The Bandwagon-Happy Hollywood

‘The Bandwagon’ is a wonderfully happy movie with a top class cast. As well as Fred Astaire, it stars Nanette Fabray, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant and Jack Buchanan, all seasoned, proven perfomers and all ideally suited to blend expertly with the sizzling, brilliant dancing of the master, Astaire.

The music of ‘The Bandwagon’ is brilliant. The song “That’s Entertainment” has become a standard and the ballet sequence ‘Dancing in the Dark’ with Astaire and Cyd Charisse is part of cinema’s folklore. Another high spot is the “Shine on Your Shoes” number which Fred does with real life shoe shine Leroy Daniels.

The movie is given an added edge by the “near to the knuckle” casting. For instance the main character, Tony Hunter, is an aging dancer making a comeback- uncannily similar to …well…Fred Astaire himself. The film’s song writing couple, Lester and Lily Marion were based on the actual songwriters of the movie – Comden and Green. Cyd Charisse’s character is based on the French ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire and Jack Buchanan’s Jeffrey Cordova character is an amalgam of real life movie personalities, Orson Welles, José Ferrer and George S. Kaufman.

‘The Bandwagon’ is a rare delight, a musical masterpiece- I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Read more at Hollywood's Golden Age

Eleanor Powell, The World's Greatest Tap Dancer

Eleanor Powell was an American film actress and a graceful and nimble-footed dancer who became famous during the 1930's and 1940's,for her creative, quick-fire, solo tap dancing routines and became known as the ”Queen of Tap Dancing”.

She  featured in several Broadway revues, and her first movie appearance was in George White's 'Scandals of 1935'.  When she appeared in 'Broadway Melody of 1936', Eleanor began her long association with MGM musicals, where her co-stars ranged from Nelson Eddy to Fred Astaire to Jimmy Stewart to Burns and Allen.  In 'Lady Be Good' in 1941, she wore top hat and short tails to dance "Fascinating Rhythm” for director Busby Berkeley. The number opened on a close up of her tapping feet and ended spectacularly with her being thrown head over heels time and again down a corridor of male dancers.


 In 1943 she married actor Glen Ford and retired from acting. On her divorce from Ford in 1959 she began a new, and successful nightclub career.  Her career continued into the early 1960's when she made several guest appearances on television, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace.


Eleanor Powell died of cancer at the age of 69 in February, 1982, and she was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.


Click for full biography and filmography

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Fred Astaire could dance like no one else. Rudolph Nureyev rated him the greatest dancer of the twentieth century, and he is generally acknowledged to have been the most influential dancer in the history of filmed and televised musicals, with only Gene Kelly coming anywhere close to his stylish perfection. His films with Ginger Rogers transformed the movie musical forever, and in them he proved that he wasn't just a dancer -- he was a talented actor and comedian too.
During the 1930's he and Ginger Rogers became the silver screen's most popular dancing duo.
They made a total of nine musicals together at RKO between 1933 and 1939, and though Ginger made several other comedies and solo musicals between her films with Fred, Astaire made only one film without Rogers -- Damsel in Distress (1937) with Joan Fontaine. It was the only film of his career to lose money at the box-office.
The Astaire-Rogers series are among the top films of the 1930s. They include The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and Carefree (1938). Six out of the nine musicals he created became the biggest moneymakers for RKO; all of the films brought a certain prestige and artistry that all studios at the time were looking for.

More Fred Astaire here and here