Hollywood Catwalk by Tamar Jeffers McDonald

Author:Tamar Jeffers McDonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2014-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

THE BRIDE WORE RED

Synopsis

At a casino with his friend Rudi Pal (Robert Young), Count Armalia (George Zucco) asserts that the only difference between Rudi and the waiter, both men in evening dress, is their societal function – one waits at tables while the other is waited upon. Rudi protests, but the Count insists there is no innate gentility, only external trappings. Later, visiting a waterfront bar, the Count meets Anni (Joan Crawford) and determines to prove his theory at Rudi’s expense. He enables Anni to buy clothes, giving her enough money to pose for two weeks as a rich socialite, ‘Anne Vivaldi’, at the exclusive hotel where Rudi is staying. Anni doubts him until she sees the money, but then determines to take this chance. She visits the couturier, ordering the appropriate clothes and a red beaded evening gown, a long-desired fantasy purchase.

When not met by its car, Anni drives to the hotel with the village postman Giulio (Franchot Tone) in his donkey-cart. Anni discovers her hotel maid is Maria, an old friend who also used to work in the bar. Maria confides that though she now works harder she is much happier – the implication is that this is honest work. Maria admires Anni’s good fortune and new clothes, apart from the red beaded dress, which she remarks cannot be worn amongst the hotel’s high society guests. Anni crossly puts the dress away.

With some of the hotel staff helping her navigate etiquette minefields, Anni meets Rudi, his fiancée Maddelena (Lynne Carver), the Contessa di Meina (Billie Burke) and Maddelena’s father Admiral Monti (Reginald Owen). The Contessa instantly suspects Anni of being a gold-digger and warns Maddelena, but she is too much of a lady to intervene and can only watch as Anni vamps Rudi. Giulio simultaneously tries to court Anni. She is both attracted to him and resentful of the danger he presents to her plans; reaching the end of the two weeks paid for by Armalia, Anni decides to stay on to extract a marriage proposal from Rudi.

The suspicious Countess writes to Armalia for information about Anni. This finally arrives by telegram at the post office: the Count confesses his game and Anni’s imposture. Giulio reads this but does not mention his new knowledge when Anni visits him. She and Giulio end up in an embrace and the telegram goes undelivered. That evening, the hotel holds a festival where the upper-class guests dress in peasant garb, and both the postman and Rudi propose to Anni there. Although she has only that afternoon kissed him, Anni rejects Giulio to grasp at the financial security Rudi represents.

Anni goes down to dinner on her last night wearing the red beaded dress. She is engaged in brittle conversation with the Contessa when Giulio arrives to deliver the telegram at last; he had waited for Anni to tell Rudi the truth herself. The Contessa reveals the contents of the telegram; Anni, both sarcastic and brave, relieves Rudi of his promise to marry her, urging him to treasure Maddelena.

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