The Band Wagon 1953

I popped into this great great musical last night via the two dvd set and for a while I was back in time, maybe sitting in Radio City Music Hall watching Fred and Cyd dance in a fake back lot Central Park to Dancing In The Dark. Listen it doesn't get much better that this, in fact the whole movie is better than this or that or anything that Hollywood produces. You can see references to many movies that have come since, Hello La La Land. The story is brilliant and autobiographical. An older song and dance man played by Astaire who is "washed up" arrives in New York City to try to get his failing career back on track. Getting off the train he runs into Ava Gardner who was at the peak of her career. Cute. He is met by his two old friends in show biz the married couple played brilliantly by Oscar Lavant and the great Nanette Fabray. Another bio spark as they are obviously based on the real life but not married musical writting team, Betty Comden and Adolph Green who wrote the wonderful script. Brightly colored and directed by Vincente Minnelli there are too many marvelous moments to mention them all but how about that Times Sq. Penny arcade bit with Fred dancing with LeRoy Daniels to "Shine on Your Shoes." They decide to put on a show with the help of the pompous but delightful Jack Buchanan who talks them into doing a musical of the Faust legend. They get going and get the lovely Cyd Charisse to be Fred's co-star. Naturally they don't get along until that Dancing In the Dark moment. Disaster follows with the show called by the way "The Band Wagon" a complete and utter failure until the kids in the show along with the major players take over and put on a new production which includes the great number in dance on cheap pulp detective stories that soars even though it is a call back to a similar number from the year before in Singin In The Rain. So what its all part of the Freed Unit anyway. The great song "That's Entertainment" is sung and soars not once but twice and there is also much to make the eyes open wide in amazement including those snazzy costumes. This might help with your gloom and sadness and it Might be the best film of 1953, I'll have to get back to you.