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Great Film overall

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

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.

William Powell's at his most self assured while Bette Davis makes for a just as sharp worthy partner in this mildly entertaining con game involving Paris fashion rip offs. Powell plays a scheming grifter always looking for a way to make fast cash and finds one bootlegging the latest ladies fashions with the help of graphic artist Davis. When the jig is up in NY they head to Paris and cook up another scheme involving a phony countess and ostrich feathers.Were it not for the charm of William Powell, Fashions of 1934 might well be a cynical mean spirited film of dishonest and disreputable impostors greedily out to make a buck, screw partners, associates and in the case of a character played by Frank McHugh every model he lays eyes on. Powell with his healthy rapid fire audacity though manages to win you over to his side with his enthusiasm for the journey. The well tailored Davis rather than moon over Powell instead shows independence and an option that demands he play his hand with her on equal footing. Reginald Owen as a bombastic adversary and especially Veree Teasdale as the counterfeit countess ably support while McHugh and Hugh Herbert do their standard mugging. William Dieterle's direction lacks subtlety and racy innuendo and the film's rhythm sometimes flags but it does have some dazzling sets ( a house of fashion with full orchestra ) and a couple of impressive Busby Berkeley numbers to make Fashions of 1934 a decent enough entertainment, if not exactly haute couture..

"Fashions of 1934" is an amusing light comedy starring William Powell and Bette Davis. Davis looks much more sophisticated than she did in "The Man Who Played God." She's very glamorous and also very good in a film that's mainly fueled by Powell's performance as a con man. The Powell character goes from con to con, sometimes a con within a con - he can't resist. One of his schemes is to copy fashion sketches from Paris and pass them off as originals. Another is to sell a surplus of ostrich plumes by featuring them in a musical revue. This gives rise to a great musical number, "Spin a Little Web of Dreams." It's a Busby Berkeley kaleidoscope production. The audience at the musical revue, however, didn't see it as moviegoers did - from above.This is a fun movie and notable for the actual fashions shown, a good performance by Powell, a spectacular number and early Davis before she established her screen persona.

Suave con artist (Powell) and sultry designer (Davis) take over the Paris fashion world by copying designer gowns and passing them off as originals. Interesting comedy-musical is highlighted by the `Spin a Little Web' number choreographed by Busby Berkley, but in general the concept dates badly.