Cast
Kathryn Grayson.....Stephanie
Red Skelton.....Al Marsh
Howard Keel.....Tony Naylor
Marge Champion.....Clarisse
Ann Miller.....Bubbles Cassidy
Zsa Zsa Gabor.....Zsa Zsa
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Gowns by Adrian
Synopsis
Al Marsh, Tony Naylor and Jerry Ralby, Broadway producers, are desperately looking for backers. Al is one of the heirs of a dress salon in Paris, but this is almost bankrupt. The two other heiresses, Stephanie and Clarisse and the three producers are able to convince the creditors to back a fashion show there. Things become complicated, when Al and Tony fall in love with Stephanie and Al's New York girl friend Bubbles arrives. (Taken from IMDb)
This film has a lot of things going for it: 1. Adrian designed the gowns/costumes, 2. It is a musical, 3. It is in color, 4. It is a remake of Roberta (1935), and 5. It has a wonderful fashion sow sequence at the end of the film.
Many vintage fashion lovers hail Adrian as being the top Hollywood fashion designer of his time. There really doesn't need to be a "review" section, because with Adrian's name attached to a picture, you best believe it is going to hold some spectacular fashion. While this may not always be the case, I think it's a fair generalization.
Adrian was born in Connecticut in 1903 and studied at the School for Fine and Applied Arts. One of his first jobs was to design sketches for George White's Scandals. This lead him to catch the eye of Irving Berlin, who was impressed by some of his costumes at the Grand Prix Ball. Berlin commissioned Adrian to do some designs for the Music Box Revue. Eventually, Adrian caught yet another eye, that of the wife of Rudolph Valentino. He did work on three Valentino films which gained him a contract with De Mille Studios. After a two year stint, Adrian moved to MGM in 1928, where he would remain until 1942. Here Adrian was able to put his talents to great use, designing for both period costume dramas and providing MGM's top stars with fashionable wardrobes. In 1942, Adrain left MGM to open his own shop in Beverly Hills and continued to sporadically design for movies. His last film was Lovely to Look At, where he designed both the fashion show garments and the clothing for leading players. Adrian died seven years later and with his death, Hollywood lost a little bit of class.
Fashion Show Evaluation
This is definitely the most elaborate fashion show I have seen on film. The staging is intricate and it put on rather like a Broadway play. What I find interesting about this film is that the sequence and the whole film for that matter, appears in color. With the exception of Lucy Gallant (1955), the short sequence in The Women (1939), and Designing Woman (1957) I cannot think of another fashion show sequence that focuses on day and evening wear that appears in color. Singin' In the Rain (1952) is in color, but the fashion sequence is not exactly a fashion show per say, and many scholars argue that it does not fit into the fashion show-in-film category. Neptune's Daughter (1949) does appear in color, but the show focuses solely on swimwear. I find it fascinating that most of the fashion show sequences that appear in Classical Hollywood films are in black and white and are present in mainly films from the 1930s. This says a lot about the climate of the 30s in America. Moviegoers went to the movies to escape from their dim reality and what better than a fashion show to help them accomplish that? The black and white would seem to be a detraction from how we normally think about fashion. However, I see it like a blank canvas for women spectators to picture the color they like best -- a great selling ploy in my opinion.
Lovely to Look At is available on DVD through the Warner Archive Collection.
11 comments:
Haven't seen this one, either! I love the Kathryn Grayson/Howard Keel/Ann Miller Kiss Me Kate, though. I'm probably exposing my bad taste! Oh, well.
nike air huarache
nike store
nike free run
ugg boots
nike outlet
valentino outlet
cheap ray ban sunglasses
broncos jerseys
rolex replica
ugg outlet
polo ralph lauren
oakley sunglasses
chargers jerseys
true religion outlet
uggs outlet
christian louboutin outlet
true religion outlet store
cheap jordan shoes
air jordan 4
ray ban sunglasses
qzz0416
ralph lauren outlet
falcons jersey
nike air huarache
nhl jerseys
coach factory outlet
polo ralph lauren
cheap oakley sunglasses
skechers outlet
coach outlet store online
nike outlet store
qzz0530
birkenstock outlet
michael kors outlet
ray ban sunglasses
mulberry outlet
jordan shoes
air max 90
ysl outlet
ferragamo outlet
fitflops sale
longchamp outlet
www0621
basketball jerseys
coach factory outlet
soccer jerseys
michael kors uk
timberwolves jerseys
san antonio spurs jerseys
chrome hearts outlet
nba jerseys
armani exchange
michael kors outlet
www0727
supreme clothing
supreme shirt
supreme clothing
supreme shirt
supreme new york
supreme outlet
tods outlet
tods shoes
tory burch handbags
tory burch outlet
qwtwq0t822golden goose sneakers
pandora jewelry
nba jerseys
manolo blahnik shoes
ugg boots clearance
cheap jordan shoes
louboutin shoes
moncler online outlet
jordan shoes
ralph lauren outlet
WWW1015
coach outlet online
coach outlet
true religion jeans
adidas clothing
moncler jackets
canada goose outlet
ugg outlet
canada goose outlet
off white shoes
christian louboutin shoes
zzzzz2018.10.24
christian louboutin shoes
canada goose outlet
canada goose outlet
christmas presents
christian louboutin shoes
ralph lauren polo
christian louboutin outlet
ray ban sunglasses
ugg outlet boots
true religion
adidas ultra boost
lacoste polo
michael kors
kevin durant shoes
adidas stan smith men
jordan retro
cheap nfl jerseys china
pandora bracelet
moncler outlet
jimmy choo shoes
Post a Comment