Fashion Model

Fashion Model (1945)

** (out of 4)

Cheap but fairly entertaining murder-mystery from Monogram has stock boy Danny O'Brien (Robert Lowery) being accused of killing a model so he runs off with his girlfriend (Marjorie Weaver) to try and clear his name while a detective (Tim Ryan) tries to find them. When you see the Monogram logo go up on the screen that there should tell you not to expect any type of art film or masterpiece. Those who enjoy these "B" movies will probably find this one here slightly entertaining or at the very least it's a good way to kill an hour. As with the majority of films like it, this one here suffers from some really bad comic relief. I've seen dozens of these films and I've always wondered why they added so much comedy relief and especially considering how over-the-top and rather silly they make it. We of course have the one standard cop role who is such a moron that he could only be a cop in a "B" film like this. The comic banter between Lowery and Weaver is also pretty high as it appears they're wanting to be some sort of Abbott and Costello team. I thought the two were fairly good together but it's very possible that 'One Shot' Beaudine really wasn't giving them the opportunity to build anything in terms of chemistry but instead just wanted the quickest take they could give. Ryan is pretty good in his role as well and we got some nice stuff from Lorna Gray and Dewey Robinson. The actual mystery behind the film isn't too bad but then again you shouldn't be expecting something like Hitchcock. There is one major goof in the film when a character offers a $5,000 reward for a piece of jewelry that is missing. The next scene one of the characters this reward was told to says that the reward money is three times as much as what was previously said.

Fashion Model feels like an adaptation of a play--a very poorly written farce. Released in 1945, this B&W film has almost no plot. It is merely a series of gags, most of which fall flat.

It is as sophisticated as a Bugs Bunny cartoon, but was probably meant to be a madcap romp. At various times, it reminded me of an episode of the Superman TV show. Jimmy and Peggy reminded me of Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane with their "Aw Shucks" and "Jeepers" approach to acting.

The movie might have worked if they had Groucho Marx out front, or Laurel & Hardy. Then the core of the movie might have been funny or clever.

Unconvincing acting and horrible dialogue plague this film. The police are depicted as stupid--so stupid that, again, it feels cartoonish. Time spent watching this film could be better spent.

The gorgeous Marjorie Weaver is the star in this movie. Arguably, the most underappreciated actress Hollywood ever had. Her adorable Kentucky accent and her fun personality. Will win you over every time. This is a light "who done it". The movie moves along briskly with lots of suspense and humor. You'll think you have the bad guy figured out, but you probably don't. A little biased because I'm a massive Marjorie Weaver fan. I try to get every DVD she's ever made. This is a good comedy with plenty of funny bits. You will not be bored but be prepared to fall in love with Marjorie Weaver. Why she never became a big star I will never understand.

Peggy Rooney (Weaver) is a model and Jimmy O'Brien a stock boy at the high fashion dress store, Celeste's. Given that it's a Monogram, we get right down to business and a murder of one of the fashion models (Gray) occurs very shortly into the film. Inspector O'Hara (Ryan) and his dumb cop sidekick Grogan (Robinson) come to investigate and O'Hara at first decides it must be Jimmy O'Brien. Although I'm a fan of dumb, likable cop characters (my favorites are Ed Gargan and Tom Kennedy), Robinson's portrayal leaves me cold – he's just not humorous. Two more murders ensue; Rooney helps O'Brien escape from the police (she disguises herself as O'Brien's grandmother – which, of course, fools Grogan). Now they are fugitives and so it goes until the real murderer is caught. The best part of the movie is towards the end when Rooney and O'Brien are in the dress shop trying to evade the police. Although their initial disguise as an elderly "Southern" couple bombs as they're dressed in 19th century costumes, this is the only really jarring part of the movie. What does work is when they pretend to be mannequins and Jack Norton plays a drunken (what else?) window dresser. Norton has a pretty lengthy part and does a wonderful job. Tim Ryan also does a good job and is always fun to watch. Lowery and Weaver make a very good team and are good with light comedy.

"Fashion Model" is a terrible old B-mystery. Even by the relatively low standards of such films, this one is very hard to watch--and it's certainly no surprise that the folks starring in this one never went on to become big stars!

The film is set in a fashionable dress shop--the type that would have models display the clothing for customers. When one of the models is murdered, two total idiots, Jimmy and Peggy, are implicated. Stupidly, pretty much EVERYTHING the pair subsequently do makes them look even more guilty. A lot of these things are supposed to be funny but they are painfully unfunny due to extremely broad acting and writing. The escape from the police and wedding gown scenes are particularly bad, as they rely on everyone around the pair to be stupider than tomatoes in order for their cockeyed plans to work! Again and again, the writer assumed the best way to handle everything was to dumb down the script--to such a low and silly level that the film becomes unwatchably bad. Additionally, the movie is filled with clichés, unlikable characters and all the charm and fun of a dead possum.