What makes it different from others?

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

By 1934, when this movie was made, First National had been absorbed by Warner Brothers and produced mostly small-budget movies, such as this one. It tells the story of a con artist (Powell) who goes to Paris with his artist (Davis) with the intent of copying the designs of the great houses of fashion so that they can sell them to department stores back in the States. Instead, when that doesn't work, they discover the inspiration for Paris' leading couturier, and open their own house of fashion, which has a brief success until things fall apart.If the dates weren't wrong, you'd imagine this was a low-budget knock-off of Roberta, which deals with some of the same themes. It probably owed something to the 1933 musical behind that movie, such as the American woman who lives in Paris disguised as Eastern European royalty.It has none of Roberta's elegance, though, either in its fashions or, more importantly, in the dancing and singing of its leads. The one big dance number doesn't involve any of the principals, just a lot of skimpily-clad women in ostrich feathers. During all the time the musical review is under rehearsal, you would swear you're in New York, and not Paris. Indeed, there is no effort at all to convince the audience that the action is really taking place in the French capital.Powell and Davis are fine, Frank McCue and Hugh Herbert do their standard routines, which are better used in other movies. There's nothing memorable here, and nothing Parisian.

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.

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.(***)

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.