The Band Wagon - 7 stars out of 10

The Band Wagon - 7 stars out of 10

A show within a show, what could be better? Ah, a DISASTROUS show within a show! The Band Wagon is one of film's classic musicals, featuring the wonderful dancing stylings of Fred Astaire. "Beautiful Dynamite" Cyd Charisse lights up the screen with elegant beauty and witty attitude. One of my issues with this film is the unconvincing dubbing over Charisse's singing. The dubbed voice has a very different quality from her singing voice and it was distracting. Also, I failed to see how the musical numbers at the end could make a cohesive show. Was each number a children's book? Regardless, the subway dance sequence with the gangsters was pretty awesome. This film is often mentioned in the same breath as Singin' In the Rain but, despite the many parallels between the films, it cannot begin to compare. This is not a knock against The Band Wagon, but rather a compliment to the perfection attained by Gene Kelly's film. I was very glad that Nanette Fabray had her own song toward the end - early on I was afraid that her radiant talent would be underused. Despite the negatives mentioned in this review, The Band Wagon is a wonderful film with many enjoyable scenes. The scene where Jack Buchanan is telling the backers about the musical (which sounds nothing like the script) is hysterical, and the party scene after the Faust show opens is so fun - I just wanted to be there with them! This film should be on the bucket list of any musical score and if you need a reason to watch, just remember: "That's Entertainment!"