User Reviews

Tiffany was a production company formed in 1922 by Mae Murray (then at the height of her popularity) and her husband Robert Z. Leonard (a first class director). They released their films ("Peacock Alley" (1922), "Jazzmania" (1923), "Fashion Row" (1923))through Tiffany, but when they divorced the company quickly descended to poverty row. Because Tiffany purchased Reliance-Majestic in 1927 it was one of the few to have it's own studio. Among the highlights were "Mamba" (1930) - the first full Technicolor drama and Bela Lugosi's "The Death Kiss" (1932) released just before the company folded. June Collyer wasn't a big star but her exquisite beauty always made any movie she was in worth watching. She filmed this between two operettas - "Sweet Kitty Belairs", about a flirtatious young girl (Claudia Dell) in the Regency period and "Kiss Me Again" with the charming Bernice Claire as Mlle. Fifi.

1930 was a busy year for June. This film gave her a chance at a starring role. Trying to appeal to the "smart set" - especially women, it posed the question - just how far would you go for a new sable coat??? The movie begins with the marriage of Alice, the darling of her social set and Fred (Lloyd Hughes). A year later Alice is still living the high life - parties and shows, getting in at 3 in the morning but Fred is working his heart out trying to save his floundering business and to keep afloat of his wife's bills!!! He complains to Jim of his wife's extravagance - Jim in turn says that his wife, Esther (Dorothy Christy) is so economical she can make his pay packet stretch!! She has a secret - she really has a lover, a sleazy stock-broker, Morrell (Jameson Thomas) who for a price gives her whatever she desires - including a sable coat. Morrell soon makes Alice's acquaintance when he joins the pair for lunch. When Alice has to go to a party alone (Fred has to go back to the office) Morrell is there also and advises her to put her winnings (she has just won over $2,000 in a game of bridge) with him and he will invest it - "you can't lose". He turns her investment into $32,000!!! She instantly thinks - sable coat!!! Selfishly she doesn't think of giving her husband any for his sinking business!!! Morrell has a reputation as a sleazy ladies man and Fred accidentally finds out that Alice is seeing him. They have a fearful row - Alice storms out, with her sable coat and into the divorce court. She stays with her mother but finds out that Fred has been sending her mother a monthly cheque - the family is impoverished as it tried to keep Alice in the luxuries she expected as her right. There are some melodramatics at the end but everything works out.

June Collyer, looking as always like a million dollars, played extravagant Alice. Lloyd Hughes was a handsome but colourless leading man in both silents ("Ella Cinders" (1926)) and sound films - he played Fred. Owen Moore who had been in films from the earliest days and was Mary Pickford's first husband, played Jim. Jameson Thomas played Morrell. He was a British actor - "Extravagance" was his first American movie - and he usually played villains or weak husbands.

Recommended.

It's marvelous how far you could get in Hollywood if you were a well-dressed clothes dummy of a man, six feet tall, with very regular features, a cultivated voice and a subtle air of confidence. As a hero, Hughes was never overpowering and always seemed to defer to the heroine. He was well-cast opposite Colleen Moore in "Ella Cinders" (1926) in which he cleverly managed to project an air of couldn't-care-less self-confidence despite his usual, customary deference. In this movie too he's appropriately cast. June Collyer walks all over him. He plays her weak husband – and plays it well – but one has the uneasy feeling that Hughes' lack of charisma goes a little too far. In fact, we feel quite sorry for June and are glad to see that she is playing around. She's selfish to the nth degree, but with a well-dressed boob for a husband (who no doubt fails to satisfy her), who could blame her for looking elsewhere? Admittedly, Jameson Thomas – a transparent heel if ever there was one – is not exactly a wise choice. But June Collyer is so gorgeous, she doesn't need to have brains too – but that of course is exactly why she needs a strong husband, not a boob like Lloyd/Fred. It also comes as no surprise to discover that Fred is as weak a businessman as he is at keeping his wife happy and in line. So far, so good. The writers have set up the plot well but now they bungle it and turn to melodrama to force June back into Fred's incompetent arms! Phil Rosen directs this turnaround in a choppy, off-key, melodramatic style that negates much of the good work he has put in beforehand. All told, not a satisfying film – but at least it runs only 62 minutes! Available on a very good Alpha DVD.

It's very ironic that this film about budgeting money in a troubled new marriage came from the poverty row studio known as Tiffany. Pretty lavish looking for the alleged lower Santa Monica Blvd. studios, this is pretty racy stuff and thus well worth catching. Spoiled businessman's wife June Collyer is in- contented with taking a low allowance and when husband Lowell Hughes attempts to pull the reins in, she takes a dashing older lover (Jameson Thomas) who spoils her while hubby Hughes struggles. Collyer is benevolent behind her charm, so obviously calculating and childish and manipulating the situation that would get her a divorce with her coming out the winner. Basically, Collyer is playing roles that Jean Harlow later excelled in, but Collyer is fascinating to watch, often kittenish to get what she wants and a tiger in her fights, determined no matter what is going on in the depression economy to get herself a sable coat.

