CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

edwagreen An absolute sparkling 1953 musical is The Band Wagon. The film just goes to prove that you can't have Faust plays turned into musicals, as they shall lay an egg as shone so beautifully on stage.Jack Buchanan just steals every scene that he is in as director De Cordova, the expert on Faust who falls for the idea of making a musical.Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant are just perfect as the couple who wrote the original play, only to rewrite it for Faust and then go back to the necessary adjustments when the play opens on Broadway and is a disaster.Fred Astaire is the has-been actor who comes to N.Y. to do the play and Syd Charisse, a ballet dancer, becomes his partner in the production. The two can't get along but love as we know finds a way to bring them together.I'll Go My Way By Myself seems to be where Fred's career is at the beginning of this delightful film, with dance sequences wonderfully staged. That sure is entertainment!

mark.waltz A fading movie star returns to his roots of Broadway to try and make a come-back and encounters issues with the oh-so dramatic director who wants to musicalize "Faust", turning the simple musical comedy he wants to star in upside down with pretentious ideas. Fred Astaire never came back to Broadway after 1932's "The Gay Divorce", but after almost 20 years on the Great White Way, film stardom kept him busy in Hollywood for another 20 years before he made this film. Arthur Freed's follow-up to "Singin' in the Rain", this was a glorious salute to Broadway, almost as if Gene Kelly's character had aged into Astaire's character here, and needed Broadway to help boost his career. Under the direction of Vincent Minnelli, it is an artistic triumph that was also a commercial hit.While Fred makes his entrance escorting a very glamorous MGM star off of the train, it is obvious that all attention is on her, and to the New York press, he is a has-been. Astaire sings the solemn "By Myself" (which Judy Garland later belted angrily in "I Could Go on Singing") then heads to a 14th Street arcade where he takes over after getting "A Shine on My Shoes". This well-staged number features practically every archetype of New York character, particularly a frumpy old lady whom he scares while singing of his shoe shine. Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray are outstanding as an Adolph Green/Betty Comden type writing team, and 1920's British heartthrob Jack Buchannan is the extremely eccentric director who can't see beyond his obsession with "Oedipus Rex".After almost a decade in supporting roles in MGM musicals, Cyd Charisse moved up to leading lady, here playing an ego-driven ballet star who is brought down to earth by Astaire. Her equally egotistical ballet star is the fantastic James Mitchell (Yes, "All My Children's" Palmer Cortlandt and "Oklahoma's" Dream Curley). Charisse, who previously danced with Astaire in "Ziegfeld Follies", is a somewhat wooden actress, but when she starts to dance, the magic explodes. "Dancing in the Dark" is one of the classiest musical numbers where nobody sings, later spoofed by Steve Martin and Gilda Radner on "Saturday Night Live", and Charisse (dubbed by India Adams) is delightful in her production number, "New Sun in the Sky". Fabray, a perky Broadway star who only made a small number of films, steals the show every moment she is on, turning "Louisiana Hayride" into a cute novelty number.Buchannan loosens up when he puts on white tie and tails and proceeds to accompany Astaire in "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan". Then, in "Triplets", Fabray joins them for a feisty look at what's going on in the minds of babies. Astaire had performed this number back in the 1931 musical revue which this took the title from, a story being added to give it some substance. Newly written, "The Girl Hunt Ballet" is an artsy look at the world of a Mickey Spillane type detective and one of the few times film noir met the world of musical comedy. Charisse gets to play several parts in this and like in "Singin' in the Rain's" big "Broadway Ballet", proves her usage as a dancer in movies isn't without merit.Then, there's the glorious title song, utilized in all three editions of "That's Entertainment!". And while the Broadway stage may never have been as big as the MGM sound-stages, that really doesn't matter because "the stage is a world, the world is a stage of entertainment!".

blanche-2 "The Band Wagon" from 1953 is a delight from beginning to end, thanks to the inspired directing of Vincente Minnelli, a script by Comden and Green, music by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, and putting the whole thing over, none other than Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Oscar Levant, and Nanette Fabrey.Astaire plays a movie star, Tony Hunter, known for us singing and dancing. He's feeling as if his time in Hollywood has passed - in fact, at the train station, the reporters are there, but not for him - for Ava Gardner.Meeting him at the station are two friends, Lily and Les Martin (Fabrey and Levant), who have a Broadway show for him. That's where things go a bit awry. A director is brought in, Jeffrey Cordova (Buchanan) who has loftier ideas. He wants a modern version of Faust and hires a beautiful ballet dancer, Gabrielle Gerard (Charisse) to costar with Hunter.Tony and Gabrielle don't get along, and her choreographer/boyfriend (James Mitchell) doesn't help much.The show is a massive, colossal flop. The cast, along with the writers, decide to go back to the original concept and fix it on the road.There are so many wonderful musical numbers in "The Band Wagon" that it's hard to pick the best. The entire Penny Arcade sequence is energetic and fun. "Dancing in the Dark" and "You and the Night and the Music" both danced by Astaire and Charisse and the latter done in Central Park, are sublime and enchanting. And who can forget the hilarious "Triplets" with Astaire, Buchanan, and Fabrey? Astaire, with his pleasant voice and perfect musicianship sings "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plans," "By Myself", and "When There's A Shine in Your Shoes," which he also dances. There's something for everyone to enjoy.Hollywood filmed a lot of Broadway hits and did a few original musicals. They hit the jackpot with "42nd Street," "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Holiday Inn," "White Christmas," etc., and the two best, "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Band Wagon." Both Singin' and The Band Wagon are backstage musicals, though one is about making movies and the other is about putting on a show. It's a toss-up, for me anyway, as to which one is better. I love them both. Both make me laugh, thrill me with the musical routines, and leave me with a smile on my face. If you haven't seen The Band Wagon, I have a question - what are you waiting for?

Michael_Elliott The Band Wagon (1953)**** (out of 4)Very entertaining musical about washed up actor Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire) who agrees to go back on Broadway when his two friends white a new play for him. The only problem is that the eccentric director Lester Marton (Oscar Levant) decides to throw out everything in the story and come up with something original but this here just ruins everything. THE BAND WAGON is one of many legendary musicals that Astaire would make throughout his career and it's certainly a very rewarding one. As with a lot of films in the genre, the story itself is pretty simple but the director and cast manage to do quite a bit with it. I really liked how Astaire is pretty much playing himself as there are all sorts of winks to fans of his that give you a chance to go down memory lane. There's a very good wink to TOP HAT among many other pictures and they're quite funny. Even better are the constant name-dropping of various celebrities and how things were changing in Hollywood. Astaire talking about him not being Marlon Brando was funny and I think it's clear that everyone was trying to make an old-fashioned musical before Hollywood went into a completely different direction. It should come as no shock but Astaire is perfect in the lead role with his dancing moves and singing voice being as great as ever. His comic timing here is also on full display and the actor is clearly enjoying the role. Cyd Charisse is also very good in the role of the co-star who battles with Astaire at first before the obvious love story kicks in. Levant nearly steals every single scene he's in as the crazy director and I've often wondered if this role was based off Orson Welles. THE BAND WAGON contains some beautiful cinematography, countless fun songs and overall it's just a real joy to sit through.