SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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.

TheLittleSongbird 'Second Fiddle' with a good cast and one of the greatest song-writers in Irving Berlin had a lot going for it. It isn't completely successful, but a vast majority of it does work very well.Its weak link is the story, which, as well as thin structurally, does jump about all over the place in parts giving it a rather strange feel. Berlin's songs are pleasant enough, with the Oscar-nominated "I Poured My Heart Into a Song" and "Back to Back" being the standouts, but generally it is not one of Berlin's better song scores.However, it's exquisitely photographed and sumptuously designed. The skating sequences (almost as good as the ones in 'One in a Million) are a joy and brilliantly choreographed, making one's jaw drop with their imagination and verve, with Sonja Henie and Stewart Reburn more than doing them justice. The script is fun, especially Edna May Oliver's, and there is an exuberant energy throughout.The cast fare very well. Henie is pert and charming, and the camera clearly loves her. Her ice skating is also out of this world, and she forms a great partnership with Reburn. Tyrone Power is a more than worthy partner with his handsome looks and appealing charisma. Edna May Oliver steals scenes in a hilarious performance, while Rudy Vallee and Mary Healy sing Berlin's songs beautifully.Overall, a good film, despite the story, that is not first rate but a long way from second fiddle. 8/10 Bethany Cox

MartinHafer When seen today, Sonja Henie films are incredibly strange and the notion that this Norwegian skating champion could be one of the biggest stars at Twentieth Century-Fox is just baffling. After all, Henie was cute--but not exactly a big star due to her looks. And, in each of her films, they SOMEHOW contrived to get her onto the ice SOMEWHERE!! The films really make no sense...though I must admit that most are still entertaining if you see them today. You just need to be sure to suspend all disbelief, otherwise your brain will nag you with 1001 questions!The film revolves around a slick publicity agent, Jimmy (Tyrone Power). He's an amazingly good liar--even for a P.R. man and his routine is pretty funny. However, when he gets the smart idea of creating a fake romance between two new studio stars, Roger (Rudy Vallee) and Trudi (Henie), things get complicated. Roger is already in love with another woman and he's apprehensive to play like he's in love with Trudi. Worse, however, is that slowly Jimmy is falling for Trudi himself...but when the plan backfires and Trudi learns that Roger is only PRETENDING to love her, she is furious as well as hurt and leaves Hollywood. What is that weasel, Jimmy, to do?!In addition to the strange plot, the studio cast Edna May Oliver as Trudi's aunt. This is ridiculous, as Oliver seems about as Norwegian as pizza! And, there are LOTS of ridiculous songs and skating numbers that make the whole thing a bit on the silly side. BUT, the leads try there best and despite all the silliness, it IS enjoyable.By the way, the studio head who you hear but never see is played by Charles Lane--the old familiar character actor.

writers_reign This is a pleasant enough diversion which pokes gentle fun at the search for an 'unknown' to play the eponymous role in a film adaptation of a best selling novel. Someone actually gave this more than the customary ten seconds thought because it was released in 1939, the same year as Gone With The Wind, a film that had hogged headlines around the world via its search for the perfect heroine, Scarlett O'Hara; Scarlett was a Southern belle and in Second Fiddle the fictitious novel is The Girl From The North, the North carries connotations of snow and Sonja Henie came from a Northern country, Norway and was herself associated with both snow and ice and as if that were not enough, in Second Fiddle she is a resident of Bergen, Minnesota and Bergen is also, of course, an island off the coast of Norway. So, was it worth all this care. More or less. Publicist Tyrone Power is sent to bring Henie to Hollywood and naturally he falls in love with her but his job obliges him to engineer a 'romance' between Henie and Rudy Vallee, another studio 'property' in need of publicity; we now have a touch of the Cyrano's as Power is not only buying the flowers and candy that Henie thinks is coming from Vallee but is also writing the billed-doux and even goes so far as to compose a ballad, I Poured My Heart Into A Song, ostensibly written by Vallee. Edna May Oliver is also on hand to lob the odd droll asides into the mix and it all ends happily. A diverting 80 minutes or so.

hipthornton Surprisingly good teaming of the two fox stars in tale of Hollywood publicity man bringing Minnesota school teacher to test for role in epic "Girl of the North Country." the film is a satire of the "gone With the wind" search that had plagued the country a year before.Sonja is very appealing as a real type person instead of a potential Olympic star waiting to be discovered.Tyrone Power surprises as a lovesick publicist after Sonja.it was nice change of pace from the he=man hero roles he had been doing.Rudy Vallee,Mary Healy are fun as other couple. Edna Mae Oliver steals scenes as Sonja's aunt Phoebe.Mary Healy socks across a couple of Irving Berlin songs with gusto,proving she should have had bigger career.Rudy Valle has a couple of nice songs,too.It's niether prime Power or Sonja but it's fun and lively with its inside look at Hollywood publicity schemes and the like.