The songs are simply excellent. Most especially Astaire and Buchanann singing "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan." Their soft shoe dance routine reinforces the sophistication we should all summon when the girl of our dreams turns out to be the girl of someone else's dreams. "That's Entertainment" "By Myself" two other excellent moments. The final mise-en-scene with Fred Astair and Cyd Charise shows a darkness to Astaire that is often overlooked in his easy comedy.
But Rogers and Hammerstein, and before them Hammerstein and Kern--SHOW BOAT--had created and perfected on Broadway the 'integrated musical' where music moved the story line forward. What Fred Astaire, Arthur Freed, Vincent Minnelli had done was a throwback to the review which can best be encapsulated: let's put on a show. Whether that show would be 42 STREET, BABES IN ARMS, THE GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933, or Broadway MELODY--pick a year--they all came down to a vehicle to show off dancing and singing.
I don't think this movie wears well over time. It's not as good as SINGING IN THE RAIN which seems smoother and more finished than this film does. Even Comden and Green ON THE TOWN had a smoother unity than this one did. And certainly by 1953, it doesn't even approach anything Rogers and Hammerstein produced on stage, and would produce on film in the future; a standard we all respond to and measure other movie musicals to.
Fred Astaire was the best song and dance man in Hollywood; his limited vocal range showed off the lyrics; his comedy was often a self-mockery; his acting was passable for what his roles expected of him. There are no better films then TOP HAT, GAY DIVORCE, EASTER PARADE, and all those movies with Ginger Rogers. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Dorothy Fields, the Gershwins appreciated the phrasing he brought to a song that made the song important, not the singer. Sadly, this movie reflected a time long gone and simply does not hold up under time. The viewer of 2010 has now seen CABARET, CHICAGO, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. In BANDWAGON, the parts are better than the whole: the viewer loves to see the Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanann soft shoe, but wading through the rest of the story line seems less than rewarding.
But Rogers and Hammerstein, and before them Hammerstein and Kern--SHOW BOAT--had created and perfected on Broadway the 'integrated musical' where music moved the story line forward. What Fred Astaire, Arthur Freed, Vincent Minnelli had done was a throwback to the review which can best be encapsulated: let's put on a show. Whether that show would be 42 STREET, BABES IN ARMS, THE GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933, or Broadway MELODY--pick a year--they all came down to a vehicle to show off dancing and singing.
I don't think this movie wears well over time. It's not as good as SINGING IN THE RAIN which seems smoother and more finished than this film does. Even Comden and Green ON THE TOWN had a smoother unity than this one did. And certainly by 1953, it doesn't even approach anything Rogers and Hammerstein produced on stage, and would produce on film in the future; a standard we all respond to and measure other movie musicals to.
Fred Astaire was the best song and dance man in Hollywood; his limited vocal range showed off the lyrics; his comedy was often a self-mockery; his acting was passable for what his roles expected of him. There are no better films then TOP HAT, GAY DIVORCE, EASTER PARADE, and all those movies with Ginger Rogers. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Dorothy Fields, the Gershwins appreciated the phrasing he brought to a song that made the song important, not the singer. Sadly, this movie reflected a time long gone and simply does not hold up under time. The viewer of 2010 has now seen CABARET, CHICAGO, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. In BANDWAGON, the parts are better than the whole: the viewer loves to see the Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanann soft shoe, but wading through the rest of the story line seems less than rewarding.