Paramount Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Second Chorus
They're the tip-tops in toe-taps!
Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are rival trumpeters with the Perennials, a college band, and both men are still attending college by failing their exams seven years in a row. In the midst of a performance, Danny spies Ellen Miller who ends up being made band manager. Both men compete for her affections while trying to get the other one fired.
- Original title
- Second Chorus
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Feb 15, 2025 · via TMDB
This has some good ingredients but somehow the sum of the parts just misfires as even some lively Artie Shaw-led numbers just fizzle out. It doesn’t really help that there’s not much chemistry between Fred Astaire’s “Danny” and either his partner in crime “Hank” (Burgess Meredith) or their old pal/manager “Ellen” (Paulette Goddard). The two men have been exploiting the college band gravy train for almost a decade but have now finally been forced into the outside world to fend for themselves. They both play the trumpet and guess what… Artie is looking for a trumpeter! What he is also looking for is someone to take on the management of his popular orchestra and so the seeds are sewn for some song and dance comedy as the two men vie for both her and a job! It’s not a bad film, it’s just flat. The routines are all just a little pedestrian and even Johnny Mercer’s usually reliable pen can’t breathe much life into “Dig It” or “Would You Want to be…?”. There are a few decent moments as Shaw’s band manages to get toes a-tapping, and we are reminded that Astaire was no slouch on the piano, but even given it was made as the war was looming larger in the USA, this is all just a bit derivative and sloppily edited. It just goes to show that even the best and most accomplished stars can’t make an engaging double-act out of a sow’s ear.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Fred Astaire
Danny O'Neill
Paulette Goddard
Ellen Miller
Artie Shaw
Himself
Charles Butterworth
J. Lester Chisholm
Burgess Meredith
Hank Taylor
Frank Melton
Stu
Jimmy Conlin
Mr. Dunn
Don Brodie
Clerk
Marjorie Kane
Secretary
Joan Barclay
Receptionist
Phil Arnold
Shaw's First Manager (uncredited)
Bobby Barber
Room Service Waiter (uncredited)
William Benedict
Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Romaine Callender
Waiter (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin
Reporter (uncredited)
Gordon De Main
Elevator Passenger (uncredited)
Adia Kuznetzoff
Boris (uncredited)
Ben Lessy
Shaw's Second Manager (uncredited)
Charles R. Moore
Sam - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Spec O'Donnell
Disappointed Fan at Stage Door (uncredited)
Hermes Pan
College Clarinetist (uncredited)
Charles Smith
College Boy with Zinc Oxide on His Nose (uncredited)
Mary Stewart
Dancer / Singer (uncredited)
Michael Visaroff
Sergei (uncredited)
Poppy Wilde
Night Club Patron (uncredited)
Boris Leven
Art Direction
Theodor Sparkuhl
Director of Photography
Hermes Pan
Choreographer
H. C. Potter
Director
Artie Shaw
Music
Johnny Mercer
Lyricist
Ian McLellan Hunter
Screenplay
Ben Hecht
Writer
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Speedway
Dec 3, 1940
New York City, New York
Jan 3, 1941
