The Band Wagon (1953)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.6/10   

Réalisateur:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Betty Comden (story) and
Adolph Green (story) ...

Release Date:

7 août 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedie | Family | Musical | Romance

Accroche:

Get Aboard!

Plot:

A pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.

Plot Keywords:

Top Hat | Movie Star | Director | Choreographer | Dancer

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

When there's a shine on your shoes, there's a melody in your heart!

Ensemble

Fred Astaire	...	Tony Hunter
Cyd Charisse	...	Gabrielle Gerard
Oscar Levant	...	Lester Marton
Nanette Fabray	...	Lily Marton
Jack Buchanan	...	Jeffrey Cordova
James Mitchell	...	Paul Byrd
Robert Gist	...	Hal

Autre(s) titre(s):

I Love Louisa (USA) (working title)
Tous en scène! (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]

Durée:

111 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Son:

Mono )Western Electric Sound System)

Classification:

Argentina:Atp | West Germany:12 | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16342)

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Anecdotes:

Betty Comden and Adolph Green made the characters played by Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant a married couple because they felt that the audiences would not accept a male/female writing team who weren't married to each other, even though the characters were based on Comden and Green, who were themselves not married to each other.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Gabrielle's last name is spelled "Gerard" in some scenes, "Girard" in others.

Guillemet:

Tony Hunter: She was bad. She was dangerous. I wouldn't trust her any farther than I could throw her. But... she was my kind of woman.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983)

Soundtrack:

High and Low

When there's a shine on your shoes, there's a melody in your heart!

Vincente Minnelli was a director that worked well in different genres, as his distinguished career shows. He excelled in the musicals he directed. In "The Band Wagon", Mr. Minnelli gave us one of the perhaps, most satisfactory musicals of all times. In fact, this is a film that doesn't have many original songs like some other MGM musicals, but still shows the talented Betty Comden and Adolph Green at their best.

Some of the criticism directed to "The Band Wagon" in this forum has to do with the perception that Fred Astaire, the star of the film, was finished, but as he brilliantly demonstrates, he still had a lot left in him. One of the most brilliant numbers of the film involves Mr. Astaire dancing with Leroy Daniels "Shine on my Shoes" at an arcade on 42 Street. Both Mr. Astaire and Mr. Daniels do amazing dancing in a number that will remain one of the classics of the American musicals in film.

The pairing of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse proves to be one of the most felicitous things in the movie. Ms. Charisse and Mr. Astaire are seen dancing beautifully in "Dancing in the Dark" and in the ballet sequence. Ms. Charisse was one of the most talented dancing stars at MGM and it's a shame she didn't get more opportunities in which to shine, as she does in "The Band Wagon".

Oscar Levant and Nannette Fabray are excellent playing Adolph Green and Betty Comden, that in the film they are named Lester and Lily Marton. Jack Buchanan plays Jeffrey Cordova, the classical actor that turns all shows into hits. Mr. Buchanan is hysterical with his approach to turn the show the Martons have written into a variation of "Faust", with disastrous consequences.

Among the other great numbers in the film, "The Triplets", in which Jeff, Lily and Tony, are seen as dancing and singing babies in a delightful turn. Also Nannette Fabray in "Louisiana Hayride" shows her best qualities. Other songs heard are "By Myself", "Change my Plan", and that hymn about show business, "That's Entertainment".

"The Band Wagon" is a film to cherish because all the right elements were put together by the genius of Vincente Minnelli.