Jump on "The Band Wagon"! Trivia Quiz

Answer: An aging Hollywood actor and dancer whose star has dimmed and is now considered washed up

Yup, everyone is sure that Tony's time has come and gone, including Tony himself. His top hat and cane won't even sell for 50 cents at an auction. When he gets off a train in New York City, the big reception is for fellow passenger Ava Gardner (in a cameo appearance), while Tony gets little notice. Later at the station he's met by the Tony Hunter Fan Club.

They're a very noisy and enthusiastic bunch, but they're only two of Tony's close personal friends. The Tony Hunter character was based partly on Astaire himself.

While Astaire wasn't by any means a has-been, he was getting older and had his own self-doubts. In another of the movie's references to reality, the real Fred Astaire was concerned about Cyd Charisse's height. Gene Kelly, who was not particularly tall himself, had the same worry when working with Charisse.

Answer: A shoeshine man

Well, the song is called "A Shine on Your Shoes" after all! The shoeshiner who gets to dance with Fred Astaire is the genuine article. His name was Leroy Daniels, and he really sang and danced as he worked. A couple of years previously, the Los Angeles bootblack had been the inspiration for the Red Foley hit song "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy." Daniels made a handful of other appearances on film throughout his life. Of course for the dance routine Astaire also has the assistance of all of the colorful machines and other interesting items found in the arcade.

It's a very fun and inventive number.

Answer: Selling his soul to the devil! Faust! A modern-day Faust!

Jeffrey Cordova is quite a character. He's never done a musical, but after all, "there is no difference between the magic rhythms of Bill Shakespeare's immortal verse, and the magic rhythms of Bill Robinson's immortal feet." When describing the story to him, Lily Marton makes the mistake of using the words "sort of sold his soul to the devil." This gives Cordova ideas, and soon their light musical vehicle for Tony Hunter turns into fire and brimstone. Jeffrey Cordova is played by British actor Jack Buchanan.

He is best remembered for his role in this movie, but he was very popular for years on the British stage. In fact as a musical comedy leading man Jack Buchanan was known as "the British Fred Astaire." He also made a number of other films, mostly in the 1930s and mostly in England. During the production of "The Band Wagon," Buchanan was having serious dental problems and was in a great deal of pain.

Answer: Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz

Schwartz and Dietz wrote the words and music for the 1931 Broadway revue called "The Band Wagon." The book was by George S. Kaufman and the cast featured Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. It was the last show Fred and Adele Astaire did together before Adele married and retired from the stage.

The stage musical introduced the standard "Dancing in the Dark." Many of the other songs used in the movie are from different Schwartz and Dietz shows of the same period: "By Myself" from "Between the Devil," "A Shine on Your Shoes" from "Flying Colors," "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" from "The Little Show." "That's Entertainment!" was written specifically for the film.

The movie was conceived as a way of showcasing the music of Schwartz and Dietz, just as the previous year's "Singin' in the Rain" was an excuse to use Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown's old songs.

Answer: Ballerina Gabrielle Gerard, currently one of the hottest things in town

Cordova works his magic and convinces Gabrielle Gerard's stubborn choreographer boyfriend to allow her to appear in a Broadway musical. He also puts on his own one-man show for the benefit of potential backers, and in no time he has the money and everything's set. Ballerina Gabrielle is of course played by Cyd Charisse, who had recently made a terrific impression dancing with Gene Kelly in "Broadway Rhythm Ballet" in "Singin' in the Rain." Gabrielle Gerard was her first big starring role in a musical. Charisse originally had an additional number called "Two-Faced Woman," but it ended up on the cutting room floor.

The song was soon recycled for the Joan Crawford movie "Torch Song," in which Crawford lip-synced to India Adams's recording created for "The Band Wagon." Cyd Charisse was a brilliant dancer but she wasn't much of a singer, so her voice was usually dubbed.

The "Two-Faced Woman" routine as performed by Charisse still exists and can be found among the special features on the film's DVD.

Answer: Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray

Betty Comden and Adolph Green were the movie's actual writers, and they patterned the Lester and Lily Marton characters after themselves. Comden and Green also used some of their own Broadway experiences in writing the screenplay. The character played by Oscar Levant is very Oscar Levant-ish as well.

He often appeared in movies as acerbic, neurotic types based on his own personality. While filming "The Band Wagon" he was recovering from a heart attack, which did nothing to improve his usual hypochondria. Nanette Fabray was a Broadway musical star who had success in the 1940s in shows such as "Love Life" and "High Button Shoes."

Answer: Central Park

Or in any case a very artificial-looking soundstage representing Central Park. Who cares, though? A musical like this is fantasy, not reality. Tony and Gabrielle visit Central Park because Gabrielle claims she's not suitably attired for a swanky place like the El Morocco.

In fact, the simple white dress she's wearing cost MGM about $1,000. Vincente Minnelli found what he thought was the perfect dress being worn by the film's costume designer, which she had bought for only $25. Unfortunately it was no longer being produced, and the studio costume department spent $1,000 copying it. "Dancing in the Dark," with its beauty and gracefulness, is one of Astaire's most widely-admired romantic dances. Tony and Gabrielle have clearly fallen in love.

Answer: You Took Advantage of Me

Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanan do a wonderful soft-shoe to "I'll Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," Nanette Fabray performs the hillbilly number "Louisiana Hayride," and Cyd Charisse also dances to "New Sun in the Sky." The "Triplets" number? Hopefully you like and can appreciate it, because it was a nightmare to film. Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, and Nanette Fabray had their legs strapped back and danced on their knees to get the proper effect.

It was very difficult for the performers to keep their balance, and filming the routine was a long, painful process requiring many takes. Nanette Fabray had also recently injured her leg when shooting the "Louisiana Hayride" number.

She had to rely on painkillers to get through "Triplets."

Answer: A rag, a bone, and a hank of hair

Cyd Charisse has two roles: an innocent-seeming blonde whose encounter with Astaire sets the story in motion, and a brunette femme fatale he gets mixed up with along the way. The ballet is a spoof of Mickey Spillane novels and film noir conventions. It probably owes something to the "Broadway Melody Ballet" finale of "Singin' in the Rain," but it's an awful lot more entertaining as far as I'm concerned. Choreographer Michael Kidd was apparently worried about showing Astaire his ideas for the number, as the character and dancing style don't exactly display the kind of elegance one usually associates with Fred Astaire.

But as it turned out, Astaire loved it. The clues asked about in the question were inspired by an 1897 Rudyard Kipling poem called "The Vampire."

Answer: Happily ever after

The show's a smash, and Tony's on top of the world again. Gabrielle loves him, so boy gets girl and all ends happily ever after. Cue closing song. That's entertainment! Thanks for playing!