Second Fiddle

Darryl F. Zanuck's number one star at 20th Century Fox Tyrone Power had to yield first billing in Second Fiddle to Sonia Henie, a very different kind of star than Zanuck was used to dealing with.

Sonia Henie as movie star could probably best be compared to Esther Williams. Both were female sports stars in their chosen area. Henie's prestige was backed up by the fact that she had taken home the gold in three Olympics in figure skating before going to Hollywood. Esther unfortunately never got to compete in the canceled Olympics of 1940. As stars in their fields they could command big salaries and unlike other stars could make a bundle marketing themselves professionally. Sonia made plenty of money off the Ice Capades, she didn't need to be a film star and Zanuck well knew it.

With that kind of leverage, you'd better make sure you give her the right material and plenty of support. Henie was not an actress, she never claimed she was. Yet Zanuck found stories suitable for her.

Case in point is Second Fiddle, 20th Century Fox's satire on the search for Scarlett O'Hara. Woman of the North is a blockbuster best seller like Gone With The Wind and the studio that bought the rights decides a fresh face is needed. A nationwide talent search is on and Sonia Henie, a fresh faced school teacher from Minnesota, has her picture sent in by her oaf of a boyfriend, Lyle Talbot.

The studio sends young publicity man Tyrone Power out to the frozen north of the continental USA to fetch Sonia back to Hollywood. Going along for the ride is her aunt, Edna May Oliver.

Sonia gets the usual star buildup, but she can't quite understand things in Tinseltown as she's fresh off the farm. Case in point, the publicity inspired romance between her and Rudy Vallee. That gem of an idea will bite its creator Mr. Power right in the hindquarters. It also doesn't sit well with Vallee's main squeeze, Mary Healy.

Irving Berlin wrote the score for Second Fiddle. It was the last of a three picture deal he had with 20th Century Fox that included On the Avenue and Alexander's Ragtime Band. One of the songs of the score, I Poured My Heart Into A Song was garnered for Second Fiddle it's only Academy Award nomination. Unfortunately Judy Garland went Over the Rainbow that year of 1939.

As part of the publicity campaign Power gets to write I Poured My Heart Into A Song and you see him composing it at the piano and singing a bar or two of the lyrics Irving Berlin wrote that he just made up. When you hear Ty sing, you can understand why 20th Century Fox hired John Payne for musicals. Among the things Power was not blessed with was a good singing voice.

Second Fiddle is good entertainment, it's got a nice Irving Berlin score, some well choreographed figure skating routines for Henie, Tyrone Power, and of course Edna May Oliver who brings up the quality of any film she's in.

SECOND FIDDLE (20th Century-Fox, 1939), directed by Sidney Lanield, reunites Olympic skating champion Sonja Henie with Tyrone Power (her previous co-star from THIN ICE (1937)), for the second and final time. A Hollywood story (which should have been titled MY LUCKY STAR, a title already used for Heinie's college musical), with original new score by Irving Berlin, which oddly enough did not produce any song hits, is probably one of the main reasons for this being overlooked and forgotten through the passage of time.

The story starts in 1938 with the best selling novel "Girl of the North" acquiring the screen rights by Consolidated Pictures for a movie version. A nation-wide talent search is formed with countless screen tests going on to 1939 to which actress is the right choice for the leading role of Violet Jasen. None seem to be just right until Jimmy Sutton (Tyrone Power), a smooth-talking publicist working under George "Whit" Whitney (Alan Dinehart), discovers Photo No. 436 of Trudi Hovland, a schoolteacher from Bergen, Minnesota, to be the girl with possibilities. Taking the next airplane to Minnesota, Jimmy meets with Trudi (Sonja Henie), unaware that Willie Hogger (Lyle Talbot), her boyfriend of three years whom she does not love, to be the one who secretly submitted her photo to the studio. Feeling she's no actress to assume an leading role major motion picture, Trudi turns down the offer to come to Hollywood for a screen test. However, the fast-thinking Jimmy talks her into going, accompanied by her protective Aunt Phoebe (Edna May Oliver), to take her leave of absence from school to see how it goes. Much to her surprise, Trudi wins the leading role as "Girl of the North." In order to keep her in Hollywood to finish the movie, Jimmy creates a staged romance between her and Roger Maxwell (Rudy Vallee), a singer and leading man, whose girlfriend, Jean Varick (Mary Healy), finds herself taking second fiddle to the man she loves. During the course of time, Jimmy finds himself playing second fiddle to Trudy as he slowly begins to realize his love for her. Also in the cast include: Minna Gombell (Jenny, the columnist); Spencer Charters (Joe Clayton); George Chandler, Irving Bacon and Maurice Cass. Specialties include The Brian Sister, the King Sisters, along with Stewart Reburn as Henie's skating partner and Dick Redman as Freddie, the little boy skater. While character actor Charles Lane is credited in the cast, only his familiar voice as the studio chief is heard numerous times via intercom.

