THE BAND WAGON

According to Wikipedia this is, along with 'Singin' In The Rain', one of the finest MGM film musicals.

Well, I beg to differ. To put this film in the same bracket as the Gene Kelly classic is absurd; this film is clearly inferior in terms of the songs, the dance routines, the comedy, the romance. In other words it falls short in every department.

An aging Fred Astaire does what he can but he really needs a Ginger Rogers to complement him but instead he, and we, have to make do with Cyd Charisse. 

Quite how she became as famous as she did is something of a mystery to me given that her acting is wooden, she didn't sing, and that even her dancing is quite limited in its range.  In this film she plays a famous ballerina so it is unfortunate that the ballet sequence which is our introduction to her is so woeful as to be laughable.

Given that there is an age gap of over 20 years between the two leads, I guess we should be thankful that there is little effort made to make us believe in a romantic relationship between them, but of course the absence of any real romance is a problem.

I found the comedy involving the characters played by Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray quite laboured.

The idea at the heart of the film, about what constitutes entertainment, is potentially interesting, but this film doesn't do as much with the idea as does say 'Sullivan's Travels'.

The best point at which to join this film is quite near the end: the sequence of musical numbers starting with 'Louisiana Hayride' is pretty good.  A shame that the same can't be said of much of what comes before.

RATING: x Find Something Better To Do