Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Fred Astaire, the finest movie dancer of his day, was in his mid fifties when he made "The Bandwagon." He's still impressive. I'm around his age and my knees give me trouble. As much as he's used his leg joints the amazing thing is that he's not shambling across the sound stage.Gone are the familiar tap routines as performed with Ginger Rogers or (once) the even-greater Eleanor Powell. Fred has lost none of his style, but possibly because of his age his dances here are more "balletic" (meaning slow, apparently) and he's paired with the lissome Cyd Charisse (Cyd has a few good songs, but her voice is dubbed).The Story: Fred plays an aging Hollywood hoofer who hasn't made a movie in two years. In need of funds, he auctions off mementos, but they don't bring much. So he packs up for the Big Apple, where a couple of writers (Nanette Fabray at 33 and Oscar Levant at 47) have cobbled together a show for him they hope will be a fun Broadway sensation. Unfortunately, they place it in the hands of director Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan, loosely based on then-wunderkind of Broadway Jose Ferrer) who turns the light and tuneful musical into a Faustian drama that looks about to tank.Everyone gives it all they got, but "The Band Wagon" has a serious flaw in its book, that mirrors the problems in the play-in-a-play. It starts out light and airy but trudges into melodrama. And most of the songs are, as in the Busby Berkeley movies Astaire disdained early in his career, shoved into the back end, making most of the movie too talky.High points: Fred and Cyd "Dancing in the Dark." Though not as flashy as a younger Fred might produce, it carries such beauty and elegance it remains one of his best dance routines. And one of the few new numbers, "That's Entertainment." If ANNIE GET YOUR GUN's "There's No Business Like Show Business" is the theater's unofficial anthem, "That's Entertainment" shoulders in beside it as the anthem of MGM musicals. MGM released several movie-retrospectives under that name.In his RKO musicals, Fred and his production team charted the progress of their stories, so much plot before another routine. Here, the dances are too far in between. MGM's Freed unit probably hoped lightning would strike twice as it's a Broadway version of the earlier "Singing in the Rain" with Gene Kelly, this time highlighting the work of Dietz and Schwartz. But "The Band Wagon" was a troubled production eventually lacking the charm of "Singing in the Rain." Still, Fred is good so long as he dances, Cyd Charisse is a beautiful (and amazingly flexible) partner and everyone else is game. Until it lapses into melodrama it's really a fun flick.

A pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.Many critics rank this film, along with "Singin' in the Rain", as the finest of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, although it was only a modest box-office success. I have to agree with those critics. Although I am not huge on musicals, every so often one speaks to me, and this was one of them. Definitely one of MGM's best, quite possibly Minnelli's best (I tend to think his work is overrated).Fred Astaire does not necessarily get his best dance moves here, but he gets to act and play the distinguished elder of the dancing community. Among his later films, this is definitely one of the best... I would be torn between this and "Daddy Long Legs".

Minelli's great master piece is undoubtedly The Band Wagon. Although it tells the commonplace story of a show and the plot is classic, that is to have a project for a show, the difficulties and success of life, Vicente Minnelli has succeeded in creating a movie of fine psychological analysis, prompting the spectator to think about society. Thus the Director responds well to those who have severely criticized musicals. Another element which gives particular value to this movie is the ballet Girl Hunt. Inspired by detective movies, Minnelli also has a lot of humor, humanity and poetry. It is a well stylized ballet. This belongs to a category of movies without violence and perhaps without cruelty. These days we no longer see musicals of this quality and the opportunity to see such masterpieces as The Band Wagon in more cinemas would be welcomed.

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.