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The Band Wagon

FILM · 1953 · USA

The Band Wagon

Directed by
Vincente Minnelli
Runtime
112 min
Studio
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

47 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

A Broadway artiste turns a faded film star's comeback vehicle into an artsy flop.

  • The Band Wagon — production image

47 Interesting Facts About The Band Wagon

Interesting Facts (10)

  1. #001

    In the DVD bonus features, Nanette Fabray said that working with Oscar Levant was difficult. Whenever something went wrong or he made a mistake, he blamed those around him, whether stagehands, other actors, lighting technicians or whoever was available. She said she usually bore the brunt of it because she was closest to him. After one failed approach he blamed her again; she lost her temper and scolded him with language unbecoming of a lady, and everyone on the film set applauded. After that, working with him became much easier.

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  2. #002

    Choreographer Michael Kidd was afraid to show Fred Astaire his ideas for the "Girl Hunt" ballet because they were the exact opposite of Astaire's usual on-screen persona: an elegant man in a top hat, white tie and tails. Astaire actually loved all of Kidd's ideas and even suggested one of his own.

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  3. #003

    Betty Comden and Adolph Green made the characters played by Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant a married couple because, although the characters were based on Comden and Green, who were not married to each other, they thought audiences would not accept a male/female writing team who were not married to each other.

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  4. #004

    Julie Newmar appears in the fashion show near the beginning of the "Girl Hunt" number, just after Fred Astaire enters through the green door. She is the third of the three models, the redhead.

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  5. #005

    The title is taken from the 1931 original Broadway musical by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, which starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele Astaire. Only the title and some songs were borrowed for this film, and the stories are completely different. Astaire's only opportunity to recreate a role he had created on Broadway was Broadway's "Gay Divorce," which became the film The Gay Divorcee (1934).

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  6. #006

    Vincente Minnelli stated in his memoirs that the character Jeffrey Cordova was based on "flamboyant types" such as Orson Welles and George S. Kaufman. He also stated that the narration of the "Girl Hunt" number was inspired by the work of Mickey Spillane.

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  7. #007

    During production, Jack Buchanan had to undergo extensive dental treatment, including three root canals, and was in pain for much of the filming.

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  8. #008

    At the beginning of the film, the auctioneer trying to sell Tony Hunter's top hat and cane declares that it is the same hat and cane Hunter used in the film "Swinging Down to Panama." This is a joking reference to Flying Down to Rio (1933), Fred Astaire's first film with Ginger Rogers.

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  9. #009

    The Band Wagon appears on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

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  10. #010

    For the "Triplets" number, an identical tuft of synthetic hair was attached to the front of each performer's hood, and each tuft was dyed a single color.

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Production Story (6)

  1. #011

    Most of the songs in the film are not original. Its most famous number came about when producer Arthur Freed asked Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for something similar to Irving Berlin's "There's No Business Like Show Business." The pair left the room and returned 45 minutes later with "That's Entertainment."

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  2. #012

    In his memoirs, Vincente Minnelli stated that the character Jeffrey Cordova was inspired by "flamboyant types" such as Orson Welles and George S. Kaufman. He also said the narration of the film's "Girl Hunt" segment drew inspiration from Mickey Spillane's works.

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  3. #013

    The film was successful at the box office, but according to studio records its production cost was so high that it lost about $1.2 million (equivalent to $11.67 million in 2021).

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  4. #014

    The film's original title was considered as "I Love Louisa," inspired by one of its songs. It was later settled on The Band Wagon; however, 20th Century-Fox owned the rights to that name because of its film Dancing in the Dark (1949). MGM is said to have paid $10,000 for those three words.

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  5. #015

    Although the original production in New Haven was shown during rehearsals and before the curtain, the actual scenes were not depicted. Instead, bleak black-and-white drawings and mournful music implied that the show was not well received.

