Rent The Band Wagon (1953)
3.7 of 5 from 104 ratings
1h 48min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In this Vincente Minnelli-directed backstager, Fred Astaire dazzles in numbers set in a train station (By Myself), a penny arcade, a backlot Central Park and a smoky cafe, the latter two with the incomparable Cyd Charisse. And when he, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan play infants who "hate each other very much!" in the merry Triplets, it's one more reason to love this movie very, very much. As the hallmark song which originated here goes, That's Entertainment!
- Actors:
- Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan, James Mitchell, Robert Gist, India Adams, Fred Aldrich, Richard Alexander, Ernest Anderson, Barbara Bailey, Patsy Bangs, Lysa Baugher, Ralph Beaumont, Don Beddoe, Madge Blake, Herman Boden, Paul Bradley, Joe Brockman
- Directors:
- Vincente Minnelli
- Producers:
- Arthur Freed
- Writers:
- Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Norman Corwin, Alan Jay Lerner
- Others:
- Adolph Deutsch, Mary Ann Nyberg
- Studio:
- Warner
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Music & Musicals, Romance
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like A Star Is Born, 10 Films to Watch Next If You Liked White Christmas, Cinema Paradiso's 2022 Centenary Club, Cinema Paradiso's 2025 Centenary Club: July - September, Dancing Queens: Guide to the Musical Films That'll, Films & TV by topic, Films by Genre, Films to Watch If You Like..., Fred and Ginger: Duets and Solos, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Films About Trains: Thrillers, Top Films
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Reviews (2) of The Band Wagon
classic musical delights - The Band Wagon review by AW
Fred Astaire is a joy to watch, as expected. The surprise is gorgeous Cyd Charisse with wasp waist and legs that go on forever. Some wonderful laughs provided by the antics of Jack Buchanan. Some great songs.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
More Scenery Than Story: The Band Wagon Rolls By - The Band Wagon review by griggs
Some musicals grab you by the lapels and insist you have a wonderful time. This one kept asking me to admire the workmanship while it faffed about deciding what it wanted to be. The real tease is the Faust musical: that pitch sounds fantastic, and I spent an embarrassing amount of time wishing the film would commit instead of pivoting to safer, shinier material.
A lot of the numbers feel like they’re happening near the story rather than inside it. “That’s Entertainment!” is the one moment that actually earns its place, though I kept humming The Jam’s version afterwards like some weird Pavlovian earworm, as if my brain was trying to improve the experience in post.
The stagecraft is undeniable. That made-to-measure New York is ridiculously detailed, and the film knows it: “more scenery than Yellowstone Park”, indeed.
In the end I stopped resisting and let it wash over me: charming in patches, immaculate to look at, oddly hard to care about.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.