Great Moments From Cinema - 10

Dancing In The Dark
Movie: The Band Wagon (MGM; 1953)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Screenplay: Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Major Cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nancy Fabray and Jack Buchanan

Film Synopsis: Astaire and Charisse are hired as stars of a Broadway musical directed by the over-zealous Buchanan. What started out as a simple and funny story ends up being a modern day “Faust” and naturally flops. It is left to Astaire to motivate the cast and make a comeback.

My Favorite Moment: Astaire and Charisse dancing in the ‘Central Park’ at night

Why I Like It: What an absolute delight. This is the kind of film one should be watching at the end of a hard day at work. A gem of a movie which endears itself to the audience immediately and only gets better. What works is the entire package rather than any individual performance or the direction or the story. It appears as if everyone is just having plain fun. Having said that, any movie with Astaire in it, better be good.

Astaire plays a washed-up actor/dancer who is looking for a second chance at stardom. His married friends, played by Levant and Fabray, have written a musical which is nice and homely. They want it to be directed by Buchanan, who is a known name in the industry. However, he is a pompous person proud of his own image and loves to make ‘artistic’ productions with him as the lead performer. He listens to their story and even before they can finish, has made up his mind to convert it into a modern day “Faust”, complete with gaudy special effects and bad acting. Astaire grudgingly agrees and Charisse, who is one of the top ballerinas, is hired to star opposite him. Both of them are conscious of the other person’s reputation and are hence scared to work together with a fear of disappointing the other. Thus, to hide their true feelings, they start fighting from the moment they meet and it continues through the rehearsals. At one point, Astaire quits and Charisse is sent to apologize to him. During this, they learn that all this time they had been arguing for no apparent reason and have nothing but respect for each other. To solidify this friendship, they go for a late night buggy ride and a walk through the park. Then, without any spoken word, they both start dancing in the night. Their elegant movement doesn’t need any dialogue and is poetic enough, that it can be watched without any music. What we see are two supreme performers reveling in their peaceful surroundings. They are both doing what they love the most and nothing else could have brought them closer.

Astaire is great as usual and his initial ‘shoe-polish dance’ as well as the final sequence during the ‘girl hunt’ scene are fantastic. But the real star is Buchanan, who is electrifying as a director who trusts his own publicity. His sales pitch for the musical, to the financers, is one of the most hilarious scenes in movies. Finally, everything is resolved, the show is a hit and there is genuine gratitude and poignancy in the way the cast thanks Astaire in the end. Minnelli made several musicals in his career but none better, as he invites us all to come aboard his band wagon.