Second Fiddle (1939)

A studio publicist discovers a Minnesota skating teacher and takes her to Hollywood. She goes back to Minnesota but he follows her.

Director:

Sidney Lanfield

Writers:

Harry Tugend (screenplay), George Bradshaw (story)

Stars:

Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Rudy Vallee

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sonja Henie	...	Trudi Hovland
Tyrone Power	...	Jimmy Sutton
Rudy Vallee	...	Roger Maxwell
Edna May Oliver	...	Aunt Phoebe
Mary Healy	...	Jean Varick
Lyle Talbot	...	Willie Hogger
Alan Dinehart	...	George 'Whit' Whitney
Minna Gombell	...	Jenny
Stewart Reburn	...	Trudi's Skating Partner
Spencer Charters	...	Joe Clayton
Charles Brokaw	...	Assistant Director
The Brian Sisters	...	Schoolroom Vocal Trio
John Hiestand	...	Radio Announcer
George Chandler	...	Taxi Driver
Irving Bacon	...	Justice of the Peace Harvey Vaughan

Storyline

Jimmy Sutton, tricky publicist for Consolidated Pictures, fetches teacher Trudi Hovland from snowy Minnesota to sunny Hollywood to test for the film of the best-seller "Girl of the North" - having come 436th in a competition several years earlier she is now next choice as leading lady. She gets the part, but despite his own growing attraction for her Jimmy deviously manufactures a romance between her and Roger Maxwell, a new star who desperately needs to pep-up his image.

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Plot Keywords:

minnesota | hollywood | frenchman | mexican | swede | 

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Taglines:

The show that licked the World's Fair!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plot of this movie, in which a Hollywood studio searches for an actress to play the lead role in the movie version of a best-selling novel, was inspired by the famous "Search for Scarlett O'Hara." From 1937-39, over 1400 actresses were interviewed by MGM, and production was delayed for two years, before Vivien Leigh was cast in the lead role in Gone with the Wind (1939).

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Quotes

Jimmy Sutton: What are you making, Phoebe?
Aunt Phoebe: Don't know yet... started making a doily, and it got away from me!

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Connections

Referenced in Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults (1999)

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Soundtracks

I'm Sorry for Myself
Written by Irving Berlin
Sung by Mary Healy and ensemble

User Reviews

Entertaining, diverting Sonja Henie vehicle with Edna May Oliver for good support...

Fox certainly knew what kind of material to give their skating star, SONJA HENIE--a light but diverting plot, lots of musical interludes, a few skating sequences, a handsome co-star, some comedy relief and as many Sonja close-ups as possible.

They scored on every point with SECOND FIDDLE. It's light entertainment for the masses who came to see Sonja skate with everyone else playing second fiddle to her in importance. But TYRONE POWER manages to be impressive as her leading man, more charismatic than usual and spirited, suggesting that there was a lot more to him than the kind of roles he was getting at the time. It doesn't hurt that he's at his handsomest in this early film. And EDNA MAY OLIVER had no peer when it came to stealing the spotlight on an almost regular basis whenever she could.

Furthermore, RUDY VALLEE gets a chance to warble a couple of Irving Berlin tunes. He's part of a scheme by Power, a publicity agent for a Hollywood studio, to revive Vallee's fading career by getting a phony romantic buildup pairing him with Henie. Henie, of course, knows nothing of the scheme and therefore she and Power have romantic misunderstanding until the final reel.

It's a diverting piece of entertainment, one of the better Sonja Henie films produced by Fox and well worth seeing for the skating sequences alone, if you're a Henie fan. Her graceful routines are well choreographed for the camera.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Second Fiddle

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1