The Band Wagon [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

One of the most subtle and sophisticated of the musical comedies that came out of MGM's Arthur Freed Unit in the '40s and '50s, The Band Wagon stars Fred Astaire as Tony Hunter, a movie star whose career is in a downturn. Looking for a boost, Tony decides to try starring in a Broadway musical. His friends Lester and Lily Marton (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray) have written a show they feel would be just right for Tony, and the three team up with Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan), a self-styled "genius" director, who gets the idea to turn the play into a revised version of Faust. Cordova's more pretentious ideas don't always sit well with the Martons, and Tony isn't too happy with his leggy co-star, Gaby Gerard (Cyd Charisse), whom he's convinced is too tall (then again, she thinks he's too old). But when the show proves a disaster in out-of-town tryouts, everyone realizes they have to put aside their differences if they want a show that will be on Broadway for longer than four hours. The Band Wagon featured a rare American appearance for British musical star Jack Buchanan, who does a fine soft-shoe with Fred Astaire on "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan." Astaire also shines in the numbers "Shine on Your Shoes" and "The Girl Hunt," a witty Mickey Spillane parody. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 2

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Color Costume Design - 1953 (Mary Ann Nyberg)
•     Nominated Best Musical Score - 1953 (Adolph Deutsch)
•     Nominated Best Story and Screenplay - 1953 (Adolph Green, Betty Comden)

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1994

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Fred Astaire - Tony Hunter
       Cyd Charisse - Gaby Gerard
       Oscar Levant - Lester Marton
       Nanette Fabray - Lily Marton
       Jack Buchanan - Jeffrey Cordova
       James Mitchell - Paul Byrd
       Robert Gist - Hal Benton
       Richard Alexander
       Sam Hearn - Agent
       Lotte Stein - Chambermaid
       LeRoy Daniels - Shoeshine Boy
       John Lupton - Jack, the promoter
       Dee Turnell - Girls in Troupe
       Bert May - Boys in Troupe
       Al Ferguson - Stagehand
       Julie Newmar - Salon Model
       Smoki Whitfield - Chauffeur
       Thurston Hall - Col. Tripp
       Frank Scannell
       Judy Landon - Girls in Troupe
       Jimmy Thompson
       Stuart Wilson
       Peggy Murray
       Bobby Watson - Bobby, the Dresser
       Paul Bradley - Dancer in Park/ Waiter
       Ava Gardner - The Movie Star
       Elynne Ray
       Ernest Anderson - Porter
       Al Hill - Shooting Gallery Operator
       Jack Tesler - Ivan
       Betty Farrington - Fitter
       Roy Engel - Reporter
       Owen McGiveney - Prop Man
       Herb Vigran
       Bess Flowers - Lady on Train
       Emory Parnell - Men on Train

• Director:

  Vincente Minnelli

• Producer:

  Arthur Freed

• Screenwriter:

  Betty Comden, Adolph Green

• Cinematographer:

  Harry Jackson

• Musical Arrangement:

  Alexander Courage

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Adolph Deutsch

• Composer (Music Score):

  Howard Dietz

• Songwriter:

  Howard Dietz

• Composer (Music Score):

  Arthur Schwartz

• Songwriter:

  Arthur Schwartz

• Editor:

  Albert Akst

• Art Director:

  Preston Ames, Cedric Gibbons

• Associate Producer:

  Roger Edens

• Set Designer:

  Keogh Gleason, Edwin B. Willis

• Costume Designer:

  Mary Ann Nyberg

• Makeup:

  William J. Tuttle

• Special Effects:

  Warren Newcombe

• First Assistant Director:

  Jerry Thorpe

• Choreography:

  Michael Kidd, Oliver Smith

REVIEW:

• Made towards the end of MGM producer Arthur Freed's peak period of musical productions, at a time when movies, theater, and other forms of entertainment were all feeling the heat from the rise of television, preeminent musical director Vincente Minnelli's backstage story celebrates the musical itself and its brand of pop entertainment. Pitting Fred Astaire's washed-up movie hoofer against Jack Buchanan's high-falutin' artiste and Cyd Charisse's transplanted ballerina, The Band Wagon reflexively pokes fun at the musical's excesses and delves into the question of what an audience really wants, implicitly defending traditional forms of entertainment at a time when Hollywood was in decline and consumers were turning to new form of recreation. As with Freed's Singin' in the Rain (1952), the sophisticated comedy of show business manners becomes a showcase for the Freed Unit's sparkling production values and musical acumen, as well as Minnelli's stylistic virtuosity. While numbers such as Astaire's 42nd street dance "Shine on Your Shoes" and Astaire's and Charisse's "Dancing in the Dark" reveal Minnelli's mastery at integrating dance and story, the final "Band Wagon" revue is a peerless sequence of pure musical entertainment, with "The Girl Hunt" deftly mixing the high and low arts of ballet and jazz in a parody of Mickey Spillane's detective yarns. Though not one of Minnelli's Oscar winners, The Band Wagon has come to be considered his best musical, and a wise elegy to the form. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi