Vogues of 1938 (1937) - full review!
Directed by Irving Cummings (In Old Arizona (1928)), and written by married couple Bella & Sam Spewack (My Favorite Wife (1940)), I found this early Technicolor Musical to be better than I thought it would be, not great but entertaining. It's also a mild comedy with a romance subplot featuring Warner Baxter (who'd won a Best Actor Oscar for In Old Arizona (1928)), Joan Bennett, and Helen Vinson. The cast also includes Mischa Auer (My Man Godfrey (1936)), Alan Mowbray, Jerome Cowan, Alma Kruger, and Marjorie Gateson, among others. The film's song "That Old Feeling" and its Art Direction received Academy Award nominations.
George Curson (Baxter) owns one of New York's premier fashion houses; Sophie Miller (Kruger) is his primary designer. In fact, Curson was hired to provide the entire trousseau for debutante Wendy Van Klettering (Bennett), who's about to marry the very wealthy bore Henry Morgan (Mowbray). Her wedding eve jitters turn into a desperate plea to Curson to fail to deliver her dress so that she can ease out of her pending nuptials. Naturally, this would ruin his reputation, but she believes he'll help her anyway. When he doesn't, she jilts Morgan anyway, leaving him with egg on his face. Hedda Hopper appears briefly, uncredited, as Wendy's mother. Curson has other worries himself: aging Sophie had taken ill and his former actress-singer wife of three years Mary (Vinson) has been convinced by friend W. Brockton (Cowan) to make a go of it on the stage again. Meanwhile, Sophie's assistant Betty (Polly Rowles) has just married a wannabe designer and Russian eccentric Prince Muratov (Auer). Curson raises her salary by $50 since she'll now be supporting two.
Determined to get back at Curson for a perceived complicity in his fiancée’s fleeing, Morgan provides the financial backing Muratov needs to build a fashion house to rival Curson. Muratov pressures his newlywed bride to leave Curson and steal Sophie's latest designs. At the same time, Mary finally convinces her husband to fund her ambitions by agreeing to give up the idea if Brockton’s show is a flop. Wendy, who commiserates with Curson by going bar hopping with him, develops a crush on Curson, who hires her as a model, instructing Sophie to train her. Muratov manipulates the wealthy Mrs. George Curtis-Lemke (Gateson) into using his, in lieu of Curson’s, dress for the big fashion show, even though she'd won several years running using Curson’s designs.
The film's Technicolor seems to get better as the fashion shows and other productions are staged. Even though Morgan is selected, unanimously as the annual show’s chairman, Wendy is able to sabotage Mrs. Lemke's dress and win the contest. But she has to celebrate by herself because Curson must travel to Boston where his wife's show is being refined in hopes of running on Broadway. The show is called "The Vogues of 1938", and it's an opening night failure per the laughing reaction of an "always wrong" ticket broker (Dick Elliot, uncredited). However, Mary refuses to honor her agreement with her husband, and insists that Brockton just needs more money to refine the show. Curson returns to New York too late to see Sophie before she dies; she'd gotten sick on a trip to Europe to find more models. Wendy cries on his shoulder holding her lucky thimble.
Broke from sinking $100,000 into his wannabe actress wife's career, Curson learns that Morgan owns the mortgage on his building, and wants it. Since he's unable to pay his employees, Violet (Penny Singleton) asks permission to take another job. Desperate to regain some success at his rival's expense, Curson uses Muratov’s designs he'd secured (from Betty?) to create duplicates for Wendy to wear so that she can arrive and embarrass the client's publicly. Even though this works, his accountant (Irving Bacon, uncredited) says Curson’s time is up. However, Brockton has refused to take responsibility for the sets etc. from his failed show, so they're delivered to Curson. He has a brilliant idea, use them to stage a fashion show of his own right in the building. Just before it comes off, though, Morgan and his lawyer (Roman Bohnen, uncredited) arrive to stop him with an injunction (e.g. illegal use of "his" building). Muratov, who'd been fired, humbled, and made to feel he owes a debt to Curson (e.g. for stealing his designs), is working as the doorman for the show, so he's able to stop them by trapping them in an elevator.
*** SPOILERS ***
The fashion show, also named "Vogues of 1938", is a big success, reviving Curson’s career in the eyes of his creditors. Mary shows up, having just gotten back from Reno for a quickie divorce, to give Curson the news, which he's glad to receive since it enables him to propose to Wendy.
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