Second Chorus
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
Danny O'Neill (Fred Astaire), and Hank Taylor (Burgess Meredith) are friends and rival trumpeters with "O'Neill's Perennials," a college band. Both have managed to prolong their college careers by failing seven years in a row. At a performance, Ellen Miller (Paulette Goddard) catches Danny's and Hank's eyes. She serves them a notice for her boss, a debt collector, but the fast-talking O'Neill and Taylor soon have her working as their manager.
Tired of losing gigs to the Perennials, Artie Shaw, playing himself, comes to woo Ellen away to be his booking manager. She tries to get Danny and Hank an audition for Shaw's band, but their jealous hi-jinks get them fired.
Ellen talks Shaw into letting rich wannabee musician J. Lester Chisholm (Charles Butterworth) back a concert. It looks like the jig is up when Hank pretends to be Ellen's jealous husband, and then her brother. Danny and Hank manage get Chisholm back on board, then get Shaw to agree to put Danny's song into the show. All they have to do is keep Chisholm and his mandolin, which he wants to play in the concert, away from Shaw until after the show; the solution is sleeping pills to knock Chisholm, and incidentally Hank, out.
To Ellen's relief, Danny finally acts professionally, arranging his number for the show, which Shaw says "has really grown up into something special." He hands the baton to Danny, who successfully dance-conducts his own composition.

Review: 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.
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.
In this 1941 Paramount film Fred Astaire has a new dancing partner in Paulette Goddard.
'Cause He's Got Paulette!"  Mostly Astaire dances solo in this story about two musicians, Astaire and Burgess Meredith, who try vainly to get jobs in Artie Shaw's band.
The number, viewed today, is not only totally professional; it's good.Interesting note that Goddard's other male lead was Burgess Meredith, whom she went on to marry years later as she was still married at the time to Charlie Chaplin..
(but not so the film.)The Wonderful Fred Astaire and the vibrant, young, healthy and sexy Paulette Goddard struggled valiantly with this picture.
but then that is my weakness) I liked the little Russian number that Mister Astaire had some fun with.Burgess Meredith and Fred Astaire actually were pretty snappy as a comedy team.
That's what he does best, so it was disappointing not to see much of that in "Second Chorus."Although I thought Charles Butterworth's character was stupid, I really enjoyed seeing a young Burgess Meredith and it's always a treat to see Paulette Goddard, one of the real beauties of the 1940s.
Overall, this was a good- hearted story and when Astaire danced, he was fantastic, as always.The songs are in here are good and band-leader Artie Shaw even showed he could act, too.
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.
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.
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..
Dancing And Band Leading Don't Mix. 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.
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.
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.
But unless you like Fred Astaire and/or Artie Shaw you might well skip Second Chorus..
There are not many strong points to "Second Chorus", and it is really only watchable because of Fred Astaire, whose talent and charisma provide for some good moments.
The whole premise of the college band does not work for a moment, and there is never a time when the viewer is not overly conscious that the whole situation is contrived.To be sure, some of Astaire's most enjoyable pictures have lightweight plots, which allow him and the rest of the cast to be the center of attention.
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.
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.
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 ...
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..
Arte Shaw's music is great, and the Jazz numbers while perhaps unknown by today's standards should not be overlooked, Paulette Goddard from her loss 2 years before as Scarlett shows she is a fine performer, and Burgess Meredith 24 years before Batman and 35 years before Rocky, also demonstrated he is a really good actor..
At 41 years of age, we are meant to believe that Fred is a perennial college student in his mid-twenties, who has just graduated and is vying with his ex-room-mate (Burgess Meredith) both for a job with Artie Shaw's band and the affections of Paulette Goddard.The songs are few and far between, and (with the exception of "Poor Mr. Chislom") not very good.
Artie Shaw's band adds a little more pop to the music than is found in most Astaire films.
The only things that save Second Chorus from being a complete disaster are Astaire's dancing and Artie Shaw and his band's music.The writing is horrendous, managing to make even Astaire's character dislikable, as he does truly nasty things to his "friend," the equally dislikably nasty Burgess Meredith.Charles Butterworth, who is supposed to be the comic foil in this picture, is as lame an actor as I've seen.Finally, the look of the film is awful, with harsh lighting and shadows.
However, if you're a die hard Astaire and/or big band fan, it's worth fast-forwarding through the dialog to get to any scene where Fred's dancing or Artie and his band are playing..
Music is Great, Cast Is OK Too. This is the last film in which Artie Shaw would actually do some acting.
