The Band Wagon (1953)

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:

The title is from an original 1931 Broadway musical, by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, which starred Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire. Only the title and some of the songs were borrowed for this film, and the stories are entirely different. The exact same thing occurred later with Fred Astaire in Funny Face (1957), in which Astaire and his sister Adele had originally appeared on Broadway in 1927. The only opportunity Astaire had to recreate a role on film that he had originated on Broadway was in The Gay Divorcee (1934), from Broadway's "Gay Divorce".

Goofs:

Continuity: After the Oedipus number, Cordova buttons his jacket crookedly. In the next scene it is correctly buttoned.

Quotes:

Lester Marton: I can stand anything but failure!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Santiago (2007)

Soundtrack:

That's Entertainment

Obvious candidate for best Hollywood musical of all.

Ignore some rather dim comments above about the film's supposed failings, "The Bandwagon" is one of the definitive products of the MGM Freed unit, the last wholly great musical of its era. The score is outstanding, the pace brisk, the numbers - "By Myself", "Shine On Your Shoes", "Triplets", "I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan" and the marvelous "Girl Hunt Ballet" - a delight. Don't quibble people, it was all downhill from here!