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The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, the play's director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of the '' Faust'' legend and brings in a '' prima ballerina'' who clashes with the star. Along with ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), it is regarded as one of the finest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, although it was a modest box-office success on first release. The songs were written by the team of composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz. Schwartz was a prolific Hollywood composer who teamed with numerous lyricists over the years, while Dietz, a studio publicist, generally collaborated with Schwartz. Some of the songs in the film had been created for the original 1931 Broadway musical by Schwartz and Dietz, also titled '' The Band Wagon,'' with a book by George S. Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Band Wagon (1953) Trailer 1
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, the play's director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of the ''Faust'' legend and brings in a ''prima ballerina'' who clashes with the star. Along with '' Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), it is regarded as one of the finest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, although it was a modest box-office success on first release. The songs were written by the team of composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz. Schwartz was a prolific Hollywood composer who teamed with numerous lyricists over the years, while Dietz, a studio publicist, generally collaborated with Schwartz. Some of the songs in the film had been created for the original 1931 Broadway musical by Schwartz and Dietz, also titled ''The Band Wagon,'' with a book by George S. Kaufman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate "production numbers". The musical film was a natural development of the stage musical after the emergence of sound film technology. Typically, the biggest difference between film and stage musicals is the use of lavish background scenery and locations that would be impractical in a theater. Musical films characteristically contain elements reminiscent of theater; performers often treat their song and dance numbers as if a live audience were watching. In a sense, the viewer becomes the diegetic audience, as the performer looks directly into the camera and performs to it. With the advent of sound in the late 1920s, musicals gained popularity with the public and are exemplified by the films of Busb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century that have stood the test of time in their life and legacy. Often referred to as "American Standards", the songs published during the Golden Age of this genre include those popular and enduring tunes from the 1920s to the 1950s that were created for Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musical film. Culture writer Martin Chilton defines the term "Great American Songbook" as follows: "Tunes of Broadway musical theatre, Hollywood movie musicals and Tin Pan Alley (the hub of songwriting that was the music publishers' row on New York's West 28th Street)". Chilton adds that these songs "became the core repertoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dancing In The Dark (Howard Dietz And Arthur Schwartz Song)
"Dancing in the Dark" is a popular American song, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz, that was introduced bJohn Barkerwith Tilly Losch dancing in the 1931 revue ''The Band Wagon''. The song was first recorded by Bing Crosby on August 19, 1931 with Studio Orchestra directed by Victor Young, staying on the pop charts for six weeks, peaking at #3, and helping to make it a lasting standard. The 1941 recording by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra earned Shaw one of his eight gold records at the height of the Big Band era of the 1930s and 1940s. It was subsequently featured in the classic 1953 MGM musical ''The Band Wagon'' and has since come to be considered part of the Great American Songbook. In the film it is orchestrally performed to a ballet dance by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse set in Central Park. The song is given a 'sensual and dramatic' orchestration by Conrad Salinger, choreographed by Michael Kidd. Other recordings *Al Bowlly as part of a medley on a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger (August 30, 1901, Brookline, Massachusetts – June 17, 1962, Pacific Palisades, California) was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with orchestrating nine productions on Broadway from 1931 to 1938, and over seventy-five motion pictures from 1931 to 1962. Film scholar Clive Hirschhorn considers him the finest orchestrator ever to work in the movies. Early in his career, film composer John Williams spent much time around Salinger. Hollywood career During his Broadway apprenticeship Salinger first came across Johnny Green, his future MGM musical director, when they were recording motion picture overtures in the early days of sound at New York to be shown before the main features began. Salinger first came out to Hollywood in the late 1930s to work for Alfred Newman (e.g. ''Born to Dance'' and ''Gunga Din'') and also collaborated with the famed Broadway orchestrator Rober ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
That's Entertainment! (song)