Artie Shaw would be married 8 times during his lifetime.Fred Astaire has a sequence conducting & dancing Shaws Orchestra, and it is an interesting sequence.
Instead, there are just three lack-lustre routines: a brief mock- Cossack dance, a decent tap routine at the end (but nothing he hadn't done far better in other movies) and a routine with Paulette Goddard who simply was not a dancer which shows in both the performance and the limited choreography presumably intended to keep within what she could do (dancing apart, she is probably the best thing in the film, beautiful and sparkling).In addition, what songs there are, by Artie Shaw and Johnny Mercer, are below par.
Shaw's band makes up for this with some good numbers and Shaw unexpectedly turns out to be a respectable enough actor, albeit in some undemanding scenes.But I can't help wondering if it was the presence of Shaw who wrote the score that resulted in the limited amount of Astaire routines – the big band numbers may not have left enough time for dances.
SECOND CHORUS (Paramount, 1940), directed by H.C. Potter, from an original story by Frank Cavett, was an unlikely production for which song-and-dance man Fred Astaire ever appeared.
While much of the plot devotes itself to the current phase known as "the big band era," featuring band leader Artie Shaw as himself, and with more emphases on comedy during the non musical portions, for a Fred Astaire film, this might prove disappointing for having the least amount of dancing of any Astaire musical up to this point.The story starts off with a social function of a New England university where students and guests are being entertained by the band called Danny O'Neill's University Perennials.
Roommates Danny (Fred Astaire) and Hank Taylor (Burgess Meredith), trumpet players who've remained in college for seven years to take advantage of lucrative college band bookings, take notice of their friend Stu's (Frank Melton) date, a young brunette named Ellen Miller (Paulette Goddard).
Lester Chisholm (Charles Butterworth).With music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Hal Borne, Bernie Hannigan and Artie Shaw, the motion picture soundtrack includes: "Second Chorus," "Sugar" (instrumental); "Everything's Jumpin'" "I Ain't Hep to That Step" (sung by Fred Astaire/ danced by Astaire and Paulette Goddard); "The Ivy Shuffle," "Sweet Sue," "Love of My Life" (sung by Astaire); "I'm Yours," "Double Mellow," "Poor Mr. Chisholm," "The Moon is Shining," "Hoe Down," "Swing Concerto" and "Poor Mr. Chisholm" Marked by none of the visual scales of the RKO Radio musicals where Astaire peaked during his six year screen partnership (1933-1939) with Ginger Rogers, for his Paramount debut, the script finds him, along with dramatic actor Burgess Meredith, in their only pairing, enacting that as friendly rivals, in something much better served by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, playing tricks on one another in order to either get the girl or land the job in Shaw's band.
One amusing scene occurs where Hank (Meredith) rearranges the musical notes of Danny's (Astaire) song sheet prior to his audition with Shaw, and trumpet playing out of synchronization with the other players to offbeat tunes causing him not to get the job.
While her dancing was adequate, but no match to the style of Rogers, Goddard never danced on screen again; and the "Swing Concerto" finale where Astaire not only conducts the band, but tap dances and plays the trumpet simultaneously.
Worth it For Artie Shaw & Fred Astaire Dancing Numbers.
"Second Chorus" is an underwhelming Paramount musical filmed in black and white and stars Fred Astaire.
Astaire is trying to hook on with Artie Shaw's band as a trumpet player while chasing Paulette Goddard around and trying to shake her free from buddy Burgess Meredith, also a trumpet player.
Fred Astaire reportedly considered Second Chorus his worst film, and after seeing it I have to agree.
Paulette Goddard has very little to work with mostly is not the best of dancers, a contender for Astaire's worst partner in this regard, but she looks entrancing and some of her comic timing amuses, would have done even more if the material was stronger.Second Chorus has some nice songs (if nowhere near the most memorable score in an Astaire film), especially Poor Mr Chisholm and Love of my Life, and a whimsical and suitably energetic incidental score.
Choreographically, it's not the most inspired but it's far from leaden or amateurish either, while it is not classic Astaire Poor Mr Chisholm is a lot of fun and I Dig It is cleverly choreographed and charmingly danced (even if Paulette Goddard's inexperience as a dancer does show at times here but her personality shines).
A large part of me does wish that Me and the Ghost Upstairs was kept in the film, it is a delightful scene and would have been the clear highlight if kept intact, a number so good that it deserved more than just being featured on regional DVDs.Charles Butterworth does bring some pleasing whimsy to his role and is the one character that we feel a small amount of sympathy towards, but mostly the comedy is not very well-written in Second Chorus and even Butterworth struggles in making it funny and some of his humour grates.
