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Donahue (Harry D.)Fashion Horizons (1940)

Southwestern U.S. travelogue flies around in modern 1930s airplanes, stopping off at Albuquerque and an Arizona dude ranch, all the time focusing on fashions worn by its cargo of aspiring Paramount starlets. Excellent pre-World War II fashion footage in Kodachrome, plus documentation of affluent tourist destinations. Produced and directed by Harry D. Donahue. With Mary Martin.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Donahue (Harry D.)
Sponsor: Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) and others
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keywords: Fashion; Aviation: Commercial; Travelogues

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Una Persson - - September 13, 2003
Subject: Hitting a Personal Note
Agreeing with the earlier reviewers on most points, this film is also notable for showing many shots of what is now the Marriott Camelback Resort in Phoenix, where my lady friend and I recently had a fantastic vacation. The buildings all look the same, as does the pool and grounds, although they are a bit more lush and the area is quite built up now. I had no idea the hotel was more than 60 years old!

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - July 27, 2003
Subject: Fashion Horizons
Several Hollywood starlets take a bright and breezy vacation in the southwest, while a bright and breezy narrator breezily describes their trip to us, describing every outfit each woman wears in great detail and occasionally throwing in a plug for TWA. Somebody should have shot the writer, though, because there's a fine line between breezy and stupid, and the film's narration repeatedly crosses that line, especially when dealing with native Americans ("One little, two little, three little Indian girls!" exclaims the narrator over a shot of three grown native American women), ancient historical relics ("Her adobe coat blends in with the adobe walls of this ancient structure"), or scenic wonders ("Doggone it! What adjectives are there to describe this magnificent view of the Grand Canyon?"). The visuals provide some historical value, as they provide rare color scenes of 1941, but if you're going to use this for archival footage, cut out the narration and the cheesy music soundtrack, OK?
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - May 8, 2003
Subject: "Must Be The Desert Air!"
In this highly fantasized and so of course, highly improbable fashion showcase, where everyone just seems to be packing 5000 pieces of clothes to go sightseeing, we see 4-5 starlets, most of them actually have a lot of movies to their name, go packing off to a screen test in Albuquerque. And there on the air tarmac, they're met by a indian tribe dancing, celebrating the arrival of the plane! Wait! there's more! Soon they're going for dinner, and all the females are wearing fur coats! Now let's pause for a minute, I know this film was made in 1940, and fur was all the rage, but who on earth would wear fur in Albuquerque in the middle of summer? Soon, the trip turns to Phoenix, and the models all are wearing fashions HIGHLY improbable for wearing in Phoenix's climate. Believe me. Watch it for yourself. Reccomended!

Shotlist

Combines airplane trips and fashion. Heavy on the fashion.

¥ 42:93- 1:04:38
Still shot of a shiny silver airplane floating in the sky above the cloudsÑthe problem are the titles over it, but it ends with no titles.

¥ 1:45:29- 2:00:02
Good shot of the underbelly of a plane as it comes towards us. Cut to a view of the shiny, silver plane at eye-level.

worth noting: There are some interesting shots of cocktail hour at an Arizona resort. They sit outside surrounded by the Arizona desert.



AIRPLANES TRAVEL FASHION WOMEN WOMAN