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The Band Wagon (1953)
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The Last Great Studio Musical?
Sometimes musicals take themselves too seriously and then there are musicals like this that have a wink and a nudge behind every ballad, ballet and bawdy joke. Fred Astaire stars as a washed up Hollywood actor trying to regain his dignity by doing a Broadway show. The show tries to become a musical version of Faust that crashes and burns but it taken over by Astaire and transformed to the relief of all.
Astaire knows well enough that 'Tony Hunter' may as well be himself and he plays it with great modesty and is hilarious. He is teamed with an up and coming ballet dancer (Cyd Charisse) who he knows is too tall for him to dance with, but is forced to make the best of it. The staging throughout the film of Charisse upstage of Astaire, or slightly bending, or wearing flats is fairly obvious and works toward the joke of the famously short Astaire with the famously leggy Charisse.
I have never been much of a fan of Charisse's acting, she is an amazing dancer and is able to tell a story with her movement, but when it comes to acting she always falls flat. It is a treat to see her teamed with such a classy gent as Astaire, when she was usually paired with the more masculinly sexual Gene Kelly, and I think I like her better with Astaire. Their work in the Jazz Murder Mystery piece is as good and innovative as anything she did with Kelly. Her acting is the one weak spot in the film, but her dancing almost makes up for it.
As sidekicks we have the old pros Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant as the married songwriters who help make the monstrous production 'The Band Wagon'. Fabray is a favorite of mine from 'Your Show Of Shows' and it is a treat to see her let loose in a musical. Her 'Triplets' number with Astaire and Jack Buchanan is probably the second best musical number in the show behind 'That's Entertainment'. Levant is not given too much of a chance to show off his musical chops, but he has fun on the ride.
This is one of the last great old Hollywood musicals, and Vincente Minnelli's visuals are spectacular once again. Betty Comden's songs highlight the sheer joy of this film and helped to create one classic in 'That's Entertainment'. I don't know how this isn't a more famous flick, it is certainly one of the best musicals of the old system.
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