{"id":641,"date":"2016-06-30T00:53:26","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T00:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=641"},"modified":"2018-08-07T02:50:13","modified_gmt":"2018-08-07T02:50:13","slug":"theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film Series: The Band Wagon (1953)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>Theatre in Film Series: <em>The Band Wagon<\/em> (1953)<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/authorimage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>June 29, 2016<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Though theatre was my first love, film has stolen my heart in recent years. In Part II of our ongoing Theatre in Film series, we explore the latter years of Classical Hollywood Cinema when Technicolor was new and movie musicals, filled with rich color and vibrant acting, lifted off the screen. For the first film in Part II, we celebrate <em>The Band Wagon<\/em> from 1953.<\/p>\n<h4><em>The Band Wagon<\/em> (1953)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EQxXUmB7AEI?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Directors:<\/strong> Vincente Minnelli<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Starring:<\/strong> Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, and Jack Buchanan<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>What happens:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tony Hunter (Astaire), a famous movie star, has been commissioned to return to his roots &#8212; the stage &#8212; for a musical comedy written by his friends, Lester and Lily Marton (Levant and Fabray). When the trio approach famous classical dramatic actor, Jeffrey Cordova (Buchanan), and solicit his involvement, Cordova inserts himself into the production and transforms the show\u2019s light comedy into a horrific retelling of the Faust tale. Tony\u00a0also takes issue with his co-star, famous ballerina Gabriella \u201cGaby\u201d Gerard (Cyd Charisse), over her height and classical dancing style. After an unsuccessful and embarrassing opening night, the entire company bands together to return the musical to its original script and take it on tour. And through the successful run of the show, Tony finds himself falling in love with his once-despised leading lady.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ranked alongside <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Singin\u2019 in the Rain <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as one of Classical Hollywood Cinema\u2019s top movie musicals, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Band Wagon <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">explores rich and larger-than-life characters to match its vibrantly colored and saturated sets and costumes. Unlike the previous five films in our Theatre in Film series, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Band Wagon <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is in full Technicolor and utilizes this aspect to the fullest degree, especially in the arcade scene in which Fred Astaire\u2019s character is surrounded by reds, blues, and yellows with bright marquee lights positioned overhead. These visual aspects are identifiers of films from this era, but their stories keep them more grounded.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Character relationships in this film parallel those we experience in reality. Jeffrey Cordova is the experienced and conceited actor who plants himself as<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">director and performer in one, selfishly taking over the production from the minds\u00a0that created it. Lester and Lily Marton are the frustrated writers who quickly find that a script in the wrong hands can spell disaster. Tony Hunter and Gaby Gerard, two performers who have very different styles of expression, despise each other: Tony is made uncomfortable by Gaby\u2019s height and classical background, and Gaby, while star-struck in his presence, dislikes his unprofessional immaturity. (These complaints weren\u2019t just fictional either. Astaire demanded Charisse wear flats in all scenes in which they performed together.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only is this film about the common theatrical personas and we encounter every day on the stage (and behind the scenes), it\u2019s a testament to the changes we make between the day we begin a show and the day we close it. Cordova doesn\u2019t remain overbearing; he rallies for the success of the production after its returned to the original script. Lester and Lily make up after an awful fight that dares to halt the production. Tony and Gaby, through a series of moments where they discover one another\u2019s passion and talent for theatre, trade their ire for respect and admiration. And despite the clich\u00e9 of a love story that inevitably finds its way into Golden Age cinema, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Band Wagon <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">showcases one that works through very real issues, not just for ordinary people, but performers, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<br><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This film is the first featured in Part II of \u201cTheatre in Film\u201d. See below for the others in Part II.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-the-good-companions-1957\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><em>The Good Companions<\/em> (1957)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-producers-1968\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><em>The Producers<\/em> (1967)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-boy-friend-1971\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><em>The Boy Friend<\/em> (1971)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-opening-night-1977\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><em>Opening Night<\/em> (1977)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Want to start with Part I? Check out\u00a0<strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=133\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">42nd Street\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">(1933)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com\u2019s Editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\">Thumbnail\u00a0image from <em>The Band Wagon<\/em>. Copyright \u00a9 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.<\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[6,106,352,319,107,82,80,353,14,105],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}