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  6. #016

    Jerry Lewis sang the song 'By Myself' in the 1957 film The Delicate Delinquent. But the number found its real fame with Judy Garland's rendition in the 1963 film I Could Go on Singing, becoming a signature song identified with her. The song's melancholy tone struck a perfect harmony with the emotional intensity of the late period of Garland's career.

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Behind the Scenes (12)

  1. #017

    During "Louisiana Hayride," Nanette Fabray injured her leg when she broke the top of the support box she was standing on. She said that during the later filming of "Triplets" it was so painful to stand on her knees that she had to take a large number of painkillers.

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  2. #018

    For the gigantic production that went wrong during rehearsals in Boston, most of the scenery, sets and costumes came from the films Lovely to Look At (1952), Ziegfeld Follies (1945) and An American in Paris (1951).

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  3. #019

    The film reflects a real situation: Fred Astaire was always aware of the height difference between himself and his dance partners, and none of them was as tall as Cyd Charisse. In the Girl Hunt Ballet, while Charisse wore medium-height heels, the hat Astaire wore cleverly concealed the height difference.

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  4. #020

    During the Louisiana Hayride scene, Nanette Fabray cut her leg when she broke the lid of the set crate she was standing on. Later, during the filming of Triplets, standing on her knees was so painful that she had to take a large number of painkillers.

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  5. #021

    The white dress with the full skirt that Cyd Charisse wears in Dancing In The Dark was in fact copied from a dress belonging to the film's costume designer, Mary Ann Nyberg. Director Vincente Minnelli tried to buy a similar one ready-made, but no store had exactly that model. In the end the dress was sewn from scratch for about $1,000.

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  6. #022

    Most of the sets, props and costumes used in the big production number that went wrong at the Boston rehearsal were taken from the films Lovely to Look At (1952), Ziegfeld Follies (1945) and An American in Paris (1951).

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  7. #023

    The glass bathtub seen in the Girl Hunt ballet had been made for the film The Women (1939) and used by Joan Crawford.

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  8. #024

    The visual joke in the Triplets number was achieved by placing the performers on their knees and fitting them with prosthetic baby feet of different lengths, so that Astaire, Fabray and Buchanan appeared to be the same height. Although cushions were placed under their knees, it is clearly visible that the baby feet were controlled by puppeteers.

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  9. #025

    India Adams provided the singing voice for Cyd Charisse in the scenes where she sings.

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  10. #026

    When the musical within the film, The Band Wagon, comes to Broadway, the theater sign reads ALCOTT THEATRE – THE BANDWAGON. When the overture begins for that night's opening, however, a shot shows the theater program reading STRATTON THEATRE.

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  11. #027

    In the fashion show section of the Girl Hunt ballet, the scene in which Astaire enters and exits between concentric arches lit with purple light was in fact reused from the finale fashion-show ballet in the film Lovely to Look At (1952), where they had been lit with red light. In this scene, however, there is a second set of arches on the left.

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  12. #028

    Fred and Cyd rehearsed in different rooms in the rehearsal hall; he was doing jazz, while Cyd was doing ballet.

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Characters & Cast (6)

  1. #029

    Leroy Daniels, the man who dances with Astaire in the "Shine On Your Shoes" number, was a master comedian and dancer who came up through the Chitlin' Circuit. He worked as a real shoeshine man in downtown Los Angeles. He partly inspired the song "Chattanooga Shoe-Shine Boy," was a friend of Redd Foxx, made many comedy albums in the 1960s and appeared as a guest actor on "Sanford & Son."

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  2. #030

    Ginger Rogers met Fred Astaire in New York in the early 1930s and they dated briefly. When she saw Astaire in the original Broadway production of this show, she was captivated by his dance with Tilly Losch. She later wrote, "If I had known that within a few months I would be Fred's partner, I would have watched his every move and pause more carefully."

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  3. #031

    It is the first pairing of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse; the second was the 1957 production "Silk Stockings."

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  4. #032

    Early in the film, Ava Gardner appears as herself getting off the train.

