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.
10 Reviews
heavy-handed comedy from Monogram
blanche-222 January 2015
Marjorie Weaver and Robert Lowery star in "Fashion Model," a 1945 comedy of the sledgehammer variety. When models at Madam Celeste's Fashion House start showing up dead, a stock boy, Jimmy (Lowery) is a chief suspect. His girlfriend, who is also a model, Peggy (Weaver) wants to help clear him. The two work together to find the killer.
Actually, this isn't a bad comedy. It has some really funny bits, but they're done too over the top. In the hands of someone like Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea, for instance, and directed by Leo McCary, this might have been a classic. It comes off as silly and overdone. Weaver is a great example of this. Her character is supposed to be quirky, so rather than Peggy BEING quirky, she instead puts it on. It's not such a subtle difference when you watch it.
The best part is the two trying to escape the fashion house wearing bridal attire and getting caught in the window with the drunk, nearsighted window dresser.
Could have been better, but then, these films were made over a few days.
Actually, this isn't a bad comedy. It has some really funny bits, but they're done too over the top. In the hands of someone like Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea, for instance, and directed by Leo McCary, this might have been a classic. It comes off as silly and overdone. Weaver is a great example of this. Her character is supposed to be quirky, so rather than Peggy BEING quirky, she instead puts it on. It's not such a subtle difference when you watch it.
The best part is the two trying to escape the fashion house wearing bridal attire and getting caught in the window with the drunk, nearsighted window dresser.
Could have been better, but then, these films were made over a few days.
Better than expected, though not by much
gordonl567 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
FASHION MODEL – 1944
Another low rent crime comedy from bottom feeder studio, MONOGRAM. This one is about a stock boy, Robert Lowery, who gets himself mixed up in a trio of murders at his job. Helping him prove his innocence, is his main squeeze, Marjorie Weaver who is a model at the Fashion Salon.
The story, or what there is of it, is about a diamond brooch worth 25 grand. What the viewer gets is just a string of sight gags and one liners. In the mix are Tim Ryan and Dewey Robinson as a pair of less than brilliant Police detectives. Also joining in are Lorna Gray, Sally Yarnell and Edward Keene as the murder victims.
While not a barn burner by any means, there is the odd chuckle supplied by Lowery and Weaver has they try to stay one step ahead of the police. Particularly good is a bit were they pretend to be clothes dummies in the salon display window. Miss Weaver seems to have a flair for comedy and is quite good at rapid fire dialogue.
With more attention to detail, a better script and a better director, this could have been decent low budget comedy. Director William "one shot" Beaudine shows how he earned that name here. There is a scene when a running Miss Weaver slips on a floor and crashes into a wall, she just picks herself up and continues. Beaudine was known for seldom ever doing retakes.
Another low rent crime comedy from bottom feeder studio, MONOGRAM. This one is about a stock boy, Robert Lowery, who gets himself mixed up in a trio of murders at his job. Helping him prove his innocence, is his main squeeze, Marjorie Weaver who is a model at the Fashion Salon.
The story, or what there is of it, is about a diamond brooch worth 25 grand. What the viewer gets is just a string of sight gags and one liners. In the mix are Tim Ryan and Dewey Robinson as a pair of less than brilliant Police detectives. Also joining in are Lorna Gray, Sally Yarnell and Edward Keene as the murder victims.
While not a barn burner by any means, there is the odd chuckle supplied by Lowery and Weaver has they try to stay one step ahead of the police. Particularly good is a bit were they pretend to be clothes dummies in the salon display window. Miss Weaver seems to have a flair for comedy and is quite good at rapid fire dialogue.
With more attention to detail, a better script and a better director, this could have been decent low budget comedy. Director William "one shot" Beaudine shows how he earned that name here. There is a scene when a running Miss Weaver slips on a floor and crashes into a wall, she just picks herself up and continues. Beaudine was known for seldom ever doing retakes.
B Flick Without Too Much Going for It
Michael_Elliott4 December 2010
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.
** (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.
Typical Monogram "B" Movie
gnrz19 June 1999
Not a bad way to spend an hour but, don't expect any great acting or a well written plot. As was the norm with Monogram, the film is overloaded with so called "comedy relief". Also, if I was a policeman I would be terribly insulted by the portrayal of cops as unbelievably stupid dolts. Gunner
Make that 5.5
JohnHowardReid14 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This is the usual corny Monogram serve-up, revolving around murdered models and missing brooches, with Dewey Robinson (not Dewey Robinson, junior, but his heavy, tough-looking, if somewhat obese dad) in the unlikely roles of a comic detective on-screen, and the actual script- writer (in collaboration with Victor Hammond) off-screen! Tim Ryan's Inspector O'Hara delivers the resultant corny jokes on screen, whilst it must be admitted that Marjorie Weaver makes an appealing heroine.
Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth is in there kicking too, as are Sally Yarnell and Nell Craig (both in rare credited roles). As per usual, however, William Beaudine's direction is totally bland and undistinguished, although I must admit that the pace is reasonably fast and the budget not nearly as skimpy as the average Monogram time-waster.
Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth is in there kicking too, as are Sally Yarnell and Nell Craig (both in rare credited roles). As per usual, however, William Beaudine's direction is totally bland and undistinguished, although I must admit that the pace is reasonably fast and the budget not nearly as skimpy as the average Monogram time-waster.
Cartoonish and Unentertaining
atlasmb12 August 2013
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.
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.
Idiotic attempt to mix comedy and mystery took a wrong turn on the runway.
mark.waltz26 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Monogram pictures was one of the first movie studios to jump on the film noir bandwagon with such early examples of low-budget artistic genius in films such as "When Strangers Marry", "Detour" and "Decoy". What looks on the outside like another attempt at conquering that genre ends up being a comic flop. There's something very "noirish" about a murder inside a fashion house, the victim a nasty model (Lorna Gray) who made a play for the another model's man (Robert Lowery). The film does start off rather amusingly with the portly Nell Craig giving a hard time to each of the models exhibiting dresses that are obviously totally wrong for her, and Craig's milquetoast husband (Harry Depp) unable to get a word in edgewise. It almost seems like the victim is going to be the snooty society matron, but when Lowery finds Gray inside a dumb waiter, that theory is proved wrong. Everybody who was in the modeling house at the time (which includes its society kissing hostess Dorothy Christy) becomes a suspect, the only clue being a missing brooch which shows up in the costume jewelry box, only to disappear, leading to another murder.
What sounds easy entertainment in writing ends up being a ridiculous excuse for a "B" budget film on script. There's too many red herrings, and it seems that the two idiotic detectives (Tim Ryan and Dewey Robinson) came right out of another cheaply made Monogram comic mystery, the two "Kitty O'Day" films made prior to this. Indeed, Ryan played a practically similar idiotic detective in those films, only the names have been changed to protect the stupid. While the film actually looks pretty elegant, that doesn't cover the fact that this is really the epitome of what makes the Z-grade movie studios sometimes what PRC was commonly called-"Pretty Rotten Cinema". Monogram's film output was hit or miss, sometimes surprisingly artistic, even their hour long westerns. But "Fashion Model" deserves an extra "Z" because not only is it a massive disappointment, but you might find yourself nodding off because of its insipidness.
What sounds easy entertainment in writing ends up being a ridiculous excuse for a "B" budget film on script. There's too many red herrings, and it seems that the two idiotic detectives (Tim Ryan and Dewey Robinson) came right out of another cheaply made Monogram comic mystery, the two "Kitty O'Day" films made prior to this. Indeed, Ryan played a practically similar idiotic detective in those films, only the names have been changed to protect the stupid. While the film actually looks pretty elegant, that doesn't cover the fact that this is really the epitome of what makes the Z-grade movie studios sometimes what PRC was commonly called-"Pretty Rotten Cinema". Monogram's film output was hit or miss, sometimes surprisingly artistic, even their hour long westerns. But "Fashion Model" deserves an extra "Z" because not only is it a massive disappointment, but you might find yourself nodding off because of its insipidness.
I could see why the folks in this one never went on to become famous.
planktonrules7 June 2015
"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.
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.
Lively and Entertaining
dougdoepke22 January 2015
Madcap mystery with emphasis on the humorous set-ups. I like the amusing back-biting among the models and haughty Mrs. Van Allen at the beginning. I guess the girls are supposed to smile through thick and thin, but fortunately they don't. There's also a whodunit, well, sort of. At least the dead bodies pile up, as somebody's after an expensive brooch in a high-class fashion shop.
But the real emphasis is on Lowery and Weaver's impersonation of department store mannikins. These skits are creative and amusing. Lowery and Weaver make an attractive and lively two-some, while professional drunk Jack Norton gets to ponder the mysteries of plastic people that walk and talk.
On the whole, it's a better than average Monogram production. The mystery-comedy combo was very popular at the time. Surprisingly, this low-budget version manages some clever highlights of its own. My only gripe is similar to others-- dumb cop Robinson is not that funny. Besides another source of humor is about as necessary as gravy on soup. Director Beaudine may be no artist, but he manages this little jape with skill and efficiency.
But the real emphasis is on Lowery and Weaver's impersonation of department store mannikins. These skits are creative and amusing. Lowery and Weaver make an attractive and lively two-some, while professional drunk Jack Norton gets to ponder the mysteries of plastic people that walk and talk.
On the whole, it's a better than average Monogram production. The mystery-comedy combo was very popular at the time. Surprisingly, this low-budget version manages some clever highlights of its own. My only gripe is similar to others-- dumb cop Robinson is not that funny. Besides another source of humor is about as necessary as gravy on soup. Director Beaudine may be no artist, but he manages this little jape with skill and efficiency.
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