Some Levity: The Band Wagon (1953)

 It's Tuesday: that means it's T.A.G. day.

 Let me attempt to lighten our mood with some doodles I whittled while watching TCM (with the twin inducements of family coming to stay and the Summer Olympics, we finally broke down and signed up for cable again).

My Grannie and I sat down to watch the old Fred Astaire/Cyd Charisse musical, "The Band Wagon." Lots of laughs and luscious technicolor!

But with Vincente Minelli directing, you'd expect a little more...Freddy's great, and Cyd's megawatt beauty is undeniable--but she's not much of an emotional presence. Worse still, Fred's got no chemistry with her--he was getting to that age where he looks more like Cyd's dad than her "lover" (a situation that descends to pedophiliac levels for Fred in "Daddy Longlegs").

On the plus side, there's Oscar Levant (tho' not enuff of him), and an array of period faces from the theatrical troupe. Also the disturbing "Triplets" number where Fred, ham-bone Jack Buchanan and Nannette Fabray do a dance on their knees dressed as infants (see right, bottom of page).  Strange and cool!