9/20/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Fred Astaire & Cyd Charisse- The Girl Hunt Ballet from The Band Wagon (1953)

The dance is called Girl Hunt Ballet from the 1953 film The Band Wagon directed by Vincente Minnelli. It is around 12 minutes long and is a mini-mystery dance. Fred Astaire plays Rod Reilly, a private detective and he is narrating his story, which is unfolding in the dance. Cyd Charisse plays duel roles as both the innocent blonde and the brunette siren. Continue reading

7/9/18 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse- The Band Wagon’s finale, The Girl Hunt Ballet- A Murder Mystery In Jazz

Hollywood Mondays

The_Band_Wagon-669013880-large

The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film that many critics rank, along with Singin’ in the Rain, as the finest of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals despite only a modest box-office success. The film tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway play will restart his career. The play’s director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of Faust, and brings in a prima ballerina who clashes with the star.

The songs were written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, and some were created for the original 1931 Broadway musical also called The Band Wagon. The Broadway production featured a book by George S. Kaufman and starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. The movie’s dances and musical numbers were staged by Michael Kidd.

Continue reading

9/15/14 O&A Hollywood Monday: The Band Wagon: Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse

Hollywood Mondays

The_Band_Wagon-669013880-large

The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film that many critics rank, along with Singin’ in the Rain, as the finest of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals despite only a modest box-office success. The film tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway play will restart his career. The play’s director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of Faust, and brings in a prima ballerina who clashes with the star.

The songs were written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, and some were created for the original 1931 Broadway musical also called The Band Wagon. The Broadway production featured a book by George S. Kaufman and starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. The movie’s dances and musical numbers were staged by Michael Kidd.

Continue reading