Second Chorus

1940
Approved
1h 24m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

After perennial college students Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are forced to make it on their own, the competitive pair get jobs with Artie Shaw's band and reunite with ex-manager Ellen Mill... Read allAfter perennial college students Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are forced to make it on their own, the competitive pair get jobs with Artie Shaw's band and reunite with ex-manager Ellen Miller.After perennial college students Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are forced to make it on their own, the competitive pair get jobs with Artie Shaw's band and reunite with ex-manager Ellen Miller.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

1.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 nominations total

Photos23

+ 16

Top cast55

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Fred Astaire

Danny O'Neill

Paulette Goddard

Ellen Miller

Artie Shaw

Artie Shaw

Charles Butterworth

Lester Chisholm

Burgess Meredith

Hank Taylor

Frank Melton

Jimmy Conlin

Mr. Dunn
(as Jimmy Conlon)

Don Brodie

Clerk

Marjorie Kane

Secretary

Joan Barclay

Receptionist

Willa Pearl Curtis

Scrubwoman

Artie Shaw and His Orchestra

Artie Shaw and His Band
(as Artie Shaw and His Band)

Phil Arnold

Shaw's First Manager
(uncredited)

Bobby Barber

Room Service Waiter
(uncredited)

Bus Bassey

Tenor Sax Player
(uncredited)

William 'Billy' Benedict

Ticket Taker
(uncredited)

Vernon Brown

Trombone Player
(uncredited)

Billy Butterfield

Trumpet Player
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The song and dance number "I Ain't Hep to That Step But I'll Dig It" was shot in one take after rigorous rehearsals. Fred Astaire was apprehensive about doing the number as he didn't rate Paulette Goddard as a dancer but she acquitted herself sufficiently for him to be happy with the take. This proved to be the last routine by Astaire that was shot in one take, such was the nature of his professionalism. Goddard later said that she could never go through all that again, due to was the intensity of the rehearsals.

Goofs
(at around 3 mins) Danny's chair suddenly jumps to immediately (and intimately) next to Ellen's left side at the table.

Quotes
Lester Chisholm: [in a fake Russian accent] Vas good.
Danny O'Neill: Vas good? Vas per-fect.

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue: A UNIVERSITY IN NEW ENGLAND

Alternate versions
This film was published in Italy in an DVD anthology entitled "Royal Wedding", distributed by DNA Srl. The film has been re-edited with the contribution of the film history scholar Riccardo Cusin . This version is also available in streaming on some platforms.

Connections
Edited into Your Afternoon Movie: Second Chorus (2022)

Soundtracks
Would You Like to Be the Love of My Life
Music by Artie Shaw
Lyrics Johnny Mercer
Played by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (uncredited)
Sung by Fred Astaire (uncredited)

User reviews44

Review

Featured review

5/10

OK, not great

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.