I know; I start adding the year to the title of the posts and quickly choose a film that makes it look stupid. That’s on-brand, at least. I mentioned this film before, but that was over ten years ago, so you are forgiven for not remembering. It’s another one on my old “must-post” list: The Ice Follies of 1939.
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Ice Follies of 1939
Genre: Musicals & Performing Arts/Musicals/General
Format: NTSC, Full Screen
The Ice Follies of 1939 – The Movie
A pair of guys with a successful ice skating act are doing as well as one can do with a successful ice skating act until one of them falls in love with an aspiring actress. The actress is Mary McKay, played by Joan Crawford, and the one who falls in love with her is played by some obscure day player named Jimmy Stewart. Friction abounds when she turns out not to be a great skater, and the act is put in jeopardy. All is resolved when she becomes a successful actress who helps get the big ice show finale bankrolled.
The Ice Follies of 1939 – The Furs
Our first entry made it to the poster; a white fox-trimmed skating outfit. We don’t see Joan as Mary skate in it, just walk backstage with Larry and Eddie.
The outfit includes a hat, but Mary is only seen wearing it briefly when the sequence starts, and she’s holding it later.
Next up are the angsty furs. Mary wears these furs in scenes where her relationship with Larry is tested. This red fox-trimmed coat appears as Mary returns home a little tipsy. She also waves around her matching red fox muff. Overall, it is a pretty brief appearance.
The next outfit is a lynx stroller coat and muff. This appears when Mary and Larry meet up in the park. Mary’s film career is taking off, and Larry hasn’t seen her much, so they get to the smooching quick.
Larry spends the scene complaining about his wife’s success. Larry is just a whiny little bitch. Mary should just bite that finger off.
If we must endure Larry’s whining, at least we get to enjoy Joan Crawford in this fur for three and half minutes.
We are treated to a great shot of the coat and muff at the end of the scene. It is very short.
Happy ending time. Mary is a super successful actress and dresses accordingly in a huge white fox fur coat and matching clutch.
The old dude is a producer who will bankroll Larry’s dream ice show. Mary is not shown here preparing to beat Larry senseless with his own shoe, but that would have been a more satisfying ending.
This outfit only appears for around 1 minute, but it’s a lovely minute indeed.
Not the greatest in terms of overall runtime, but the furs in the film are exceptional. Equal to young Joan Crawford, that is certain. According to most non-fur-fashion-related film reviews, this one is a stinker, so bear that in mind if you think you need to see it for any other reason.
Film Runtime: 82 minutes
Fur Runtime: approx 6.5 minutes
Onscreen Fur Ratio: 8%
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