The Band Wagon

Last updated

The Band Wagon
The Band Wagon (1953 poster).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
Written by
Produced by Arthur Freed
Starring
Cinematography Harry Jackson
Edited by Albert Akst
Music by
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Loew's, Inc
Release date
  • July 9, 1953 (1953-07-09)(New York City)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.9 million [1]
Box office$3.5 million [1]
Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire in one of the film's highlights, "Dancing in the Dark" The Band Wagon (1953) trailer 1.jpg
Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire in one of the film's highlights, "Dancing in the Dark"

The Band Wagon is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will revive his career. However, the play's director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of the Faust legend and brings in a prima ballerina who clashes with the star. Along with An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952), it is regarded as one of the finest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, although it was a box-office disappointment on first release.

Contents

The songs were written by the team of composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz. Schwartz was a prolific Hollywood composer who teamed with numerous lyricists over the years, while Dietz, a studio publicist, generally collaborated with Schwartz. Some of the songs in the film had been created for the original 1931 Broadway musical by Schwartz and Dietz, also titled The Band Wagon, with a book by George S. Kaufman and starring Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. The movie's dances and musical numbers were staged by Michael Kidd.

The song "That's Entertainment!", which Schwartz and Dietz wrote specifically for the film, was a hit and has become a standard in popular music. Another song orchestrated by Conrad Salinger, "Dancing in the Dark", is considered part of the Great American Songbook and was from the original Broadway production. Astaire's early number in the film, "A Shine on Your Shoes", was written for a 1932 Broadway revue with music and lyrics by Dietz and Schwartz titled Flying Colors . (It was originally performed by the dancing team of Buddy and Vilma Ebsen). In the film version of The Band Wagon, the song was reworked as a specialty number by jazz arranger Skip Martin to showcase all of Astaire's musical talents. [2]

The musical director was Adolph Deutsch and the production was designed by Oliver Smith working for the first time in motion pictures. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, Color, Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.

Screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who received the nomination for the screenplay, patterned the film's characters Lester and Lily Marton after themselves; however, the fictional characters were a married couple, and Comden and Green were not romantically involved. The character of an overachieving impresario was developed with the successful producer-director-actor José Ferrer in mind. [3]

In 1995, The Band Wagon was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [4] In 2006, this film ranked number 17 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals.

Plot

Tony Hunter, once a famous star of musical comedies on stage and later on screen, is largely forgotten after three years without appearing in a film. He returns from Hollywood to New York. At Grand Central Terminal, he is recognized but almost ignored by reporters who are there by chance as Ava Gardner is on the same train. However, he is greeted enthusiastically by his good friends Lester and Lily Marton, and they tell him they have written a stage show, a light musical comedy, that will be a perfect comeback for Tony. They will also act in it, and they already have caught the interest of Jeffrey Cordova, who they say can do anything: Currently he is starring in, as well as directing, a new adaptation of Oedipus Rex that he wrote based on the original Greek story.

As soon as Jeffrey hears Lily outline the play, he declares it to be a brilliant reinterpretation of the Faust legend, which should star Tony and himself as the characters corresponding to Faust and the Devil. The Martons are delighted that he will be acting as well as directing, but Tony is dubious about the Faust idea. Jeffrey declares that the boundaries between genres in the theater are artificial, and "Bill Shakespeare" and Bill Robinson are all parts of the same whole. Tony agrees, and Jeffrey has the Martons rewrite the play as a dark, pretentious musical drama (when Lester also becomes dubious, Lily insists that one person must be in charge and Jeffrey can succeed at anything).

Jeffrey does succeed in arranging for the beautiful and talented ballerina Gabrielle "Gaby" Gerard to join the production, along with Paul Byrd, who is her boyfriend, choreographer, and manager—even though he always insisted that a musical play would be beneath her. When Tony and Gaby meet, they become sarcastic and hostile to each other, but this is actually because they are insecure: Each of them feels much less talented than the other.

Eventually, it all proves too much for Tony, and he walks out. Gaby follows to meet him privately. In his hotel room, she comments that the paintings by famous artists on the wall are better reproductions than usual in a hotel; he says they are his own property, and are originals. She recognizes a painting of ballerinas as an early Degas. Tony and Gaby put their troubles aside, go for a horse-drawn carriage ride, dance together, and realize they can work together after all. They also begin to fall in love.

When the first out-of-town tryout in New Haven proves disastrous, Tony demands that Jeffrey convert the production back into the light comedy that the Martons had envisioned. Jeffrey says that while they will have to find new backers because the original ones have walked out, he will be happy to appear in that show—if Tony is in charge of it. Tony accepts, using his art collection to finance the production. Paul says the show is no longer suitable for Gaby and walks out, expecting her to follow, but she is pleased to stay and work with Tony.

After some weeks on tour to perfect the new lighthearted musical numbers, the revised show proves to be a hit on its Broadway opening. Gaby professes her love to Tony.