Meredith is occasionally amusing here in a role where his sense of comedy is not very well-used but his character is even more loathsome and irritatingly grating than Astaire's, another victim of not-so-good writing, and anybody who knows him from his numerous villain roles will find it very difficult to shake off that feeling here.While there is nothing wrong with the music, singing and dancing, there should have been much more of them.
with the first act being his dance partnership with his sister and his second act being his RKO years."Second Chorus" is not a widely known film, but it will probably be enjoyable to any fan of Fred Astaire.
The story is that Danny O'Neill (Fred Astaire) and Hank Taylor (Burgess Meredith) are leaders of a band.
Also, if you're watching this film to see lots of Astaire's wonderful dancing, you'll likely be somewhat disappointed.
Rather dull musical comedy starring Fred Astaire and Paulette Goddard.
Believe it or not, frisky Fred Astaire (as Danny O'Neill) and boyish Burgess Meredith (as Hank Taylor) are a pair of trumpet-playing college roommates.
They meet pretty secretary Paulette Goddard (as Ellen Miller), who dances and romances Mr. Astaire and Mr. Meredith (one will win her on-screen, one will win her off-screen).
The Astaire/Goddard highlight is easily "Dig It (I Ain't Hep to That Step)" as you'll see, and don't expect any competition (unless you want to include the version by Les Brown and Doris Day).*** Second Chorus (12/3/40) H.C. Potter ~ Fred Astaire, Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith, Artie Shaw.
In this case, Artie Shaw is convinced by lovely manageress Paulette Goddard to try out the services of trumpet players (and perennial university-flunkers!) Fred Astaire and Burgess Meredith but, given the rivalry resulting from their choice of instrument and mutual feelings for Goddard herself, they end up sabotaging each other's chances for both spots.
You know a film is in trouble when middle-aged Burgess Meredith and Fred Astaire play college students!!!
Then, how the two best pals try to sabotage each other for the love of their young manager (Paulette Goddard, who would end up marrying Meredith in real life!) during a public audition with Artie Shaw's band isn't realistic considering the alleged closeness of their friendship.
Toss in Charles Butterworth as the mandolin playing benefactor of a concert Shaw is giving and a plot to keep him off stage with his mandolin during the performance, and there's little to do but groan.In spite of the fact that next to Joan Fontaine, Goddard was considered Astaire's weakest dancing partner, she actually does good in their one number together.
The big band sequences feature some fun if unmemorable jazz music, and Astaire's dance while conducting Shaw's band seems strangely out of place.
Second Chorus as a movie is a little disappointing to say the least.Paulette Goddard, despite the great acting ability and the great beauty she possessed, is alarmingly miscast when it came to anything slightly musical.The Characters portrayed by Fred Astaire and Burgess Merideth are both shockingly underused - Astaire is given but two or three dance routines at the most and the odd song, whilst Merideth who was obviously the comic relief was given very poor material and very little to do, especially when both were capable of so much more.
He was by all accounts portraying a man named Artie Shaw, a clarinet playing band leader and no acting was really required.
He was in the film purely to showcase his music and his orchestra and it must be said, he fulfilled his contract perfectly.Only two or three scenes save this already obscure picture from the deeper obscurity it would so otherwise deserve.1) The scene where Astaire having had his Trumpet solo completely rewritten by Merideth for his long awaited, life changing and career defining audition with Artie Shaws band, starts blasting out bum notes and discordant musical passages that foul up the entire song.
In this film it seems he talks more than he actually plays.3) Astaire again conducting Shaws band to "Poor Mr.Chisolm" while tapping his merry little head off.
Interesting, fun and full of entertainment starring Fred Astaire and Burgess Meredith, two guys who purposely fail their subjects in college each year so that they can stay on and play in the band and make money for themselves.Owing money for encyclopedias purchased is the cause for them to meet Paulette Goddard, secretary to the guy who is ready to take them to court for non-payment.
Involving themselves with the Artie Shaw band, they do an excellent job of sabotaging each other and become venomous to the band industry.Of course, they are able to get back but they soon get involved with an investor who thinks he can go and play music as well as having intentions with Goddard as well.Lots of fun and nostalgia for movie-goers here..
So of course, he dances to Artie Shaw's music.
The musical numbers with Artie Shaw and his Orchestra are the only real reason to watch this one unless it's the only Astaire film you have not yet seen and really HAVE to complete that list.