Second Chorus as a movie is a little disappointing to say the least.
Paulette Goddard, despite the great acting ability and the great beauty she possessed, is alarmingly miscast when it came to anything slightly musical.
The Characters portrayed by Fred Astaire and Burgess Merideth are both shockingly underused - Astaire is given but two or three dance routines at the most and the odd song, whilst Merideth who was obviously the comic relief was given very poor material and very little to do, especially when both were capable of so much more. Their characters are also dis likable double crossing schmucks who never miss a chance to screw each other over, sometimes in the nastiest ways possible.
Artie Shaw however does shine. Okay he wasn't the best actor ever but then he never pretended to be or I'm sure even wanted to be. He was by all accounts portraying a man named Artie Shaw, a clarinet playing band leader and no acting was really required. He was in the film purely to showcase his music and his orchestra and it must be said, he fulfilled his contract perfectly.
Only two or three scenes save this already obscure picture from the deeper obscurity it would so otherwise deserve.
1) The scene where Astaire having had his Trumpet solo completely rewritten by Merideth for his long awaited, life changing and career defining audition with Artie Shaws band, starts blasting out bum notes and discordant musical passages that foul up the entire song. Hilarious almost pant wetting comedy, expertly acted by the confused Astaire, made even more funny by the fact that he obviously attach's the blame of the bum arrangement to the great Artie Shaw himself before realisation dawns.
2)Artie Shaws great if somewhat shortened Concerto for Clarinet which not only proves that he the best clarinet player the world had known before or since, but that his band was truly the premier big band orchestra of the day. It is a shame his music and talent could not be showcased a little more than it was. In this film it seems he talks more than he actually plays.
3) Astaire again conducting Shaws band to "Poor Mr.Chisolm" while tapping his merry little head off. Again like Shaw, Astaire was the very best at his chosen craft and this film apart from this moment does little to showcase it.
With input from top quality entertainers like Astaire and Shaw this film could have pulled such wonderful feats out of the hat, yet apart from the three scenes mentioned, it failed at almost every single level and every opportunity was missed.
The plot was weak, and the dialogue far from clever and as a motion picture alone it fails to stand up, but for lovers of Astaire and fans of Artie Shaws music may find them like I did the saving Grace of a spent force. Definitely one black cloud with two silver linings.
Paulette Goddard, despite the great acting ability and the great beauty she possessed, is alarmingly miscast when it came to anything slightly musical.
The Characters portrayed by Fred Astaire and Burgess Merideth are both shockingly underused - Astaire is given but two or three dance routines at the most and the odd song, whilst Merideth who was obviously the comic relief was given very poor material and very little to do, especially when both were capable of so much more. Their characters are also dis likable double crossing schmucks who never miss a chance to screw each other over, sometimes in the nastiest ways possible.
Artie Shaw however does shine. Okay he wasn't the best actor ever but then he never pretended to be or I'm sure even wanted to be. He was by all accounts portraying a man named Artie Shaw, a clarinet playing band leader and no acting was really required. He was in the film purely to showcase his music and his orchestra and it must be said, he fulfilled his contract perfectly.
Only two or three scenes save this already obscure picture from the deeper obscurity it would so otherwise deserve.
1) The scene where Astaire having had his Trumpet solo completely rewritten by Merideth for his long awaited, life changing and career defining audition with Artie Shaws band, starts blasting out bum notes and discordant musical passages that foul up the entire song. Hilarious almost pant wetting comedy, expertly acted by the confused Astaire, made even more funny by the fact that he obviously attach's the blame of the bum arrangement to the great Artie Shaw himself before realisation dawns.
2)Artie Shaws great if somewhat shortened Concerto for Clarinet which not only proves that he the best clarinet player the world had known before or since, but that his band was truly the premier big band orchestra of the day. It is a shame his music and talent could not be showcased a little more than it was. In this film it seems he talks more than he actually plays.
3) Astaire again conducting Shaws band to "Poor Mr.Chisolm" while tapping his merry little head off. Again like Shaw, Astaire was the very best at his chosen craft and this film apart from this moment does little to showcase it.
With input from top quality entertainers like Astaire and Shaw this film could have pulled such wonderful feats out of the hat, yet apart from the three scenes mentioned, it failed at almost every single level and every opportunity was missed.
The plot was weak, and the dialogue far from clever and as a motion picture alone it fails to stand up, but for lovers of Astaire and fans of Artie Shaws music may find them like I did the saving Grace of a spent force. Definitely one black cloud with two silver linings.