PHOTOBOOTHS IN MOVIES & TV

The Band Wagon

Vincente Minnelli (U.S., 1953, 111 min.)

Song-and-dance man Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire), whose classy style of work is no longer au courant on Broadway, travels to New York City to take stock of his life and career.

At the train station, Tony meets some friends who invite him to dinner with a director who wants to work with him. On the way there, Tony steps into an arcade where he buys a hot dog, tries out some games, and sings a song, "A Shine on Your Shoes." When he enters the arcade, we see the Photomatic booth, with signs announcing "25¢ - Take Your Own Photo - Send Your Photo Home to Mother."

As he sings the song, he scares a woman out of a photobooth and enters it himself, sitting down as the flash goes off. He takes the instantaneously ready photo - hey, it's a musical - and hands it to the man behind the counter at a neighboring test of skill booth.

Contributed by Brian