Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

TheLittleSongbird Fred Astaire reportedly considered Second Chorus his worst film, and after seeing it I have to agree. Other lesser films like Belle of New York, Let's Dance and Yolanda and the Thief were wildly uneven films but had some great moments between them and utilised Astaire's talents better. Second Chorus is far from a terrible film, but it should have been much better and Astaire fans may find themselves short-changed.Astaire does have the least likable character in his whole career in Second Chorus and he was too old to pass for a flunking college student, but he does make a real effort to bring to the role his usual poise and charm. His dancing is superb, especially in the dancing and conducting the orchestra number Poor Mr Chisholm and the Russian Café Number, though generally there was not enough of his dancing talent in this film, and is charmingly tender in the Academy Award-nominated Love of My Life. Artie Shaw is no great shakes as an actor, but his performing and musical talent cannot be denied and is brilliantly put on display here, especially in the fascinating fantasia Concerto for Clarinet, which has never been performed more excitingly than with Shaw. 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). The 'completely re-written' trumpet solo scene makes for some delicious comedy, the only scene in the film that I found really funny. 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. Burgess Meredith was an immense talent, but here is a role that doesn't do it justice. 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. It didn't feel enough and occurred too far and between, not a complete waste of Astaire's talents but not giving them anywhere near the amount of justice they should have done. Second Chorus is not a very well-written film, the comedy- with the exception of that one scene- grates far more than it should have sparkled, and the characters fail to be interesting and are very difficult to engage or empathise with, with the small exception of Mr Chisholm. Apart from the I Dig It number, the chemistry between Astaire and Goddard is lacking, it charms in that number but comes across as forced everywhere else, and surprisingly the chemistry between Astaire and Meredith is even flatter and lacks snap, some of it even juvenile in their attempts to sabotage each other. The production values are rather harsh and lacking in crispness and further disadvantaged by some pretty bad to dreadful regional DVD quality, with a lot of murk and jitter and some hissy sound quality. Where Second Chorus most falls down is in the wafer-thin and often insultingly ridiculous story, with pacing that was in serious need of a sharp kick sometimes and the ending is a little confused.To conclude, a not terrible but lacklustre film where it is easy to see why Astaire would consider it his weakest. But even lesser or off-form Astaire is still watchable, and you can do with far worse. 5/10 Bethany Cox

fflambeau Why spend any time describing this dull plot or the mediocre acting? You should watch this only to see Fred Astaire do a couple of great numbers, one as a Russian, another while he "conducts" the Artie Shaw band (yes, he's in a tux for that one).What's fascinating for modern audiences is to see Artie Shaw, not so much for his acting either, but because he plays a couple of great numbers here and he was terrific on the licorice stick. He's young here too (30 years old). One number he was famous for (not here though) is "Stardust" and it featured a trumpet solo by Billy Butterfield). Butterfield actually plays for Burgess Meredith here (who like Astaire fakes poorly on the horn). We also see Buddy Rich in the orchestra playing drums next to Artie Shaw. What a combo! Shaw was a huge sensation in the 30's and 40's; an equal to the more famous now Benny Goodman. He sold more than a hundred million records. He brought along talent like Billie Holiday, Mel Torme, Buddy Rich, and Ray Conniff. He also played classical music with Leonard Bernstein. In this movie, he plays "Concerto for Clarinet". This film also brought him 2 Oscar nominations, one for Best Score and one for Best Song ("Love of my Life").Astaire once called this the "worst movie I ever made" and for him, that's true. But it's great to see Shaw play, and how he could play! Shaw admired Astaire but said he was a tireless worker, the opposite of the kind of debonair image he presented in top hat and tails.

rdolan9007 Disappointing overall, first of all you have to buy the premise of Astaire and Meredith being old enough to be at college. They both charitably look at least 40 which throws the story in to a level of reality even further removed than you might expect from an early 40's Hollywood musical. There are great sequences, a swing number between Goddard, and Astaire is the highlight. I also enjoyed Astaire tackling a cossack dance; more of the above dance scenes would have improved the movie. The story is awkwardly constructed though and frankly unconvincing. Artie Smith is good, but the music lacks sparkle overall. Not a great or even a good movie, not a complete waste of time though, the good dance numbers are worth watching for their own sake.

DKosty123 This is the last film in which Artie Shaw would actually do some acting. Originally, the producers wanted to make a film with just Artie Shaw & his music. Then along came the opportunity to get Fred Astaire during one of the rare times his career lagged for a short time so they grabbed him and put some first rate folks around him.Paulette Goddard was a very busy actress during this period. She is fine as the lead in this one too. She rarely disappointed during her career. This is a few years after she divorced Chaplin & in 4 years she would marry Burgress Meredith who is in this movie too. A lot of folks in this cast were busy going to the alter. 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. There are also several famous folks doing cameos. The big thing with this is some excellent music from an era of music that is now looked back on fondly by everyone who discovers it. Big Band, great stuff & a small plot to hang on about a backer for the concert.