Irene

"Glorious musical comedy of the girl in the Alice Blue Gown!"

May 3 1940 Approved 1h 41m
Comedy, Musical, Romance

Upholsterer's assistant Irene O'Dare meets wealthy Don Marshall while she is measuring chairs for Mrs. Herman Vincent at her Long Island estate. Charmed by her, Don anonymously purchases Madame Lucy's, an exclusive Manhattan boutique, and instructs newly hired manager Mr. Smith to offer Irene a job as a model. She soon catches the eye of socialite Bob Vincent, whose mother is hosting a ball at the family mansion. To promote Madame Lucy's dress line, Mr. Smith arranges for his models to be invited to the ball.

Plot

Sent by her employers on an errand to the home of the wealthy Mrs. Vincent, Irene O'Dare meets Don, a friend of Bob, Mrs. Vincent's son. Attracted to Irene, Don decides to invest some money in Bob's latest venture, the "Madame Lucy" dress shop, in order to give Irene a job there as a model. She is very successful and Bob also becomes attracted to her. Smith, the manager assigns Irene and other models to display gowns at Mrs. Vincent's charity ball, but Irene ruins the gown she was to wear, and appears instead in a quaint blue dress that had belonged to her mother... and it is a big hit. A guest, Princess Minetti, places her as the niece of Ireland's Lady O'Dare, and Irene does not deny the relationship. Smith decides to set her up in a Park Avenue suite as the niece of Lady O'Dare, so that she can attend socially important gatherings wearing and displaying, of course, Madame Lucy gowns. A jealous model tells the truth to a newspaper columnist who writes an expose, which somewhat strains the relationship between Irene and Don, who had been away, was unaware of the scheme and is the real owner behind the "Madame Lucy" front.

Written by

Alice Duer Miller, James Montgomery

Directed by

Herbert Wilcox

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Imperadio Pictures Ltd., RKO Radio Pictures

Languages

English

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 1 nomination total

Scores
# of Votes
827
Average Rating
6.3 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA