The Band Wagon (1953)

Academy Awards, USA 1954

Nominated Oscar	Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Betty Comden Adolph Green
	Best Costume Design, Color Mary Ann Nyberg
	Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Adolph Deutsch

MGM
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Washed-up, middle-aged actor Fred Astaire, basically playing himself, travels to NYC with hopes of reviving his career on Broadway. He hooks up with a couple of old pals who convince an overly dramatic actor to produce their script. However, when it gets changed from a breezy comedy to a dreadful Faustian drama, it flops. Luckily, Astaire has an extensive art collection and decides to put on the show as it was originally written. This contrived backstage musical produced by MGM may have elaborate musical numbers (the "baby" scene a notable exception), but the dramatic interludes are poor. For instance, Astaire and costar Cyd Charisse's scene in a hotel room where she breaks down crying is downright cringe-worthy. Their budding romance is never convincing and they should have stuck to just dancing. Comedy relief by Nanette Fabre and Oscar Levant is more irritating than funny.