The Band Wagon

{{about|the 1953 film|the musical play|The Band Wagon (musical){{!}}The Band Wagon (musical)|other uses|Bandwagon (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox film

| name = The Band Wagon

| image = The Band Wagon (1953 poster).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Vincente Minnelli

| writer = {{unbulleted list|Betty Comden|Adolph Green}}

| producer = Arthur Freed

| starring = {{unbulleted list|Fred Astaire|Cyd Charisse|Oscar Levant|Nanette Fabray|Jack Buchanan|James Mitchell}}

| cinematography = Harry Jackson

| color_process = Technicolor

| editing = Albert Akst

| music = {{unbulleted list|Howard Dietz|Arthur Schwartz}}

| studio = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

| distributor = Loew's, Inc

| released = {{film date|1953|7|9|New York City}}

| runtime = 111 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $2.9 million{{Citation | title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}

| gross = $3.5 million

}}

File:The Band Wagon (1953) trailer 1.jpg 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. The plot follows an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will revive his career, but the play's director envisions a pretentious retelling of Faust and brings in a prima ballerina who clashes with the star. Although initially a box-office disappointment, the film is now regarded among the finest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, alongside An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952).

Prolific Hollywood composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz wrote the songs, with orchestrations by Conrad Salinger, and dance and musical numbers staged by Michael Kidd. Schwartz and Dietz adapted parts of the score from their 1931 Broadway revue The Band Wagon, starring siblings Fred and Adele Astaire. The song "Dancing in the Dark", from the original Broadway production, is considered part of the Great American Songbook. Schwartz and Dietz wrote the song "That's Entertainment!" specifically for the film, a notable hit that subsequently became a standard in popular music.

Astaire's early number in the film, "A Shine on Your Shoes", was written for the 1932 Broadway revue Flying Colors, with score by Schwartz and Dietz. (It was originally performed by the dancing team of Buddy and Vilma Ebsen). For The Band Wagon film, the song was reworked as a specialty number by jazz arranger Skip Martin to showcase all of Astaire's musical talents.{{sfn|Fordin|1996|p=409}} The song is the only time Astaire danced on-screen with a black dancer, the uncredited Leroy Daniels.{{Cite book |last=Baldwin |first=Kate |title=The Racial Imaginary of the Cold War Kitchen: From Sokol'niki Park to Chicago's South Side |publisher=Dartmouth College Press |year=2015 |isbn=9781611688641 |pages=225}}

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.{{sfn|Fordin|1996|p=401}}

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".{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=2020-09-16|publisher=Library of Congress}} 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

File:Band Wagon still.JPG

File:The Band Wagon (1953) trailer 3.jpg" (reprise). L–R: Oscar Levant, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire, and Nanette Fabray]]

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

Uncredited

India Adams as the singing voice of Cyd Charisse
Ava Gardner as herself (cameo)
Thurston Hall as Colonel Tripp
Douglas Fowley as auctioneer
Madge Blake as investor
Judy Landon as dancer in troupe
Bobby Watson as Bobby
Sue Casey as tall girl in arcade
Leroy Daniels as shoeshine man in arcade in "Shine on Your Shoes"
Henry Corden as orchestra leader
Julie Newmar as model / chorine in "Girl Hunt Ballet"
Fred Aldrich as hot dog vendor
Richard Alexander as stagehand
Jimmy Thompson as Jimmy
Roy Engel as reporter
Emory Parnell as man on train
Herb Vigran as man on train
Dee Turnell as Barbara
Dee Hartford as model in "Girl Hunt Ballet"

Musical numbers

Source:{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045537/soundtrack |title=The Band Wagon (1953) – Soundtracks |website=IMDb}}

