Second Chorus

After Fred Astaire finished his RKO contract in 1939 with The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, he freelanced for the rest of his career. His first film under the Paramount banner was Second Chorus which had him co-starring with marrieds to be Paulette Goddard and Burgess Meredith and big bandleader Artie Shaw. There seems to be a consensus among the reviewers that this was Astaire's worst musical film and I'm not going to dispute that.

Of course second rate Fred Astaire is better than most and he does have some nice dance numbers, but even they're not up to his usual creative genius. I think Astaire realized he was in a turkey and walked through it to collect his paycheck and move on to something better.

Poor Paulette Goddard however. She was just beginning her career and she had gotten good notices for Modern Times and The Women. She had been in stage choruses before so it wasn't like she didn't have any musical training. The following year she was in another musical disaster, the independent United Artist film Pot O' Gold with Jimmy Stewart. That was with another bandleader, Horace Heidt. Something about Paulette and bandleaders. Anyway she got a long term Paramount contract for the Forties and much better parts including three DeMille films.

As an actor, Artie Shaw was a great clarinetist and bandleader. Of course he joins other great contemporary thespians like Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman all who made Hollywood films at the time. His band has a few great numbers though I would have liked to have seen Shaw reprise his all time classic instrumental hit, Begin the Beguine.

The film starts off kind of dumb to begin with. We're asked to believe that the 41 year old Fred Astaire and his pal Burgess Meredith are a pair of perennial college students who keep flunking courses to stay in college so they can advertise their band as a college orchestra. Even Jack Oakie didn't stay in college forever.

After horror of horrors Meredith graduates they have to start looking for work and they keep trying to get a break with Artie Shaw. Of course it all works out in the end, but for those interested in seeing the film, I shan't say how.

Charles Butterworth is on hand to play another of his droll eccentrics and he gets a few laughs. But unless you like Fred Astaire and/or Artie Shaw you might well skip Second Chorus.

In this 1940 film, Fred Astaire (Danny) plays a 7th year college student (he was only 41 at the time), who keeps flunking courses so he can stay on in town and play trumpet in a very successful dance band. His roommate and fellow bandmate is played by (Hank)Burgess Meredith.

Fred & Burgess are vying for the affections of the lovely Paulette Goddard (Ellen), who meets Fred at a dance, and later takes a job as his booking agent and secretary.

Ellen is hired away by Artie Shaw, and the remainder of the movie takes place in New York. Danny & Hank have both followed Ellen to New York, and are trying to get on with Artie Shaw's band. A series of mishaps and problems follows, as both men try to win Ellen and a job with the band, while knocking each other out of Ellen's affections.

Charles Butterworth plays the unfortunate Mr. Chisholm, who is the butt of many of the jokes and mishaps.

Not very original, and on the DVD I saw, pretty muddy, but still it's Fred Astaire, and there is one nice dance number featuring Fred as a band conductor who just busts out dancing. There are also some nice big band numbers, and Paulette Goddard makes a nice foil for Astaire.

Worth seeing, if you are a Fred Astaire fan or just love big bands and Artie Shaw.

Attention all musicians (it doesn't matter if you're any good or not), you will LOVE this movie. Everyone else, I'm afraid you may not catch the full effect. Browsing through these reviews, I see a lot of negative posts from people who were expecting Astaire's usual powerhouse dancing numbers. It's a shame that these reviewers missed the musical subtlety of the performance--a slightly different but equally powerful direction for Fred.

For example, there's one number where Astaire dances a fabulous romp while conducting a band. Priceless! Anyone who's played in a band (even if it's your high school marching band) should get a thrill out of this routine. The beauty is that most conductors are stereotypically the most lifeless, brooding, nose-in-the-score dead weights you've ever seen. And to see Astaire conducting the band with pirouettes, arabesques and fancy footwork is just classic.

Another musical inside joke happens early on when a trumpet solo is sabotaged by a rival trumpeter. The rival scribbles out the proper notes and pencils in the most horrifically atonal arrangement you've ever seen or heard. Again, musicians will recognize (and "hear") what is about to happen just by looking at the butchered score. The hilarious payoff comes at the actual performance. It's a fear all musicians have when blindly sight reading a sheet of music. Once again, CLASSIC!

Then there's "poor Mr. Chisholm" and his lazy mandolin. Anyone who's ever played in a band knows about the hanger-on who's not very good at his instrument, but for whatever reasons the band leader doesn't boot him out into the street. (Btw, if you don't know the guy I'm talking about, chances are IT'S YOU.)

All in all, this was a fantastic, hilarious & inspiring experience for me, and I'm sure anyone who has dabbled on an instrument may feel the same. It has certainly motivated me to pick up my old trumpet and squeak out a few notes (much to the despair of my upstairs neighbour, I'm sure).

Musicians, don't miss this. Other great movies for musicians: Five Pennies (1959), Swing Girls (2004), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), and of course the mack daddy of them all, This is Spinal Tap (1984).

This is an OK Fred Astaire movie. A couple of good dance sequences - one with Paulette Goddard, who is not impressive on the floor, and one where he's tap-dancing while conducting Artie Shaw's orchestra. The plot is dismal, Burgess Meredith as comic relief is faintly amusing at best, though in his defense the script gave him very little to work with.

Fans of swing will want to see "Second Chorus", though, for the musical sequences. In particular, a five-minute fantasia that Shaw and the band (plus a string section) play. This piece has been scored and has been recorded several times under the title of Artie Shaw's Clarinet Concerto; but no other clarinetist, popular or classical, has brought the same excitement to the piece that Shaw did. It's worth renting for that sequence alone.

It's a real shame that the director couldn't work out a sequence in which Astaire dances to Shaw's clarinet - playing, say, "Begin the Beguine", or "Frenesi", or "Traffic Jam", or any other his many other hits. A real shame indeed.

Second Chorus has two good scenes; the one where Fred and Paulette take the floor for some good old fashioned dancing at the end of the I'll Dig It number; and the one where Fred conducts the band and taps at the same time.

Plotwise it is wafer-thin. Astaire and Burgess Meredith play rather over-aged students (Fred Astaire a 'young man'??) who play in a band called the Perennials, a college band who start to take all the bookings from more established outfits like Artie Shaw's, thanks to their enterprising manager Goddard. Naturally both are competitive and want both to be in Shaw's band and get off with Goddard.

Yawn. Artie Shaw and his band appear and play great music, although he was no actor - you'd think all those dumb movie star brides would have taught him some tricks of the trade ... Goddard doesn't look the part and her role doesn't seem right for her. Charles Butterworth also appears as a lousy mandolin player who finances a big concert for the band.

Fairly enjoyable despite the shortcomings but no great shakes when up against Fred's best work with Ginger.