Length of Film- 111 minutes
Director- Vincente Minnelli
Cast- Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nannette Fabray, Jack Buchanan, James Mitchell, & Robert Gist
Oscar Nominations- Betty Comden, Adolph Green (screenplay), Mary Ann Nyberg (costume), & Adolph Deutsch (music)
The Band Wagon came out a year after Singin' in the Rain, and it did NOT match the same "amazingness" of rain. A lot of it had to with the leading man. Fred Astaire can dance, but he doesn't have the looks or the singing ability like Gene Kelly.
This is going to be a short and sweet synopsis. The first half was producing and practicing for the stage production of the musical, and of course it failed because the director had a different vision than the writers. The cast and chorus decided to re do the production to the original when they went on tour. The tour was a success and then they went back to on stage.
The end of the film was seeing each individual song in full costume and on stage. My favorite scene was when the 3 main characters dressed up as babies and sang and dance. You can CLEARLY see that they have fake arms and legs, but I have no idea how they did it. The song was catchy and you couldn't take your eyes away from the performers and trying to figure out how they did it. Here's an explanation from tcm.com
"Another musical sequence, the bizarre "Triplets," shows Astaire, Fabray and Buchanan all apparently midgets dressed as babies, sliding down from their high chairs and dancing. Since we see their feet hit the floor and special effects seem impossible, how did they do it? By balancing on artificial legs strapped to their knees, Fabray reports; they fell dozens of times before getting it right, and relied on pain-killers."
The ONLY reason why I gave this movie the 1/2 star is because of the "Triplets" song.
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