MovieChat Forums > The Band Wagon (1953) Discussion > The Band Wagon v Singing in the Rain

The Band Wagon v Singing in the Rain

posted 16 years ago by jamdonahoo
35 replies | jump to latest

Certainly two of the top musicals of all time as only MGM could do them. Which is better?

Dancing stars: Kelly or Astaire? I give this a draw, athletic style of Kelly or the grace of Astaire. Both had average voices. Gene was better looking.

Lady Dancers: Cyd v Debbie. Again stylistic differences. Cyd had a more balletic style while Debbie was more the hoofer style, full of energy. Cyd's legs and angelic face gives her a slight edge. Of course Cyd was in SITR too so again a draw.

Supporting Cast: Jack Buchanan and Nannette Fabray are great but so is Donald O'Connor. This one is a tie also.

Plot: Both light and frothy but the Bandwagon plot was straight out of an Andy Hardy movie. Gee, kids let's get together and do a bang up show. Actually parodied by Astaire at the party.

So far pretty even but the tiebreaker has to be the performance of Jean Hagen as Lina. IMO the best comedic actress job ever done.

A narrow win for SITR.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] petegatt 10 years ago

I pretty much agree with that

[–] smcarter1966 10 years ago

There is a box set released last week on Blu-ray called "Musicals - Four Film Collection" which does include "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Band Wagon".

That might start up this discussion all over again.

By the way, "The Band Wagon" is also available as a stand alone release.

Why do they say things are a dime a dozen
when a dozen eggs costs a $1.89.

[–] Trax-3 10 years ago

The Band Wagon is just touch duller and less inspired all around. It starts out well enough but than starts to lose steam and is only saved at the end by the Girl Hunt number. It's main failure as a musical though is the music - there is not a single hit, it's bland or outright embarrassing (like that hayride number).

I would say it's a better film than Cover Girl mentioned here, or Easter Parade for example even though those two have much better music. Minnelli's own Meet Me in St. Louis beats it easily though.

Singin' in the Rain is from another planet, a legitimate contender for the title "Best Movie Ever Made".

[–] mjkbk 10 years ago

Not a SINGLE HIT? "That's Entertainment" wasn't a hit? In 1990, ASCAP gave it an award as the most-performed feature film standard.

"Dancing in the Dark" was never a hit? "You and the Night and the Music", "Something to Remember You By"? All hits for Schwartz and Dietz, and standards to this day. Even "I Love Louisa" was a well-known novelty song.

"I Guess I'll have to Change My Plan" is a pop standard that was a hit in the 30s for Rudy Vallee. "By Myself" is a jazz standard that has been covered many, many times throughout the years.

"The Band Wagon" is not the least bit dull, certainly not to anyone who has ever participated in stage productions, especially musicals.

But that's the problem, when comparing this with "Singing in the Rain". FAR more people in the audience then and today have been familiar with the movies and their background than with the ways of Broadway.

I found BOTH films had inspired, side-splitting scenes that made inside fun of the film and stage worlds and their folk.

Both were scripted by the same duo, Comden & Green. But "The Band Wagon" was Oscar-nommed for its writing, story, and screenplay.

Embarrassing and bland? Hardly.

[–] Trax-3 10 years ago

It was better on second viewing, I think I wasn't feeling well the first time and it made me a bit too critical. I'm still not crazy about most of the music though. Or about what could be called an anti-intellectual slant to the story.

[–] JamesHitchcock 9 years ago

Leading Men- Personally I prefer Gene Kelly, but I appreciate that Astaire also had, and still has, many admirers.

Leading Ladies- Debbie Reynolds is the better actress. Cyd Charisse is the better dancer, but we also get to see her dance in "Singin' in the Rain".

Supporting characters. Donald O'Connor and Jean Hagen are brilliant. There is nobody comparable in "Band Wagon".

Plot. "Singin' in the Rain" has a great plot; it is one of the few "musical comedies" that actually works both as a musical and as a comedy. The plot of "Band Wagon" is banal by comparison and like the previous poster I was disturbed by the implication that because Cordova is an intellectual with an artistic vision he must be a pompous, pretentious poseur.

Music. Both films have some good songs ("That's Entertainment", "Good Morning") and some forgettable ones, but SITR must win out under this heading because of the title song.

Overall: A win for SITR

[–] snsurone 9 years ago

Apples and oranges!
They're BOTH great!

[–] Eightythreeyearoldguy 9 years ago

I'll be showing The Band Wagon along with Silk Stockings to my senior aged movie group tonight....

Old age isn't for sissies--Bette Davis

[–] necoleman 9 years ago

I am formerly known as HillieBoliday....Member since May 2006

What a great idea! I hope they all enjoyed such a treat. Wish I could've been there.

I just purchased a much needed new tv. It's a 55 in. smart tv.....and I am soooo loving being able to watch the old classics such as these on a relatively big screen.

Who in their right minds from 60+ in age, would want to spend ridiculous amounts of money to see the inferior crap they show at the theaters????

Save a little bit from your social security checks if you can; it took me a while....but I finally saved enough and added it to my tax return. Ask your children (if you have any and if they will) to chip in together to help you get one....wait until you can get a great deal...preferably right before or right after the holidays; and get you a big screen tv....and enjoy the classics!

I own an extensive dvd collection of classic movies that I've collected over the years; and I plan to invite my old friends over from time to time.....serve some good ole home cooking and have film festivals. They are so excited and so am I!!

"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"

[–] puirt-a-beul 9 years ago

Which is better? Honestly, I don't understand why this is even a question. Singin' in the Rain, no question.

I watched The Band Wagon this last week for the very first time, and I don't comprehend the rabid praise it gets. It was billed as "the most perfect movie musical ever made", but that's completely ungrounded hyperbole. It's cobbled-together, with a screen story (can't call it a plot) that has a palpable sense of being made up as it goes along and never finds cohesion; one-note characters whose set-ups are never explained or seen through to any culmination; a grab-bag score crowbarred into the story to no purpose, that about two-thirds of the way through gives up any pretence of relevance and just turns into a vaudeville; and a title that doesn't seem to have either meaning or resonance. It plays likes a movie assembled by committee, and although that could be said of most of the MGM musicals that weren't adaptations from Broadway (and, of course, SitR), this one seems to me one of the more incoherent I've seen.

I always enjoy seeing Nanette Fabray, and I personally far prefer Fred Astaire to Gene Kelly, both as a dancer and an actor, but for me that's about all it had going for it. Cyd Charisse is classy, but she's not an engaging actress, and as almost always she seems to be in a completely different movie tonally than the rest of the cast.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[–] spencerc2217 8 years ago

FYI Don Lockwood. Cover Girl is not an MGM picture but was released by Columbia.

IMO all this nitpicking between SITR and TBW is absurd. Both are peerless, fantastic films with the freshness and spontaneity of live performances after more than sixty years. Each an amazing achievement.

[–] marhefka 8 years ago

My vote is for The Band Wagon. One reason is BW has Jack Buchanan. It's easy to understand why he was a star in England. Another reason is the Central Park sequence between Fred and Cyd while dancing to 'Dancing in the Dark.' Most of all I guess I have a grudge against Gene Kelly for ruining Brigadoon.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6543) 8 years ago

I admire The Band Wagon more, but Singin' in the Rain is just plain more fun.