The Bandwagon
A Hollywood dancer whose career is on a downward trajectory (a sprightly Fred Astaire was 53 at the time) joins forces with a temperamental stage producer and a standoffish prima ballerina (Cyd Charisse) to stage a Broadway musical. Despite the huge egos and bluster backstage, the film becomes a smash hit.
MGM and Vincente Minnelli joined forces to produce a sophisticated musical full of in-jokes, energy and verve. Although Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse's characters are pitted against each other for comic effect - she thinks he's too old and he says she's too tall - the pair achieve terrific chemistry in dance numbers including Dancing In the Dark and the sizzling Girl Hunt Ballet sequence.
