Second Chorus (1940)
Directed by H.C. Potter

Film Review

With its rambling storyline and painfully strained humour, Second Chorus is the limpest of musical comedies but it is somehow redeemed by its plethora of toe-tapping song and dance numbers.  Fred Astaire considered this his worst film but it features some of his most impressive footwork, including a stunning dance duet with a remarkably agile Paulette Goddard.  Artie Shaw and his famous jazz band provide as much class as Astaire, although making the film reputedly put Shaw off pursuing an acting career for life.  Second Course is a chaotic potpourri of a musical, but whilst its endless narrative peregrinations and crop of absurd characters are hard to stomach, the film is overall surprisingly entertaining.

Film Synopsis

Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are rival trumpet players with a university jazz band, which they manage to stay in by repeatedly failing their exams.  Both men fall for a young woman named Ellen Miller, but she turns out to be in the employ of a debt collector.  Not only do the two men wangle their way out of settling their debt, they also get Ellen the sack so that they can hire her as their manager.  When she tries to arrange an audition for Danny and Hank with Artie Shaw's legendary jazz band, Ellen ends up being hired by Artie Shaw himself.  Having sabotaged Hank's audition, Danny resolves to get himself back in Ellen's good books...