The Band Wagon (1953)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Betty Comden (story) and
Adolph Green (story) ...

Release Date:

7 August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Get Aboard!

Plot:

A pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.

Plot Keywords:

Choreographer | Movie Star | Director | Top Hat | Ballet

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Tony Hunter
Cyd Charisse	...	Gabrielle Gerard
Oscar Levant	...	Lester Marton
Nanette Fabray	...	Lily Marton
Jack Buchanan	...	Jeffrey Cordova
James Mitchell	...	Paul Byrd
Robert Gist	...	Hal

Also Known As:

I Love Louisa (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono )Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | West Germany:12 | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16342)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Betty Comden and Adolph Green made the characters played by Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant a married couple because they felt that the audiences would not accept a male/female writing team who weren't married to each other, even though the characters were based on Comden and Green, who were themselves not married to each other.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: About halfway through "Louisiana Hayride", a crew member can be clearly seen for 2-3 seconds, creeping off to the left of screen

Quotes:

Lester Marton, Lily Marton: Rah, rah Tony! Rah, rah Tony! Tony! Hunter! Sis boom bah!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs An American in Paris (1951)

Soundtrack:

I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan

Now that's entertainment!...

Last night's viewing changed my mind...this really is one of the great MGM musicals.

Strangely, this never held the same appeal for me as some of the other technicolor musicals of the period, but watching it last night for the first time in years, I appreciated what a really fine actor/dancer FRED ASTAIRE was and what a gorgeous dancer and woman CYD CHARISSE always was.

Mix in the great supporting cast--JACK BUCHANAN who does a neat tap routine matching Astaire every step of the way and hamming it up appropriately, and those two devils--NANETTE FABRAY with her quick smile and Oscar LEVANT with his quick wit and you realize that Comden and Greene were two of the best comedy writers the screen had, this side of Dorothy Parker.

The two musical highlights for me were "Triplets" (smashing good job by Astaire, Fabray and Buchanan) and the Astaire/Charisse Central Park dance sequence that flows to the music of "Dancing in the Dark".

Summing up: If you love MGM musicals, you owe it to yourself to see this one for the magic of Astaire and Charisse together, not to mention all the other plus factors--costumes, scenery, backstage plot and those marvelous songs that come one after another to delight eye and ear! And give Jack Buchanan a hand for squeezing every bit of ham from a role that calls for it, in spades!

Almost forgot: the opening "Shine on Your Shoes" number set in Times Square is a howl! The only black seen anywhere is the shoeshine man himself.