Jumping on "The Band Wagon"

A recent Facebook quiz on how many movie musicals you’ve seen revealed that while I have seen a fair number of musicals (including “Head,” a 1968 psychedelic adventure and comedy film musical starring The Monkees) I am woefully behind in my viewing of movie musicals from the 1930's, 40's and 50's.

Mr. Rip, on the other hand, has seen a number of those old musicals and is now on a mission to help me to catch up.  To that end, he has started to DVR any old musicals that happen to be rerun on TV.  And that is how I came to be watching The Band Wagon, a thoroughly enjoyable 1953 MGM musical directed by Vincent Minnelli and starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, on TV this past Sunday afternoon.

I thought it was a bonus that it actually has a plot, but Mr. Rip is not as impressed with the story as I am.  Well, look, it’s not exactly Shakespeare but it was a tongue-in-cheek tale about putting on a show which I think should be appreciated by anyone who has ever been involved in creating theater, on any level, anywhere.  For instance, they want to recruit Charisse’s character, who is a classical dancer, for the show they’re putting on.  When Astaire is watching her perform in a ballet, his first comment is “Oh, my, she’s tall,” which would be exactly what a male dancer might think about when looking at a potential dance partner. 

If there is a heaven for dancers, Astaire and Charisse are two of the featured performers there.  They were perfection on the dance floor, and on the fake-looking city street where they broke into a dance while on a walk.  In fact it reminded Mr. Rip and me of the first time we took a walk together – dressed all in white, and breaking into a fully choreographed ballroom dance right there on the street.  I jest, of course.  We don’t actually remember our first walk but it might have been at Fallingwater in which case, given the hilly wooded terrain there, I would have been concentrating on walking without falling, not dancing.  Besides, I wouldn’t be caught dead in white pants.

Astaire acted his role with a natural enthusiasm, and was a serviceable singer.  Charisse on the other hand, could not be accused of being an actress, and her few snippets of songs were dubbed.  She did however have some the longest, shapeliest gams you’ve ever seen, a tiny waist, and wore one stunningly beautiful dress after another.

It seemed like every single member of the cast couldn’t do something that was required of a performer in a movie musical, except for plucky bona fide triple-threat Nanette Fabray.  The only real singer in the show, she also acted and danced well, sometimes all at the same time.  She really didn’t look all that much different than when she played Bonnie Franklin’s Mom on One Day at a Time a couple of decades later

I personally thought the musical highlight of the show was the iconic That’s Entertainment, but Mr. Rip wanted me to tell you that Triplets is actually worth the price of admission.

Now I am eagerly awaiting the next winner in the Mr. Rip Old Musical Roulette, but if he doesn’t find anything we can always just watch Dirty Dancing again.