The Band Wagon (1953)

I can't think of movie I've seen that feels more stuffed than "The Band Wagon."I don't mean stuffed with plot or characters or themes. I mean literally physically stuffed. Virtually every frame is so crammed with people, props, and scenery that one almost expects characters from the movie to come tumbling out of the screen into his living room. That all of this busyness feels like carefully controlled chaos rather than just outright chaos is a testament to the skills of director Vincente Minelli, not one of my favorites usually, but who is at the top of his game here. "The Band Wagon" is basically a love letter to itself and films like it, colorful, fun musicals that exist for no other reason than to entertain, which, the movie would suggest, is one of the best reasons for existing in the first place. It chronicles the efforts of a bunch of show-biz buddies to transform a dour, Faustian-themed musical into a peppy comedy, and is actually a really good examination of what happens when otherwise good artists are matched with the wrong material, something that happens quite often with films and which gives "The Band Wagon" a reflexive, meta quality.The movie is at its best when the show within the show is at its worst. Oddly enough, by the time the gang had pulled everything together and we get a glimpse of the finished product, grand finale fashion, I found myself pretty bored with what they had assembled, which is a bunch of disjointed musical numbers that leave the viewer wondering what on earth this musical is about in the first place.Fred Astaire stars, while Cyd Charisse provides him his other pair of feet. Nanette Fabray, in a supporting role, steals the show with her energetic chutzpah. The film also boasts one of the most bizarrely disturbing musical numbers in film history, with Astaire, Fabray, and Jack Buchanan dressed up as babies singing about how they want to shoot each other dead so they can be left alone.Nominated for three Academy Awards in 1953: Best Story and Screenplay (Betty Comden and Adolph Green), Best Costume Design (Color), and Best Musical Scoring.Grade: A

Here's the question of the century. Is it wrong to say that the best Fred Astaire picture happens to be one without Ginger Rogers? In the case of Vincente Minnelli's wonderful 1953 musical masterpiece "The Band Wagon", I think not. This is the film that answers the question: how does MGM follow up a big hit like "Singin' in the Rain" (1952)? Well, for starters, getting Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the same screenwriters of that film, to write the script for this one is a pretty darn good idea. Furthermore, changing the focus from Hollywood to Broadway isn't a bad idea either. And instead of Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen taking over the director's chair, we'll have Vincente Minnelli, the director of "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), lead the charge. Sure, Gene Kelly won't be in this picture, but do you know who will be? None other than the talented dancer who helped teach Debbie Reynolds how to dance, Fred Astaire. YES! Now we're talking! Fred Astaire plays Tony Hunter, a washed-up Hollywood star who has recently quit the business and heads back to New York to try his luck out on Broadway. His two pals Lester and Lily Marton (Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray) think they have the perfect script for his comeback. They are able to get popular Broadway director Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan) to sign on for directing their play. However, Jeff insists on changing the light comedy into a dark and dramatic retelling of "Faust", which Tony thinks is outside his comfort zone. If that wasn't enough, a young and beautiful ballerina named Gabrielle Gerard (Cyd Charisse) is signed on to be his co-star. Gabrielle also intimidates Tony because he has trouble dancing with ladies that are taller than him and feels that he doesn't have enough classical background to be dancing in her league. Will Tony and his pals be able to pull off a successful show even with all these obstacles working against them? Would you believe me if I told you that Tony's concerns over dancing with his co-star Gabrielle was written especially for the film because it really happened on set? I'm not even kidding. On the "making of" featurette on the 2-disc DVD of this film, they said that Fred Astaire was concerned over the height of Cyd Charisse. Keeping this trivia in mind, I applaud the screenwriters for having the guts and the great sense of humor to put those details into the script as it was happening on set. Also on the aforementioned featurette, the screenwriters Comden and Green stated that the troubles the film's characters were experiencing while preparing for this production were based on things these two had experienced while participating in other theatrical productions. And you know what? I completely buy that these kinds of situations happened in real-life. I'm convinced that there are some Broadway directors who put too much scenery on set or that the guys operating the sets keep going the wrong way because they can't see what they're doing. It's completely believable in that sense. In the tradition of "Singin' in the Rain", "The Band Wagon" is yet another MGM musical in which it was a miracle that it came together as well as it did. The 'making of' featurette for this picture seemed to imply that this was not a pleasant production. Once again, some of the picture's main stars couldn't get along with each other very well. Oscar Levant drove then-newcomer Nanette Fabray nuts because she stated that he was always looking for someone or something to put the blame on whenever he did a take wrong. But when she told him to go to hell during the production, I guess that shut him up good. Well played, Ms. Fabray. And of course, it's a testament to both Levant and Fabray's delightful work in this film that they make us forget their struggles together during production. Fabray in particular makes everything better whenever she's on screen with her positivity and endearing charm throughout. "The Band Wagon" literally makes you also forget about the troubles Minnelli was having at the time with his wife Judy Garland and the painstaking hours of rehearsal Astaire used to make his dances perfect. Speaking of the songs and dances, the music by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz is some of the very best. "That's Entertainment" is arguably the greatest song ever written for the big screen. Not since "Make 'Em Laugh" have I heard a song that is the ultimate summary of what Hollywood is all about. It's a bittersweet reminder that anything can be considered entertainment to each and every one of us. Excellent message, terrific melody and rhythm, and outstanding lyrics, this song is a certified classic. And what worthy songs it's accompanied by. It's not every day you come across numbers such as "Dancing in the Dark" and "The Girl Hunt" which solely contain music and no singing. But it's all for the better since they showcase both Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse's dancing skills at their best. The endurance, variety of movements, and enjoyment that Astaire and Charisse demonstrate in these numbers are second to none. You truly don't see talent like that anymore. Every single musical number is simply perfection from the "Shine On Your Shoes" number in the recreation center to the "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" duet between Astaire and Buchanan. If I were to talk about every single excellent thing about "The Band Wagon", we'd probably be here all day. So I'll shorten the rest of my thoughts down for those who haven't seen it yet. All five of the main actors have charisma to spare. The entire soundtrack is sublime. The writing is sensational and relatable. The dance sequences are some of the finest. The stylish production and cinematography are all top notch. Get aboard "The Band Wagon" indeed.