Cast

Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the "Girl Hunt Ballet" Band Wagon still.JPG
Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the "Girl Hunt Ballet"
Finale, "That's Entertainment" (reprise). L-R: Oscar Levant, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire, and Nanette Fabray The Band Wagon (1953) trailer 3.jpg
Finale, "That's Entertainment" (reprise). L–R: Oscar Levant, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire, and Nanette Fabray

Uncredited

Musical numbers

Source: [5]

  1. "By Myself" – Tony (introduced in the stage musical Between the Devil )
  2. "Shine on Your Shoes" – Tony and a shoeshine man (Leroy Daniels; the song was first introduced in the stage musical Flying Colors ) [6] [7]
  3. "That's Entertainment!" – Jeffrey, with Tony, Lester and Lily
  4. "The Beggars Waltz" – danced by Gabrielle, James Mitchell, and corps de ballet
  5. "High and Low" – Chorus
  6. "Dancing in the Dark" – danced by Tony and Gabrielle
  7. "You and the Night and the Music" – Chorus, danced by Tony and Gabrielle
  8. "Something to Remember You By" – Chorus
  9. "I Love Louisa" – Tony, Lester, and Lily
  10. "New Sun in the Sky" – Gabrielle
  11. "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" – Tony and Jeffrey
  12. "Louisiana Hayride" – Lily and Chorus (the song was first introduced in the stage musical Flying Colors )
  13. "Triplets" – Tony, Jeffrey, and Lily (the performers dance on their knees, costumed in baby attire; the song was first introduced in the stage musical Between the Devil )
  14. "The Girl Hunt Ballet" (inspired by the novels of Mickey Spillane) – danced by Tony and Gabrielle
  15. "That's Entertainment!" (reprise/finale) – Lester, Gabrielle, Jeffrey, Tony and Lily

One musical number shot for the film, but dropped from the final release, was a seductive dance routine featuring Charisse performing "Two-Faced Woman". As with the other Charisse songs, her singing was dubbed by India Adams. Adams' recording of the song was reused for Torch Song (1953) for a musical number featuring Joan Crawford. The MGM retrospective That's Entertainment! III (1994) released the Charisse version to the public for the first time. This footage was included with the 2005 DVD release of The Band Wagon. [8]

Reception

In seven weeks at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the film grossed $1,044,000, one of the higher grossing films at the theater. [9] According to MGM records, the film earned them distributor rentals of $2.3 million in the U.S. and Canada and $1,202,000 in other countries, resulting in a loss of $1,185,000. [1]

Stage adaptation

Poster from 2014 production at the New York City Center The Band Wagon at New York City Center 2014.jpg
Poster from 2014 production at the New York City Center

A musical stage adaptation, titled Dancing in the Dark, ran at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from March 4 to April 20, 2008, with plans to bring the show to Broadway. Gary Griffin directed, with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and choreography by Warren Carlyle. The cast included Patrick Page as the "deliciously pretentious" director-actor-producer Jeffrey Cordova, Mara Davi playing Gabrielle Gerard, and Scott Bakula as "song-and-dance man" Tony Hunter. [10] [11] [12] [13]

In the Variety review of the musical, Bob Verini wrote: "There's no reason this reconstituted Band Wagon can't soar once it jettisons its extraneous and self-contradictory elements." [14]

A revised version of the stage adaptation under the name The Band Wagon was presented in a staged concert in November 2014 as part of a New York City Center Encores! special event. The cast starred Brian Stokes Mitchell, Tracey Ullman, Michael McKean, Tony Sheldon, and Laura Osnes, with direction and choreography by Kathleen Marshall. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Astaire</span> American dancer, actor, and singer (1899–1987)

Fred Astaire was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter. Widely regarded as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time," he received numerous accolades, including an Honorary Academy Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was honored with the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1973, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and AFI Life Achievement Award in 1980. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1972, and the Television Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Astaire the fifth-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema in 100 Years... 100 Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolph Green</span> American dramatist (1914–2002)

Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for musicals on Broadway and in Hollywood. Although they were not a romantic couple, they shared a unique comic genius and sophisticated wit that enabled them to forge a six-decade-long partnership. They received numerous accolades including four Tony Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. Green was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980 and American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981. Comden and Green received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Freed</span> American film producer (1894–1973)

Arthur Freed was an American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for An American in Paris and in 1958 for Gigi. Both films were musicals, and both were directed by Vincente Minnelli. In addition, he produced the film Singin' in the Rain, the soundtrack for which primarily consisted of songs he co-wrote earlier in his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Levant</span> American comedian, composer, pianist and actor (1906–1972)

Oscar Levant was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films Rhapsody in Blue (1945), The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), An American in Paris (1951), and The Band Wagon (1953). He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 for recordings featuring his piano performances. He was portrayed by Sean Hayes in the Broadway play Good Night, Oscar, written by Doug Wright. Levant appeared as himself in the Gershwin biopic Rhapsody in Blue (1945).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Kidd</span> American choreographer

Michael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and who staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, strongly influenced by Charlie Chaplin and Léonide Massine, was an innovator in what came to be known as the "integrated musical", in which dance movements are integral to the plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyd Charisse</span> American dancer and actress (1922–2008)

Cyd Charisse was an American dancer and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Schwartz</span> American composer and film producer (1900–1984)

Arthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Dietz</span> Musical artist

Howard Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz.

<i>Gay Divorce</i> 1932 musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter

Gay Divorce is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song "Night and Day" in which Astaire danced with co-star Claire Luce.

<i>Thats Entertainment!</i> 1974 film by Jack Haley Jr.

That's Entertainment! is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film That's Dancing!, and a third installment in 1994.

"That's Entertainment!" is a popular song with music written by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz. The song was published in 1952 and was written especially for the 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film The Band Wagon. The song is performed in the film by Jack Buchanan supported by Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, and Oscar Levant.

<i>Ziegfeld Follies</i> (film) 1945 film

Ziegfeld Follies is a 1945 American musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, primarily directed by Vincente Minnelli, with segments directed by Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, and George Sidney, the film's original director before Minnelli took over. Other directors that are claimed to have made uncredited contributions to the film are Merrill Pye, Norman Taurog, and Charles Walters. It stars many MGM leading talents, including Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, James Melton, Victor Moore, William Powell, Red Skelton, and Esther Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Astaire's solo and partnered dances</span>

This is a comprehensive guide to over one hundred and fifty of Fred Astaire's solo and partnered dances compiled from his thirty-one Hollywood musical comedy films produced between 1933 and 1968, his four television specials and his television appearances on The Hollywood Palace and Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre which cover the period from 1958 to 1968. Further information on the dance routines may be obtained, where available, by clicking on the film links.

"Dancing in the Dark" is a popular American song, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz, that was introduced by John Barker with Tilly Losch dancing in the 1931 revue The Band Wagon. The song was first recorded by Bing Crosby on August 19, 1931 with Studio Orchestra directed by Victor Young, staying on the pop charts for six weeks, peaking at #3, and helping to make it a lasting standard.

"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" is a popular song published in 1929, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz.

<i>Silk Stockings</i> (1957 film) 1957 film by Rouben Mamoulian

Silk Stockings is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It is based on the 1955 stage musical of the same name, which had been adapted from the film Ninotchka (1939). The film was choreographed by Eugene Loring and Hermes Pan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertina Rasch</span> Austrian-born American dancer and choreographer (1891–1967)

Albertina Rasch was an Austrian-American dancer, company director, and choreographer.

<i>The Band Wagon</i> (musical) Musical

The Band Wagon is a musical revue with book by George S. Kaufman and Howard Dietz, lyrics also by Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It first played on Broadway in 1931, running for 260 performances. It introduced the song "Dancing in the Dark" and inspired two films.

"By Myself" is a 1937 jazz standard. It was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz.

Leroy Daniels was a shoeshine man who sang and danced as he worked, and whose act led to an appearance with Fred Astaire in the 1953 musical The Band Wagon. It was the only time that Astaire danced on-screen with a black dancer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
  2. ↑ Fordin 1996, p. 409.
  3. ↑ Fordin 1996, p. 401.
  4. ↑ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress . Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Band Wagon (1953) – Soundtracks". IMDb .
  6. ↑ Knowles, Mark (2013). The Man Who Made the Jailhouse Rock: Alex Romero, Hollywood Choreographer. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN   978-1-4766-0368-1. Leroy Daniels, who has been mixing shoeshining and bebop at Sixth and Main for 10 years, got his movie break after dancing star Fred Astaire decided he wanted another dancer to do a specialty number called 'Shine Your Shoes'
  7. ↑ Manning, Harriet J. (2016). Michael Jackson and the Blackface Mask. London: Routledge. p. 56. ISBN   978-1-3170-9688-7. The supportive and uncredited appearance of LeRoy Daniels in his dance with Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon (1953) provides the perfect example of the black sidelining that was standard practice. Of note, this was the only scene in Astaire's filmic career ...
  8. ↑ Erickson, Glenn (March 11, 2005). "DVD Savant Review: The Band Wagon". DVD Talk .
  9. ↑ "Heat Fails to Wilt B'way Grosses; Martin & Lewis-'Plunder' Wow 140G, 'Roman' Noble 165G, 'Squad' Right 24G". Variety . September 2, 1953. p. 9 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (December 23, 2007). "Douglas Carter Beane Lovingly Steers 'Band Wagon' to Create Dancing in the Dark". Playbill . Archived from the original on December 25, 2007.
  11. ↑ "Dancing in the Dark". Old Globe Theatre. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  12. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (March 4, 2008). "'The Band Wagon' Has a New Shine on Its Shoes in Dancing in the Dark March 4 – April 13". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 30, 2008.
  13. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (March 19, 2008). "That's More Entertainment: Old Globe Gives Dancing in the Dark an Extra Week". Playbill. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008.
  14. ↑ Verini, Bob (March 16, 2008). "Review: 'Dancing in the Dark'". Variety. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  15. ↑ Suskin, Steven (November 11, 2014). ""That's Entertainment!" Star-Studded The Band Wagon Brings "Sweet Music" to City Center". Playbill. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.