Diagonaldi Very well executed

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

bsmith5552 "The Band Wagon" is essentially a movie in two parts.In the first hour dancer Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire) is a washed up musical comedy star who has gone to New York to star in a play written by his friends Lester and Lily Morton (Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabres). The Mortons have arranged for egotistical producer/director/actor Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan) to helm the project. He decides to re-write the Morton's play as a modern day "Faust" and include ballerina Gabrielle Gerard (Cyd Charisse) in the cast. The play tanks.In the second part, the cast borrows a phrase from the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland films of the early 40s and decide to "Let's Put On a Show". The show is of course a big success and everyone lives happily ever after.This was one of the best musicals of the 1950s. Produced by Arthur Freed and directed by Vincente Minelli, we are treated to several classic show topping tunes and dance sequences in glorious technicolor as only MGM could do it.Astaire and Leroy Daniels kick things off with "There's a Shine on My Shoes". The beautiful Cyd Charisse dances a ballet sequence with her lovely legs in evidence. The Band Wagon tunes include "Dancing in the Dark" with Fred and Cyd, "Triplets" with Astaire, Fabray and Buchanan and the finale, "That's Entertainment". It should be noted that singer India Adams dubbed Charisse's singing voice.Astaire and Charisse would re-team in "Silk Stockings" (1957). Fred Astaire would continue on well into his eighties, switching to dramatic parts starting with "On the Beach" (1959) although he did have several successful TV specials (with Barrie Chase). It was curious that Nanette Fabray didn't go on to bigger and better movies as she was a breath of fresh air in this film. Jack Buchanan had been on the British stage for many years and I think this was his only Hollywood film before his untimely death in 1957.Others in the cast include James Mitchell as Paul Byrd Charisse;s manager, Robert Gist as the stage manager Hal Benton and Douglas Fowley as the auctioneer at the beginning of the film. And watch for Steve Forrest and cameo star Ava Gardner in the railway station sequence.They sure don't make them like this any more.

HotToastyRag While there are some famous songs in The Band Wagon, namely "That's Entertainment", it's not the best Fred Astaire movie in the world. This is one of those "let's make a movie about show business" movies, and those movies aren't usually very good.At the start of the movie, Fred Astaire is playing a characterture of himself: he's a stage and screen musical star who's got a few miles on him and is thinking of retiring. The fans who once wanted his autograph now seek out Ava Gardner—I don't know why she was featured as a plot point and cameo in this movie, since she was never famous for her song and dance talents. In any case, Fred, Oscar Levante, Nanette Fabray, and Jack Buchanan create a musical version of Faust and want to put it on Broadway to revive Fred's career. When Cyd Charisse is brought in as his costar, arguments ensue.If you're a Fred Astaire fan, like I am, you'll probably want to watch every movie he's ever made. By all means, rent The Band Wagon. "That's Entertainment" is a very famous song, and it's the title of the very famous documentary about film musicals that Fred co-hosted in 1974. If you're never seen a Fred Astaire movie before, or you're not too wild about movie musicals, this isn't the best one for you to start out with. There are some memorable songs, like "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," "Triplets," and the "Dancing in the Dark" dance with Fred and Cyd, but there are also some very silly songs, as well as songs that will make you want to walk out of the room for more popcorn without pressing pause.There you have it; you've been warned. I absolutely love Fred, so even when a movie of his is a little bad, I forgive him. If you love him too, then hop on The Band Wagon!

evanston_dad 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

Chris Mizerak 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.