Back to Golden Days

This week on «Film Friday» I am honoring Cyd Charisse's 95th birthday, which was on Wednesday, by telling you a little bit about one of her best-known works. This is also widely regarded as one of the greatest musicals of all time. Since I was unable to write this article on time, this week's «Film Friday» comes on a Sunday. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, The Band Wagon (1953) tells the story of stage and screen star Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire), a veteran of musical comedy, who is concerned that his career might be in decline. His good friends Lester and Lily Marton (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray) have written a stage show that they believe is perfect for his comeback. Tony signs up, despite misgivings after the pretentious director, Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan), changes the light comedy into a dark reinterpretation of the Faust legend, with himself as the Devil and Tony as the Faust character. Tony also feels intimidated by the youth, beauty, and classical background of h...

This week on «Film Friday,» I'm celebrating Peter Lawford's 93th birthday, which was on Wednesday, by telling you a little bit about one of my favourite films of his. Directed by Charles Walters, Good News (1947) open in 1927 as the pretentious Pat McLellan (Patricia Marshall) arrives at Tait College to begin her studies. Her arrival causes quite a stir on campus and she wins the immediate adoration of all the male students, including Tommy Marlowe (Peter Lawford), the captain of the school's football team. Instantly smitten, Tommy tries to win her heart, but Pat deliberately resists his advances, pursuing instead Peter Van Dyne III (Robert Strickland) simply because he comes from a wealthy family. Undeterred, Tommy resolves to learn French to be able to converse with Pat in her preferred language. In order to achieve his goal, he enlists the help of fellow student and part-time school librarian Connie Lane (June Allyson), who despises Pat and is secretly in love with Tom...