This was introduced as the 'rarely seen' Dancing in the Dark when it showed on the Turner Classic Movie channel - and after seeing the first half I knew the reason why.
William Powell's character went from a totally self-absorbed PITA to a lovable, caring personality in a blink with little of import to cause that change. Mark Stevens, while a handsome man, is just a cardboard figure; but the absolute worst was Betsy Drake. There is not a single spark of life in her and it is totally unbelievable that any fellow actor could believe she would project on the screen and want to cast her as any part, let alone a lead. Whenever she speaks energy just drains off the screen and I gave up the movie just after the audition scene.
Of course the songs are wonderful and I always wondered why the real Bandwagon only had truncated versions of such great songs. Try thinking of Betsy Drake singing on half the screen and Cyd Charisse on the other. The comparison is so one-sided that Betsy Drake might even be some strange unknown gender - human but with no gender-based allure.
William Powell's character went from a totally self-absorbed PITA to a lovable, caring personality in a blink with little of import to cause that change. Mark Stevens, while a handsome man, is just a cardboard figure; but the absolute worst was Betsy Drake. There is not a single spark of life in her and it is totally unbelievable that any fellow actor could believe she would project on the screen and want to cast her as any part, let alone a lead. Whenever she speaks energy just drains off the screen and I gave up the movie just after the audition scene.
Of course the songs are wonderful and I always wondered why the real Bandwagon only had truncated versions of such great songs. Try thinking of Betsy Drake singing on half the screen and Cyd Charisse on the other. The comparison is so one-sided that Betsy Drake might even be some strange unknown gender - human but with no gender-based allure.