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Reed (Roland) ProductionsAristocrats of Fashion (ca. late 1930s - early 1940s)

Fashions for sport and evening wear, all made from Bemberg rayon. Narration: Muriel Evans. Photography: William Steiner. Art Director: Alfred Pan(?). Sound Engineer: Walter Hicks. Production Manager: S.E. Harrison. With Dorothy Fa(?) (Carol); Francis Goodwin (Jane); Ruth Bra(?) (Alice); Ann Rountree (Gloria); Marjorie Hawthorne (Patsy); Bette Miller (Martha); Helen Dillard. Fashion Director: Tobe. In Technicolor.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Reed (Roland) Productions
Sponsor: American Bemberg Corporation
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keywords: Fashion; Synthetics; Models

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: marianne333 - - April 6, 2007
Subject: no sweatstains
a round of tennis and not one pit stain on these gals. rayon is unmerciful as I recall..ah, great film, reminding me of why I didnt want to grow up and be an adult back in the 50s, because my mother wore these clothes to church. Who can forget the crinkly crackle of rayon , the persistent itch , the high aroma of chemicals permeating your nasal cavity, bows the size of basketballs, and lacy bric a brac scratching at your skin like a hair shirt..hilarious film.

Reviewer: trafalgar - - April 6, 2004
Subject: Worst. Clothes. Ever.
Wow! The worst clothes ever (!) are modeled by a bunch of prancing ninnies who look like they had their faces shot with a makeup gun. Features an incredibly inane script, surreal colors, absurd sets and more, in just ten minutes time. And something tells me that BEMBERG Rayon is mighty itchy...

Reviewer: videostand - - January 15, 2004
Subject: Forties Fashion Statement
I liked this forties clip for its camp value and its glimpse of the fashions of a different time period. The particular clothes showcased here are certainly not the best the forties had to offer, but it was amusing to see the way they were advertised back then, using these models and the vacuous plotline.

[Note: I wonder how the previous reviewer associated this movie with drag queens, and why the one before her called the narration "gay". The narrator was a woman (there were no men in the entire movie). She did use the word "gay" profusely, but the word "gay" did not mean "homosexual" back in the forties! It's pretty clear that the feminine attire advertised here was marketed to women using women as models. There was absolutely nothing concerning drag queens in this movie. Have today's women become so masculinized that we are now to consider anything feminine as relating to transvestites or gays rather than to women???]

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - September 7, 2003
Subject: Aristocrats of Fashion
My, fashions are certainly gay this summer! Many a drag queen could take tips in "femininity" from this incredibly stupid and shallow 40s fashion film, featuring BEMBERG rayon. A bunch of very shallow and silly upperclass women frolic at a club in incredibly ugly, gaudy rayon clothes. I don't know which is stupiderthe narration, the silly "plot" involving "feminine scheming", or the loud "fashions", featuring such elements as stripes only a football referee could love, bows and collars of a size usually seen on cartoon characters, or snoods, a brief 40s headwear fad that's as ugly as its name implies and which thankfully didn't catch on. The dialogue is a scream, featuring whole passages a drag queen would be proud of. Example: "He found out from the caddy." "Oh no! You mean Vivian?" "No, silly, the golf caddy!" Somebody ought to put these gals out of their misery. This film is, of course, incredibly ripe for msting. Have fun with it on "Ladies Night".
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - December 29, 2002
Subject: My, what a handsome bag, just like a binocular case!
In this gonzo short, the fashions of 1930's-1940's are showcased.. But not just any old clothes. These are BENBERG rayon! (note the caps). These are HIDEOUS fashions folks, ugly stripes. dresses that look like table cloths, weird looking hats and that ever so gay narration makes this short a VERY strange viewing experience.

Shotlist

Fashions for active sport and evening wear.
Everything made from Bemberg rayon.
Narrated by a woman fashion commentator in patronizing, but humorous way, in spirit of old fashion newsreels.
Woman talking into old white telephone receiver to a man (old Hollywood accent)
Making some kind of a country date
2 girls hug one another
Narrator talks to them about stripes, then begins to describe their outfits
CU woman putting on black and white open shoes
Women chattering social irrelevancies
Many great shots, pans down and close-ups of rayon fashions
MS 6 women lined up looking to left, presumably looking at men with great attention (but we don't see the men)
Lots of narration about 'gay' fashions
4 women come to examine another's engagement ring: 'Wish you had one?'
'Patsy looks like a peppermint stick in her red and white candy stripe.'
'women flock to the engagement ring like bees to the honeysuckle'
Film cuts out early:
Up to but not including: 'Helen has an idea, and itÕs about Leap Year'