The Band Wagon (1953) |
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The Band Wagon Cast |
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On-Screen Couples |
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Cyd Charisse
(as Gabrielle Gerard)
with Fred Astaire
(as Tony Hunter)
Fred Astaire
(as Tony Hunter)
with Cyd Charisse
(as Gabrielle Gerard)
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Movie Highlights |
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AwardsNational Film Registry National Film Preservation Board, USA [1995] Best Costume Design, Color Academy Awards [1954] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Academy Awards [1954] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Academy Awards [1954] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Written American Musical Writers Guild of America, USA [1954] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Plot SummaryOne of the most subtle and sophisticated of the musical comedies that came out of MGM`s Arthur Freed Unit in the `40s and `50s, The Band Wagon stars Fred Astaire as Tony Hunter, a movie star whose career is in a downturn. Looking for a boost, Tony de... TaglineGet Aboard! M-G-M`s Top Technicolor Musical! Related MoviesDancing in the Dark [Remake of] (Year of movie: 1949) DiscographySinglesI Guess I`ll Have to Change My Plan Louisiana Hayride The Girl Hunt Triplets A Shine on Your Shoes By Myself Dancing in the Dark High and Low I Love Louisa New Sun in the Sky Something to Remember You Buy That`s Entertainment The Beggars Waltz You and the Night and the Music |
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Full Cast and Crew |
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Actor CreditsNon Actor Credits |
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Trivia |
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Trivia and QuotesQuotes Gabrielle Gerard: The show`s a big hit, Tony... It`s going to run for a long time.As far as I`m concerned, it`s going to run forever. Jeffrey Cordova, Lily Marton, Lester Marton, Tony Hunter: [singing] That`s En-ter-tain-ment. Lester Marton: Joe -- if my wife asks where I am, tell her that I`ve gone to Tahiti. To paint. 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. Tony Hunter: The city was asleep. The joints were closed. The rats and hoods and killers were in their holes. Gabrielle Gerard: That`s an early Degas, isn`t it?
[examines painting]
Gabrielle Gerard: 1877...
Tony Hunter: [playing up their age difference] Yeah, I swiped it from his desk in school. Was he sore... Jeffrey Cordova: There is no difference between the magic rhythms of Bill Shakespeare`s immortal verse, and the magic rhythms of Bill Robinson`s immortal feet. Jeffrey Cordova: [pitching his idea for the show] Exploiter of children! Purveyor of evil! Lester Marton, Lily Marton: Rah, rah Tony! Rah, rah Tony! Tony! Hunter! Sis boom bah! Lester Marton: I can stand anything but failure! Lester Marton: I can stand anything but pain! Lily Marton We`re not fighting! We`re in complete agreement! We hate each other! Stagehand: The theatre isn`t big enough! This show has more scenery than Yellowstone National Park! Tony Hunter: No, don`t say it - "Tony Hunter! 1953!" I hereby declare my independence. Tony Hunter, 1776. [narration during the Girl Hunt ballet]
Tony Hunter: She came at me in sections... more curves than a scenic railway.Trivia 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. The full-skirted white dress worn by Cyd Charisse in "Dancing In The Dark" was actually copied from a dress worn by the film`s costume designer Mary Ann Nyberg. Director Minnelli tried to buy it off the rack (it originally cost about $25.00), but no store carried exactly that type of frock. It was finally created from scratch for about $1,000.00. Three other Schwartz and Dietz numbers, which can be heard on the Rhino soundtrack CD, were deleted from the movie: "Sweet Music," sung by Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant (note: the melody is played in the background); "You Have Everything," danced by Fred Astaire; and "Got a Bran` New Suit," performed by Fred Astaire and Nanette Fabray (with Oscar Levant on piano). "Two-Faced Woman," a Schwartz and Dietz number showcasing Cyd Charisse (with Oscar Levant on piano), was cut from this movie. Cyd`s song (dubbed by India Adams) and dance, along with footage of Miss Charisse rehearsing, are encountered on the DVD from Warner Home Video. The Adams and Levant audio finds a spot on Rhino`s soundtrack CD. Later that year in Torch Song (1953), the prerecording by India Adams was lip-synced by Joan Crawford, who performed her version in blackface. That`s Entertainment! III (1994) matches the Charisse and Crawford routines by using a split screen. After Les and Lilly have their fight in the alley, Les heads for the bar across the street. In the background you can see a poster for the play "Every Night At Seven". This was the title of the play that Fred Astaire and Jane Powell starred in in the movie Royal Wedding (1951). During the "Louisiana Hayride" number, Nanette Fabray gashed her leg when she broke through the top of a prop crate she was standing on. She said that shooting the "Triplets" number, which was filmed later and where she was forced to stand on her knees, was so painful that she had to take large numbers of pain pills. During the production Jack Buchanan had to undergo extensive dental work, including three root canal operations and was in pain for most of the filming. Many of the props, sets, and costumes for the huge production number that goes wrong in rehearsal in Boston are from Lovely to Look at (1952), Ziegfeld Follies (1946) and An American in Paris (1951). Several times in the film you see theatre marquees or posters showing the title "The Proud Land" - especially in the "Girl Hunt" ballet number. This is the title of a novel featured in the plot of Vincente Minnelli`s film from the previous year The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). The characters reflect real life. Fred Astaire was indeed considering retirement as his career was at a standstill, just like his character in the movie. The characters played by Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant are based on the film`s screenwriters, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Jack Buchanan`s character is based on José Ferrer, who at the time was producing four Broadway shows and starring in a fifth. The movie reflects two real-life situations. In the movie Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire) is washed up. In real life Astaire`s career was at a standstill. In the movie much is made of whether Cyd Charisse`s character is too tall for Fred`s character. This was also true in real life. Whenever Cyd and Fred are together she is in shoes with low heels. The title is from an original 1931 Broadway musical, by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, which starred Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire. Only the title and some of the songs were borrowed for this production. This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1995. | ||
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