THE BAND WAGON

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CREDITS

1953, 112 minutes, Technicolor.
Producer, Arthur Freed; Director, Vincente Minnelli; Screenplay, Betty Comden and Adolph Green; Cinematography, Harry Jackson; Choreography, Michael Kidd; Music Director, Adolph Deutsch.

CAST

Tony Hunter, Fred Astaire; Gaby Gerard, Cyd Charisse; Lester Marton, Oscar Levant; Lily Marton, Nanette Fabray; Jeffrey Cordova, Jack Buchanan; Paul Byrd, James Mitchell; Hal Benton, Robert Gist.
As Herself:
Ava Gardner.

SONGS

That's Entertainment; A Shine On Your Shoes; By Myself; Dancing In The Dark; Triplets; New Sun In The Sky; I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan; Louisiana Hayride; I Love Louisa; You And The Night And The Music; High And Low; Something To Remember You By; Beggar's Waltz; The Girl Hunt Ballet by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz.

PLOT SYNOPSIS

"As a washed-up movie idol who returns to Broadway to recoup his fortunes, Fred Astaire is debonair perfection itself. He agrees to star in a show written by his pals, Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant, but clashes almost immediately with the star dancer, Cyd Charisse, who thinks he's too old, while he's certain that she's too tall. Their romantic problems become merely incidental, however, when their simple little musical is transformed into a monstrous modern-day version of Faust by the flamboyant genius of a director, Jack Buchanan."
- Lawrence B. Thomas, The MGM Years

NOTES

"The Band Wagon was the apotheosis of the backstage musical. . .It was not only a sophisticated tribute to all those innocent backstage movies that had preceded it, but was also a brilliantly double-edged tribute to its star, Fred Astaire."
- Clive Hirschhorn, The Hollywood Musical

". . .a show that respectfully bids for recognition as one of the best musical films ever made."
- Bosley Crowther, The New York Times

"The Comden-Green script isn't as consistently fresh as the one they did for Singin' In The Rain but there have been few screen musicals as good as this one. . ."
- Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights At The Movies

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS:
Writing (Story And Screenplay)
Costume Design (Color)
Scoring Of A Musical Picture

Cyd Charisse's vocals were dubbed by India Adams.

Alan Jay Lerner penned the narration for The Girl Hunt Ballet.

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