"That's Entertainment!" is a popular song with music written by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz. The song was published in 1952 and was written especially for the 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film ''The Band Wagon''. The song is performed in the film by Jack Buchanan supported by Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, and Oscar Levant. In 2004, the song finished at number 45 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. It was orchestrated for the film by Conrad Salinger under the musical direction of Adolph Deutsch.Fordin, Hugh (1996). ''MGM Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit,'' Da Capo Press, NY, p. 409. Since the movie, the song has become the signature tune for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and an anthem for Hollywood and theater in general, being used as an opening number in many shows. Alongside "Hooray for Hollywood," " There's No Business Like Show Business" and "Another Op'nin', Another Show", it is considered one of the American entertainme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, strongly influenced by Charlie Chaplin and Léonide Massine, was an innovator in what came to be known as the "integrated musical", in which dance movements are integral to the plot. He was probably best known for his athletic dance numbers in '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'', a 1954 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical. Film critic Stephanie Zacharek called the barn-raising sequence in ''Seven Brides'' "one of the most rousing dance numbers ever put on screen". He was the first choreographer to win five Tony Awards, and was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1996 for advancing dance in film. Early life and dance career Kidd was born Milton Greenwald, in New York City on the Lower East Side, the son of Abraham Greenwald, a barber, and his wife Lillian, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adele Astaire
Adele Astaire Douglass (born Adele Marie Austerlitz, later known as Lady Charles Cavendish; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville performer at the age of nine, Astaire built a successful performance career with her younger brother, Fred Astaire. The brother and sister act initially worked their way through vaudeville circuits, finally achieving a breakthrough with their first Broadway roles in 1917. Astaire became known for her talents as a skilled dancer and comedienne, starring in hit Broadway musicals such as '' Lady, Be Good!'' (1924), '' Funny Face'' (1927) and ''The Band Wagon'' (1931)''.'' The siblings took several of their more popular shows to Britain's West End during the 1920s, where they were soon international celebrities, meeting members of the British royal family and prominent figures from contemporary arts and literature circles. In 1932, after a 27-yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George S
George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States * George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States * George V, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1910-1936 * George VI, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1936-1952 * Prince George of Wales * George Papagheorghe also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgio Moroder * George Harrison, an English musician and singer-songwriter Places South Africa * George, Western Cape ** George Airport United States * George, Iowa * George, Missouri * George, Washington * George County, Mississippi * George Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force base located in California Characters * George (Peppa Pig), a 2-yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Band Wagon (musical)
''The Band Wagon'' is a musical revue with book by Walter Thomson and Howard Dietz, lyrics also by Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It first played on Broadway in 1931, running for 260 performances. It introduced the song " Dancing in the Dark" and inspired two films. Production The revue opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on June 3, 1931, and concluded on January 16, 1932, running a total of 260 performances. Produced by Max Gordon, staging and lighting were by Hassard Short, choreography by Albertina Rasch, and scenic design by Albert R. Johnson. The cast included Fred Astaire, Adele Astaire, Helen Broderick, Tilly Losch, and Frank Morgan. According to Steven Suskin, "very few people are around who saw ''The Band Wagon'', but they all seem to insist that it was the finest Broadway revue ever." According to Furia and Lasser, ''The Band Wagon'' is "arguably the greatest of the 'little' revues of the 1930s". Ken Bloom states that ''The Band Wagon'' "is consi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singin' In The Rain
''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charisse. It offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to " talkies". The film was only a modest hit when it was first released. O'Connor won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and Betty Comden and Adolph Green won the Writers Guild of America Award for their screenplay, while Jean Hagen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. However, it has since been accorded legendary status by contemporary critics, and is often regarded as the greatest musical film ever made and one of the greatest films ever made, as well as the greatest film made in the " Freed Unit" a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prima Ballerina
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers are at a high risk of injury due to the demanding technique of ballet. Training and technique Ballet dancers typically begin training at an early age if they desire to perform professionally and often take part in international competitions such as YAGP and Prix de Lausanne. At these events, scholarships are being granted to the most talented dancers, enabling them to continue their training at renowned ballet schools around the world, such as the John Kranko Schule in Germany and the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monaco. Pre-professional ballet dancers can audition to enroll at a vocational ballet school such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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