"By Myself" – Tony (introduced in the stage musical Between the Devil)
"Shine on Your Shoes" – Tony and a shoeshine man (Leroy Daniels; the song was first introduced in the stage musical Flying Colors){{cite book |last=Knowles |first=Mark |year=2013 |title=The Man Who Made the Jailhouse Rock: Alex Romero, Hollywood Choreographer |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-1-4766-0368-1 |quote=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'}}{{cite book |last=Manning |first=Harriet J. |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CH0HDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56 |title=Michael Jackson and the Blackface Mask |page=56 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-3170-9688-7 |quote=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 ...}}
"That's Entertainment!" – Jeffrey, with Tony, Lester and Lily. This sequence was used in the film Joker: Folie à Deux from 2024.{{cite web | url=https://screenrant.com/joker-folie-a-deux-easter-eggs-dc-references-explained/ | title=Joker: Folie a Deux – 23 DC Easter Eggs & References Explained | website=Screen Rant | date=October 4, 2024 }}
"The Beggars Waltz" – danced by Gabrielle, James Mitchell, and corps de ballet
"High and Low" – Chorus
"Dancing in the Dark" – danced by Tony and Gabrielle
"You and the Night and the Music" – Chorus, danced by Tony and Gabrielle
"Something to Remember You By" – Chorus
"I Love Louisa" – Tony, Lester, and Lily
"New Sun in the Sky" – Gabrielle
"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" – Tony and Jeffrey
"Louisiana Hayride" – Lily and Chorus (the song was first introduced in the stage musical Flying Colors)
"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)
"The Girl Hunt Ballet" (inspired by the novels of Mickey Spillane) – danced by Tony and Gabrielle. The music video of Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson was heavily inspired by this sequence.{{cite web | url=https://x.com/tcm/status/1238545082317504518 | title=TCM (@TCM) on X | work=X (formerly Twitter) }}
"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.{{cite web |last=Erickson |first=Glenn |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1544band.html |title=DVD Savant Review: The Band Wagon |website=DVD Talk |date=March 11, 2005}}

Release

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.{{cite magazine|title=Heat Fails to Wilt B'way Grosses; Martin & Lewis-'Plunder' Wow 140G, 'Roman' Noble 165G, 'Squad' Right 24G|magazine=Variety|date=September 2, 1953|page=9|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n8/mode/1up|via=Internet Archive}} According to MGM records, the film earned 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.

Reception

In a 1999 Guardian article about the importance of the film, Derek Desmond wrote: "But the whole point about The Band Wagon, and one which sometimes makes people underrate it, was the way everything seems to mesh so seamlessly—almost effortlessly, in fact. That was due to Minnelli, whose flair and imagination, admittedly aided by the huge array of MGM talent both behind and in front of the cameras, was matched by his almost perfect control."{{Cite news |last1=Malcolm |first1=Derek |last2=Malcolm |first2=By Derek |date=February 11, 1999 |title=Vincente Minnelli: The Band Wagon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/feb/11/derekmalcolmscenturyoffilm.derekmalcolm |access-date=2024-10-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Martin Scorsese listed The Band Wagon as his favorite musical.{{sfn|Wilson|2011|p=72}}

Stage adaptation

File:The_Band_Wagon_at_New_York_City_Center_2014.jpg

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.{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/113751.html |title=Douglas Carter Beane Lovingly Steers 'Band Wagon' to Create Dancing in the Dark |magazine=Playbill |date=December 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225050550/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/113751.html |archive-date=December 25, 2007 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theoldglobe.org/pressphotos/Dancing_in_the_Dark.html |title=Dancing in the Dark |publisher=Old Globe Theatre |access-date=October 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906020314/http://theoldglobe.org/pressphotos/Dancing_in_the_Dark.html |archive-date=September 6, 2012 |url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/115540.html |title='The Band Wagon' Has a New Shine on Its Shoes in Dancing in the Dark March 4 – April 13 |magazine=Playbill |date=March 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330063556/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/115540.html |archive-date=March 30, 2008 |url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/116076.html |title=That's More Entertainment: Old Globe Gives Dancing in the Dark an Extra Week |magazine=Playbill |date=March 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080512151239/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/116076.html |archive-date=May 12, 2008 |url-status=dead}}

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."{{cite magazine | url=https://variety.com/2008/legit/markets-festivals/dancing-in-the-dark-3-1200535802/ | title=Review: 'Dancing in the Dark' | first=Bob | last=Verini | date=March 16, 2008 | magazine=Variety | access-date=November 27, 2022}}

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.{{cite magazine |last=Suskin |first=Steven |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/thats-entertainment-star-studded-the-band-wagon-brings-sweet-music-to-city-center-335230 |title="That's Entertainment!" Star-Studded The Band Wagon Brings "Sweet Music" to City Center |magazine=Playbill |date=November 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214112657/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/thats-entertainment-star-studded-the-band-wagon-brings-sweet-music-to-city-center-335230 |archive-date=December 14, 2014 |url-status=dead}}

References

Works cited

{{cite book|last=Wilson |first=Michael |title=Scorsese On Scorsese |publisher=Cahiers du Cinéma |date=2011 |isbn=9782866427023}}

External links

{{IMDb title}}
[https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-band-wagon-am33917 The Band Wagon at AllMovie]
{{AFI film}}
{{TCMDb title}}
[https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/howard-dietz-and-arthur-schwartz/ Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz] at Masterworks Broadway
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070602033732/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8007400/site/newsweek/?rf=wiki Newsweek discussion transcript about The Band Wagon]
{{IBDB show|1825}} (1931 stage musical)
{{Rotten Tomatoes}}