THE BAND WAGON (1953) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Vincente Minnelli
Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant,
Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan, Ava Gardner
A Hollywood song-and-dance man and a curvy ballerina team up for a big Broadway show. A lively, colorful MGM musical with tunes by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz and choreography by Michael Kidd. The songs include "By Myself", "Dancing In the Dark" and "That's Entertainment", and the "theatrical genius" played by Jack Buchanan appears to have a lot in common with Orson Welles. Astaire does some fancy footwork, of course, but to really catch everything Fred's doing, you'll have to take your eyes off Cyd Charisse. Good luck with that.