The DVD has a strange echo on the soundtrack that at times sounds like a heart beating. It is mildly distracting but is at times seemingly a metaphor with its death march sound. That adds to the emotion and suspense building to her exposure, giving an eerie tension. Perhaps the sound effects were one reason this was allegedly lost, and I for one am excited by its discovery. At just over an hour, it never drags, and has intrigued me to find out more information about the sly Collyer. When she has her hair down, she has an extremely modern look about her. In one shocking moment, she even swears at Hughes. Both Hughes and Moii ere fine but are much overshadowed by her intensity.

A subplot finds Collyer's equally trampy friend (Dorothy Christie) also seeing Thomas on the side, giving insinuations of a menage a tois when the two women are spotted in sable leaving the same restaurant with him. Collyer's claims of innocence of anything sinful with him are certainly not to be believed, so this can only be a tale of atonement, yet really shocking even in pre-code where sin was insinuated but never as obvious as this. As much as I grew to despise Collyer's character, I liked her so much for her performance that I have found that I could forgive her, simply based on that and the hope that the tragic conclusion would wake her up to her selfishness.

Hollywood sure used to have an obsession with cheating. Perhaps they still do and my ESP allows me to avoid those movies, but in the '30's they were ubiquitous. It was either the principal theme, secondary theme, or significant event of so many movies.

"Extravagance" begins with a wedding between Fred Garlan (Lloyd Hughes) and Alice Kendall (June Collyer). They were madly in love with each other while Alice's friend Esther (Dorothy Christy) was semi-discreetly cheating on her unsuspecting husband.

One year after Fred and Alice's marriage, trouble appeared. Alice was upset that Fred worked long hours trying to get his business off the ground while Fred was upset that a.) Alice stayed out all night long and b.) her spending habits were more than Fred could afford. It was quickly being established that the relationship was very one-sided. Fred slaved away and did whatever to please his wife while she spent his money and complained about the things her friends had.

OK, I don't want to be too harsh regarding Alice. To be fair, she truly loved him and she did want to spend time with him, it's just that she came from money and didn't have it like that anymore.

The drama kicked into high gear when Alice met her friend Esther for lunch and Harrison Morrell (Jameson Thomas) joined them. Harrison was Esther's side dude and sugar daddy. He was the rich, pencil-mustache playboy that many husbands lost sleep about. When Harrison layed eyes on Alice he was all but through with playing with Esther. He had a new object of his desire.

Alice naively entertained Harrison's invitations to lunch, shopping, and other engagements. I know that it was a thing for high society women to be entertained by other men when their husbands worked (I've seen it enough in other movies), but 1.) it's a bad idea and 2.) it's a bad idea!

It looks bad, it's inconsiderate (except in the cases where the husband prefers it), and it can eventually lead to a romance between the two as has often happened.

Naturally, Harrison had designs on Alice even if she was too blind (willingly or unwillingly) to see it. He knew money was his easiest route to her... ahem... heart as it had worked on her friend Esther and who knows who else. He really blew her skirt off when he helped her win a couple of thousand dollars in bridge, then took that money and supposedly multiplied it in the stock market. The truth is he probably wrote her a check claiming it was a stock boom knowing that if he had the ability to multiply her money like that she would continue to see him.

The reason she was so interested in money to begin with was that she wanted to buy a sable coat. Why? Because her friend Esther had a sable coat that Harrison bought for her. Alice didn't know that, but she definitely wanted to keep up with the Joneses.

When poor ol' Fred found out that Alice got money for a sable coat by dealing with Harrison he was rightfully ticked. He knew that Harrison wasn't just handing out gifts to women out of the kindness of his heart.

The title was "Extravagance," and even though extravagance was an issue it was Alice's insatiable need for clothes and jewelry that was the biggest problem. I know "I Love Clothes and Jewelry" isn't a good title, but that's what it was.

But was it extravagance or even an insatiable need for trinkets that drove Alice to be indiscreet and inconsiderate? I'd say no. I think it was a lack of awareness and an ignorance about men in general, and her husband in particular, that led to her indiscretion. She wasn't a cheat, but at the same time she didn't exactly fight off Harrison when he was all on her nor did she discontinue seeing him. The least she could've done was set boundaries for their continued relationship and she didn't even do that. Was that just dumb innocence or a secret desire? It was never made clear.

She certainly had strong feelings about being accused of cheating, and again, I think that was due to her ignorance. Whether or not she considered it cheating to regularly see another guy (a guy who kissed her) she didn't even seem to think it was a problem. And that was the problem.

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