Short Take: The Band Wagon

The Band Wagon, directed by Vincente Minnelli, with song and dance numbers staged by Michael Kidd, is a delightful, grandly produced mix of backstage musical and romantic comedy. Fred Astaire plays a middle-aged former star of Hollywood musicals. He returns to New York, where a pair of playwright friends (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant) tell him of their newest effort, a musical-comedy stage play that could be a perfect comeback vehicle. But the director (Jack Buchanan) sees the play as a modernist reworking of Goethe's Faust. He transforms the light musical into a pompous spectacle. He also casts a rising-star ballerina (Cyd Charisse) as the female lead. Screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green set up a hilarious clash between artistic pretension and popular-entertainment values--the latter win out--and the romantic comedy is built around the protagonists' proud devotion to their dance styles: him with tap and other pop hoofing, and her with the tonier ballet. They eventually realize they're not so far apart, and they gloriously rework the show after its doomed premiere. The most ambitious set piece is "Girl Hunt," a send-up of pulp-fiction private-detective stories. It features Astaire as the detective and Charisse as both the blonde and brunette femmes fatales. The narration is a clever parody of pulp prose ("She came at me in sections... more curves than a scenic railway"), and the only aspect that outdoes the terrific dancing of Astaire, Charisse, and the supporting players is the gorgeous color design of the outfits and sets. Even more impressive is "A Shine on Your Shoes," a slapstick-tap number set in an arcade, and featuring Astaire in a partial dance duet with Leroy Daniels as the shoeshine man. But the finest moment is "Dancing in the Dark," with Astaire and Charisse. The characters stroll through Central Park, and as the stroll becomes a dance, the two fall in love. Their blossoming rapport is beautifully rendered by the unisons and counterpoints in their movements. It is one of the most sublime dance numbers in all of film, and easily holds its own with the best of Astaire's celebrated work with Ginger Rogers. The other numbers include "By Myself," the surreal slapstick "Triplets," and two performances of "That's Entertainment!" The cinematography is by Harry Jackson, with contributions by the uncredited George J. Folsey. E. Preston Ames and Cedric Gibbons did the magnificent production design. The songs are by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz.