Second Chorus (1941)

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.