted tone. As Powell's sidekick, Frank McHugh almost steals the show, mastering and even rising above the script's punchlines by exaggerated facial expressions and crude but effective slapstick. "Fashions of 1934" isn't a comedy classic nor does it aim to be one. It simply wants to entertain the audience with good humor, effective acting and direction that moves things along at a quick pace. By all accounts, it has succeeded.