An excellently done film, which stands next to Singin' in the Rain as the best musical of the fifties. Some people wish to argue that Astaire is better than Kelly (or vice-versa) and all I can think is "thank God we have both of them on film, in great movies". Astaire is somewhat more astringent than Kelly, but to argue who is better is pointless, Astaire having had a much longer film career. The Band Wagon has much to recommend it, almost every number is wonderful, and Cyd Charisse (as Gabrielle Gerard), though maybe not as great an actress as some other musical stars, is so sexy and such a great dancer, that her acting limitations are easily forgotten. Jack Buchanan comes through with a grand parody of the Orson Welles-ish (actually modeled on Jose Ferrer, as Betty Comden tells it in the DVD documentary) type of theatrical "genius" as Jeffrey Cordova, which is wonderful to see from an old pro such as Jack, near the end of his life. Nanette Fabray is sweetly bright in support as Lily Marton and Oscar Levant is Les Marton, the writing couple (based on Comden and Green), one cute, the other cynical. The numbers are uniformly charming, although unfortunately one doesn't really fit into the play as described by the Martons at the beginning of the film, Louisiana Hayride. Although fun, it's a bit of old corn and seems to come from nowhere. Astaire (as Tony Martin) is a parody of himself and his fading career, and his acting and dancing are both without fault here, and the justly celebrated numbers are worth re-watching over and over, as indeed I have done. Of all the numbers, the shoeshine number may be the most startling, as Leroy Daniels (according to Liza on the DVD documentary), was a non-professional that Minnelli found in L.A., shining shoes. Dancing in the Dark is a beautiful, romantic number, and The Girl Hunt is a great, jazzy piece that only disappoints me for being too short! More of Charisse and her hot dancing in that red dress, and I'd have been in heaven. One can complain about the thin plot or other limitations, but to analyze this movie to death is a grave mistake. The musical was a fading genre in the fifties, and we were fortunate to have two of the greatest come along, The Band Wagon (great in its recent DVD release) along with Singin' in the Rain. They should both grace any serious DVD collection of American movies. All I can say about the nitpickers who always find fault is that they have the dramatic instinct of Jeffrey Cordova!
Review of The Band Wagon
