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DVD Second Chorus
Second Chorus has one little gem of a moment that has found its way into many Fred Astaire highlight reels. Astaire sings and taps "I Ain't Hep to That Step but I'll Dig It" then tries to coax Paulette Goddard onto the floor. She declines twice, then joins him in a joyous dance. The rest of the movie is not as enticing. Astaire and Burgess Meredith portray trumpet players vying for a spot in Artie Shaw's orchestra and for the affections of Goddard. The interplay among the three stars has its charms, and there's plenty of toe-tapping big-band music from Shaw, who plays himself in a substantial part and wrote the Oscar-nominated "Would You Like to Be the Love of My Life" with Johnny Mercer. Filmed in 1940, Second Chorus pales in comparison to the nine-film Astaire-Ginger Rogers partnership that had just ended. Astaire doesn't dance enough, and a tedious subplot involving Charles Butterworth stretches the movie about 15 minutes too long. No great surprise that like Royal Wedding, Second Chorus has slipped into the public domain and is generally available in poor-quality prints. --David Horiuchi
This fim is not one of Fred Astaire's best. If anything, it is maybe one of his worst, but still, not as bad as most people make it out to be all the time. It has a stupid story, VERY stupid story, which obviously hadnt had much thought gone into it. It has very little dancing, I think 3 dances in all (when watching a Fred Astaire movie, you want as much dancing as possible, right?). They are nothing special either. The acting in the movie could be a lot better too. It does have a number of amusing moments though, maybe thanks to Burgess Meredith. Full of double-crossing scenes, fighting over the same girl, of which happens to be Paulette Goddard. I think the highlight of the movie though, is that it includes Artie Shaw and his orchestra, which does help out a bit, when there is not enough dancing by Astaire. Even though far from the best, it is still an enjoyable movie.
The following part of this review only really concerns to DVD buyers.
The film has been released on a number of budget DVD releases, where you get an unrestored print of the film, looking horrible. I would like to review a Region 2 release of the movie from Laureate/Sanctuary DVD which is the best one to date out there.
I guess the best thing about this DVD though, is the very good looking print that has been used for the film. Also, the audio commentary which it includes, with Ava Astaire MacKenzie and Ken Barnes, is most enjoyable to listen to. If you are going for this film on DVD, then this one, from Laureate, is the one to get. Avoid those horrible budget DVDs, with horrible prints.
Recommended if you happen to enjoy this movie, even slightly. The commentary is worth getting the DVD for alone, I guess.
One of the best!
This was the second Fred Astaire movie I ever saw, and I thought that it was very good. The plot is extremly humorus. Fred Astaire is brilliant, as usual, and delivers several award winning numbers including "I'll Dig It" (with Paulette Goddard) and "Poor Mister Chisholm". A must see.
Not Bad, but defineatly not his best
This movie was an interesting one. I've always liked Fred Astaire in anything he did, but this one was not so good. Paulette Goddard co-stars as a business manager for Artie Shaw (Artie Shaw is in most of the movie)and Fred is trying to get to play his trumpet in with Artie's band or he just wants to play anywhere. Burgess Meredith, who I also like plays Fred's room mate, and he too is trying to play and be discovered by somebody important. Even though this movie has some great stars, and even though this movie has some very funny scenes the whole movie is pretty bad in general.
They don't make the most obvious screen couple--if you squint, you might think Stan Laurel had gotten together with Lauren Bacall--but their differences only serve to make this effervescent musical all the more entertaining. You'll Never Get Rich is the first of two that Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth made together (followed by You Were Never Lovelier). Astaire, who stars as choreographer-turned-soldier Robert Curtis, has rarely been looser, and Hayworth, as dancer Sheila Winthrop, has rarely been more graceful. As in Royal Wedding, Astaire also engages in some fancy solo footwork. Robert Benchley and Frieda Inescort provide priceless support as Robert's philandering boss and his clever wife, and Cole Porter composed the music, including "So Near and Yet So Far,"... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Rita Hayworth Director(s): Sidney Lanfield DVD Release Date: Released the 21 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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One of the most famous tap numbers in film history distinguishes Broadway Melody of 1940, the fourth and final installment in MGM's Broadway Melody series. When Clare Bennett (Eleanor Powell, who had appeared in Broadway Melody of 1936 and 1938) needs a new partner for her hit Broadway show, small-time hoofers Johnny Brett (Fred Astaire in his MGM debut) and King Shaw (George Murphy) get their big chance. But due to a case of mistaken identity, King, rather than the more talented Johnny, gets the job, and the girl. Astaire and Powell can't match the chemistry he had with Ginger Rogers at RKO, but she was the best technical dancer he was ever teamed with, and the sense of fun they share is infectious. Their above-mentioned tap duet to Cole Porter's "Begin the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Eleanor Powell Director(s): Norman Taurog DVD Release Date: Released the 22 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Fred Astaire took one of his final musical turns in this delightful 1957 comedy, a cold war update of the classic Ninotchka. Cyd Charisse, having previously wrapped her endless legs around Fred in The Band Wagon, plays the Greta Garbo role: a humorless Soviet functionary who sternly refuses the allure of Paris… for a while, anyway. Like some of the first widescreen musicals, Silk Stockings feels a little slowed down by the horizontal format, but nothing can dim the sparkle of Astaire and Charisse, nor quench the razzmatazz of Janis Paige. Paige and Astaire assess the current state of movies by singing that films today need "glorious Technicolor, breathtaking CinemaScope, and Stereophonic sound!" In the hands of Cole Porter, that phrase becomes wonderfully... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Cyd Charisse Director(s): Rouben Mamoulian DVD Release Date: Released the 22 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling in this 1951 Alan Jay Lerner musical for MGM, directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain). The appealing story finds Astaire as part of a brother-and-sister act (along with Jane Powell) that travels to London at the time of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding. Astaire and Powell each find romances that threaten to break up the act, but that's mostly fun window dressing in a movie better known for some truly creative sequences made vivid by Donen, including Astaire's famous dance with a hat rack and his duet with Powell, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You (When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life)?" --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Jane Powell Director(s): Stanley Donen DVD Release Date: Released the 06 April 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The devil is in the details when it comes to this effervescent Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth musical. The slight storyline is a hook upon which to hang dance sequences, bits of humor, and songs by Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer. Set in Buenos Aires, it's a remake of an Argentine feature from the previous year and followed You'll Never Get Rich. Astaire stars as a professional hoofer and Hayworth is Adolphe Menjou's second oldest daughter. The wealthy businessman won't let his youngest daughters marry until Maria (Hayworth) ties the knot. She couldn't care less--until a case of mistaken identity leads her to believe that Robert (Astaire) is in love with her (he's just looking for a job at her father's club). Highlights include a tap dance set to "Shorty George" and the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Rita Hayworth Director(s): William A. Seiter DVD Release Date: Released the 25 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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