It is a brave film which has a song called That's Entertainment! as its signature number. Because if, as is unfortunately the case with The Band Wagon, the film is not great entertainment...well, the negative review practically writes itself. This is a film which has the good fortune to have two great talents, Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, and the misfortune of completely wasting them. It's a film full of largely forgettable musical numbers and it has a story which never really engages and which in the end goes off the rails completely. To call the film tedious would be harsh but not entirely untrue. The film goes for laughs but fails rather miserably in that regard. It tries to give you a little romance but that angle never heats up. The film has no flow to it, there is a real disjointed feel throughout. No, this is not entertainment.Astaire plays declining movie star Tony Hunter. His friends Lester and Lily Marton have written a stage show which they think can revive his career. They bring it to noted Broadway director/producer/star Jeffrey Cordova who decides to turn what was written as a light comedy into a serious, and seriously bizarre, retelling of Faust. Not surprisingly this proves disastrous. Lester and Lily start bickering. The play, which no longer makes any sense whatsoever, spirals out of control. And all the while tension rises between Tony and his costar, ballerina Gabrielle Gerard. Tony is intimidated by Gabrielle's youth and beauty, not for no reason with Charisse playing the part. And he thinks this classically trained ballerina has no respect for his style of hoofing. Tony and Gabrielle have no chemistry, can't stand one another, can't work together. Eventually they do come together somewhat which provides the film with perhaps its one true highlight, Astaire and Charisse with a wonderful, beautiful dance in a park. Unfortunately after that Tony and Gabrielle's play continues to crumble and so does the film. By the time Astaire and Charisse dance together again much later on the film is past the point of being salvageable.Astaire and Charisse really were hung out to dry here. The supporting cast adds nothing. The loony Cordova character is meant to be over-the-top but Jack Buchanan goes way too far with it. This character is too nuts for the film's good. At least he has some spark to him which is more than can be said for the writing couple, Lester and Lily. Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray play those parts quite lifelessly. And James Mitchell, playing a romantic interest for Gabrielle, is a total wet blanket with all the personality of a doorknob. The musical numbers all fall flat and many make no sense whatsoever. By the end the film is just throwing random songs up on the screen to see what sticks. None of it does. Some of the numbers in the film's homestretch are obviously meant to be funny but they are just terrible, producing groans not laughs. The big final number is a little better even if, as with so much of what preceded it, it makes very little sense. The best musicals have a lot of life in them. The Band Wagon does not. The energy just is not there. The story doesn't work, the songs are forgettable, the performances of the supporting cast leave much to be desired. Astaire and Charisse have a couple of moments. A couple of moments is not enough to make a good film.

The Band Wagon is directed by Vincente Minnelli and written by Alan Jay Lerner, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Songs are written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. It stars Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan. Out of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it's a Technicolor production with cinematography by Harry Jackson.Story tells of ageing musical star Tony Hunter (Astaire) whose cinema glory days appear to be well behind him. Upon the request of his friends Lester (Lavant) & Lily Martin (Fabray), he heads to Broadway to appear in a play they have written with him in mind. He hopes this will restart his career, however, the play's director, Jeffrey Cordova (Buchanan), changes the play into an arty interpretation of the Faust legend. Not only that, but he brings in prima ballerina Gabrielle Gerard (Charisse) to star in it, and Tony and Gabrielle don't exactly hit it off.One of the greatest musicals to come out of MGM, The Band Wagon makes up for what it loses in plot ingenuity, with quality songs, stunning choreography, bustling vitality and heart, big heart! Three parts of the film is made up of character building and said characters attempts to put a show on successfully in spite of behind the scenes worries. Then the final third then switches in mood with a different show and primary characters come to their respective destinies.Along the way we are treated to a series of wonderful song and dance routines, with the stand outs being "Be Myself," "A Shine on My Shoes," "That's Entertainment," "Dancing in the Dark," "I Love Louisa," "I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan" and the joyously macabre, "Triplets." These are then crowned magnificently by "Girl Hunt," an elongated parody of noir-type crime movies from the golden era, where it's not just Fred and Cyd who sparkle, but the dance troupe around them also dazzle the eyes with some truly amazing moves.Where the big heart comes in to it is with Astaire's take on the role of Tony. It's very touching at times, full of nostalgia pangs for his former glories. He also has good comic timing, whilst readily able to laugh at himself as the (thin) narrative thread reminds him of his ageing years. The latter of which accounts for the not so great chemistry with the divine Charisse, but the film under Minnelli's active direction easily overcomes this tiny flaw. There's also some salt in the story in the observation of what goes on behind the scenes of a Broadway play, specifically the people pulling the strings.Big production for a big movie, all told, it's big entertainment, yes indeed. 9/10