That's how William Powell's Emory Slade describes his reputation as a temperamental former star who becomes a Hollywood talent scout when 20th Century Fox plans a film version of the 1931 Broadway musical revue "The Band Wagon" (and which MGM later added a story and more of its songs to). Only a few of the Dietz and Schwartz songs are heard here before Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse danced in the dark, and the storyline here is much darker, too.
Powell plays an actor with many personal demons, very much unlike his most famous character of Nick Charles, and even darker than his Broadway mogul, Florenz Ziegfeld. Here, Powell is promoter, not producer, that role being given to the equally legendary Adolph Menjou, while Jean Hersholt (of the Oscar's Humanitarian Award) plays himself as the representative of the Motion Picture Aid Society determined to help the down on his luck but stubborn Powell.
As for Betsy Drake as the young ingénue chosen for the lead in the musical, she is certainly lovely, but lacking in superstar magnetism. She is a fine singer and dancer, but I can't believe anybody would buy her as the next Judy Garland or Betty Grable (Cary Grant, maybe, but he married her...) The musical numbers are cut down to two separate segment "auditions"-one live ("New Sun in the Sky"), the other a filmed screen-test that is shown at the Chinese Grauman's where Drake sings and dances the title song and a bit of "I Love Louisa".
As a musical, I recommend "The Band Wagon" far more than this, but this is a unique credit in Powell's career, one of his darker dramatic parts, and highly recommended for that. Mark Stevens seems out of place here as Drake's love interest, but there is an amusing cameo by future "Caged" matron Hope Emerson as Powell's gruff landlady.
Powell plays an actor with many personal demons, very much unlike his most famous character of Nick Charles, and even darker than his Broadway mogul, Florenz Ziegfeld. Here, Powell is promoter, not producer, that role being given to the equally legendary Adolph Menjou, while Jean Hersholt (of the Oscar's Humanitarian Award) plays himself as the representative of the Motion Picture Aid Society determined to help the down on his luck but stubborn Powell.
As for Betsy Drake as the young ingénue chosen for the lead in the musical, she is certainly lovely, but lacking in superstar magnetism. She is a fine singer and dancer, but I can't believe anybody would buy her as the next Judy Garland or Betty Grable (Cary Grant, maybe, but he married her...) The musical numbers are cut down to two separate segment "auditions"-one live ("New Sun in the Sky"), the other a filmed screen-test that is shown at the Chinese Grauman's where Drake sings and dances the title song and a bit of "I Love Louisa".
As a musical, I recommend "The Band Wagon" far more than this, but this is a unique credit in Powell's career, one of his darker dramatic parts, and highly recommended for that. Mark Stevens seems out of place here as Drake's love interest, but there is an amusing cameo by future "Caged" matron Hope Emerson as Powell's gruff landlady.