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  5. #033

    It is Patsy Bangs's last film.

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  6. #034

    It is Cecile Rogers's first film.

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Easter Eggs & References (1)

  1. #035

    During the shoe-shine/arcade number, the same extras keep appearing in the background even though they are supposedly walking; some of them pass by six times.

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Deeper Meaning (7)

  1. #036

    After Les and Lilly's fight in the back alley, Les heads to a bar across the street. In the background, a poster for the musical 'Every Night At Seven' from the film Royal Wedding (1951), starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, catches the eye. This small detail is one of the film's playful nods to its own studio history.

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  2. #037

    The 'You and the Night and the Music' scene, in which Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse practically wrestle with exploding flames, is a subtle joke by director Vincente Minnelli at his own expense. Minnelli pokes fun at his own extravagant style by referencing the overproduced ballet sequence in his earlier film The Pirate (1948). This self-criticism is a delightful touch that deepens the film's comic resonance.

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  3. #038

    In the 'The Girl Hunt Ballet' segment, Astaire's voiceover says, 'Nothing was left of the man... except a rag, a bone and a hank of hair.' These words are a direct quotation from Rudyard Kipling's poem 'The Vampire.' This moment, adorned with a literary reference, adds an intellectual layer to the film noir parody.

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  4. #039

    At the beginning of the film, the auctioneer, trying to sell Tony Hunter's top hat and cane, says they were used in a film called 'Swinging Down to Panama.' This is an obvious inside joke referencing Flying Down to Rio (1933), Fred Astaire's first film with Ginger Rogers. This detail, which brings a smile to the audience, is a loving wink at Astaire's career.

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  5. #040

    Throughout the film, especially in the 'Girl Hunt' ballet, on theater marquees or posters, the words 'The Proud Land' frequently appear. This is the name of the fictional novel from Vincente Minnelli's previous year's film The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). This playful reference by Minnelli to his own filmography is a delightful surprise for attentive viewers.

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  6. #041

    Oscar Levant's exit shouting, 'I'm going to Tahiti. To paint!' is a reference to the Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin, who did exactly that.

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  7. #042

    In the 'Girl Hunt' sequence, Fred Astaire fights gangsters in a nightclub wearing a white suit, blue shirt and a white fedora with a black band. Michael Jackson paid tribute to Astaire in the 'Smooth Criminal' music video by using the same costume and setting.

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Career & Awards (4)

  1. #043

    The characters reflect real life. Fred Astaire, like Tony, had considered retirement. Lily and Lester are based on the screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Jeffrey is inspired by José Ferrer, who at the time was producing four Broadway shows and starring in a fifth. He also has similarities to Orson Welles, who in the 1940s, despite having no musical experience, tried to direct a musical version of Around the World in 80 Days with songs by Cole Porter. Welles's show also had effects and sets too elaborate to fit in a theater.

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  2. #044

    Three other Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz songs, which can be heard on the Rhino soundtrack CD, were cut from the film: "Sweet Music," sung by Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant; "You Have Everything," danced by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse; and "Got a Bran' New Suit," performed by Astaire and Nanette Fabray (with Oscar Levant on piano).

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  3. #045

    The film was selected for the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1995.

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  4. #046

    "Two-Faced Woman," an Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz number featuring Cyd Charisse (with Oscar Levant on piano), was cut from the film. Charisse's song (dubbed by India Adams) and dance, along with rehearsal footage, appear on Warner Home Video's DVD. Adams's and Levant's voices can be found on Rhino's soundtrack CD. Later that same year, in Torch Song (1953), India Adams's prerecording was lip-synced by Joan Crawford, who performed her own version in blackface. That's Entertainment! III (1994) uses a split screen to match the Charisse and Crawford routines.

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Life & Family (1)

  1. #047

    Cyd Charisse's character leaving her choreographer boyfriend for Fred Astaire's character reflects Charisse's own life. In 1947 she divorced her dance-teacher husband and a year later married Tony Martin.

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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