The Band Wagon (1953)

Weird casting of oddballs. Some bizarre songs. Mix and match set-design (some really great). A thread of absurdity lining an otherwise corny plot with some cringeworthy moments. Some relatively mesmerizing dancing, some less interesting.

Great tunes and dancing - well worth a look

One of THE great musicals from one of the world's most elegant periods. The fifties was a time of simple but beautiful styles for women - modern stars take note. This film has everything, great music, great photography and a strong, romantic story line. An excellent cast provide superb entertainment. Cleverly paced, the film just gets better and better concluding with the brilliantly choreographed jazz/ private eye ballet. And, unlike modern soundtracks, you can hear every spoken word and lyric. And as if this is not enough there's Cyd Charise - enough said.

Astaire very tongue in cheek in this celebration of old show tunes. Great dance sequences. Well worth viewing.

If you like Fred Astaire and old fashioned musicals this is a good one, check out Cyd Cherise's extra long legs!

It's rather slow in getting started but once you are into it, this movie is a delight to watch. The Technicolor restoration is gorgeous. It is interesting to see Fred Astaire update his dancing from his 1940s style to this more jazz influenced style in the 1950s. The commentary soundtrack (in Features) is interesting although Liza Minelli is rather gushing. However you will find out how they did the Triplets number and that Cyd Charisse's voice was dubbed by India Stephens.

When I first watched this movie, I felt quite disappointed. It seemed to be filled with second-rate songs and that particularly dopey dancing that was all the rage on the 1950's TV variety shows. But after a while, I found myself humming the tunes, and thinking that maybe the dancing wasn't quite so dopey after all. So I watched it again, and decided it could stay.