In yesterday’s post – my impressions of the French film “The Marching Band” (now in theaters) – I made some complimentary observations about actor Benjamin Lavernhe’s baton technique. His has to be one of the more convincing portrayals of a conductor on the podium. One of the worst that springs immediately to mind, because I rewatched it only fairly recently, is Rex Harrison’s in the Preston Sturges’ ”Unfaithfully Yours,” who to me seems stiff and metronomic. Any of you movie-loving classical music aficionados care to weigh in with your nominations for most passable or cringeworthy conducting on film?