Songs include: "An Old-Fashioned Tune" (sung by Rudy Vallee); "The Song of the Metro Nome," "The Song of theMetro Nome" (reprise/skating number); "Back to Back" (sung by Mary Healy); "When Winter Comes," and "I poured My Heart into a Song" (both sung by Rudy Vallee); "I'm Sorry for Myself" (sung by Mary Healy); and "I Poured My Heart into a Song" (skating sequence by Sonja Henie). Though the score by Irving Berlin didn't produce hits as "Cheek to Cheek," he did come up with a lively tune of "Back to Back" along with an interesting balled "I'm Sorry for Myself" sung in great voice by Mary Healy, a tune that makes one think of Ethel Merman had she sung this particular song herself.

Those seeing SECOND FIDDLE in 1939 would notice similarities to this story along with producer David O. Selznick's notable search for the role of Scarlet O'Hara in the Civil War epic of GONE WITH THE WIND (1939). Around the same time when 20th Century-Fox studio would acquire services of legendary singer, Al Jolson, past his prime, for a couple of secondary roles (ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE and SWANEE RIVER), the studio also contracted former vagabond lover, Rudy Vallee, in support singing a few songs as well. With Sonja Henie also playing a skating teacher would be an excuse for a couple of skating production numbers thrown in. Tyrone Power shows his flare for comedy as a publicity man, yet not performing in a fast-talking, speedy performance of Pat O'Brien of Warner Brothers.

With some star quality and lively story, it seems odd SECOND FIDDLE did have limited television revivals over the years. Other than distribution on video cassette in 1994, it did have its cable television broadcasts only so briefly as Cinemax (1986) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: February 9, 2012). Maybe not the classic as Henie's other films as SUN VALLEY SERENADE (1941), but worth viewing considering the assortment for its time a great number of "movies about the movies," and fine lighthearted comedy spoofing itself along the way. (***1/2)

Fox certainly knew what kind of material to give their skating star, SONJA HENIE--a light but diverting plot, lots of musical interludes, a few skating sequences, a handsome co-star, some comedy relief and as many Sonja close-ups as possible.

They scored on every point with SECOND FIDDLE. It's light entertainment for the masses who came to see Sonja skate with everyone else playing second fiddle to her in importance. But TYRONE POWER manages to be impressive as her leading man, more charismatic than usual and spirited, suggesting that there was a lot more to him than the kind of roles he was getting at the time. It doesn't hurt that he's at his handsomest in this early film. And EDNA MAY OLIVER had no peer when it came to stealing the spotlight on an almost regular basis whenever she could.

Furthermore, RUDY VALLEE gets a chance to warble a couple of Irving Berlin tunes. He's part of a scheme by Power, a publicity agent for a Hollywood studio, to revive Vallee's fading career by getting a phony romantic buildup pairing him with Henie. Henie, of course, knows nothing of the scheme and therefore she and Power have romantic misunderstanding until the final reel.

It's a diverting piece of entertainment, one of the better Sonja Henie films produced by Fox and well worth seeing for the skating sequences alone, if you're a Henie fan. Her graceful routines are well choreographed for the camera.

She couldn't sing, she didn't dance much, and her acting was, well, evident. Nevertheless, Sonja Henie, "Queen of the Ice," became one of the biggest box office attractions of her time as a result of the 12 movies she made between 1936 and 1948. You owe it to yourself to see at least one of these films, none of which are really musicals but which often include a lot of great music. Arguably the best of her figure skating extravaganzas is "Second Fiddle," the story of a Minnesota school teacher whose talent takes her to Hollywood. Sound familiar? Henie was from Norway and was discovered after winning three Olympic gold medals. The Irving Berlin score and the performances of Tyrone Power, Rudy Vallee, Mary Healy, and Edna Mae Oliver are more good reasons to watch this film. And they were right about Henie; you can't keep your eyes off her. If you like what you see, give a try to One in a Million (1936) in which Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals provide the laughs. --Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

When seen today, Sonja Henie films are incredibly strange and the notion that this Norwegian skating champion could be one of the biggest stars at Twentieth Century-Fox is just baffling. After all, Henie was cute--but not exactly a big star due to her looks. And, in each of her films, they SOMEHOW contrived to get her onto the ice SOMEWHERE!! The films really make no sense...though I must admit that most are still entertaining if you see them today. You just need to be sure to suspend all disbelief, otherwise your brain will nag you with 1001 questions!

The film revolves around a slick publicity agent, Jimmy (Tyrone Power). He's an amazingly good liar--even for a P.R. man and his routine is pretty funny. However, when he gets the smart idea of creating a fake romance between two new studio stars, Roger (Rudy Vallee) and Trudi (Henie), things get complicated. Roger is already in love with another woman and he's apprehensive to play like he's in love with Trudi. Worse, however, is that slowly Jimmy is falling for Trudi himself...but when the plan backfires and Trudi learns that Roger is only PRETENDING to love her, she is furious as well as hurt and leaves Hollywood. What is that weasel, Jimmy, to do?!

In addition to the strange plot, the studio cast Edna May Oliver as Trudi's aunt. This is ridiculous, as Oliver seems about as Norwegian as pizza! And, there are LOTS of ridiculous songs and skating numbers that make the whole thing a bit on the silly side. BUT, the leads try there best and despite all the silliness, it IS enjoyable.

By the way, the studio head who you hear but never see is played by Charles Lane--the old familiar character actor.