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	~~{{use dmy dates\|date=December 2014}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = Second Fiddle		\| name = Second Fiddle
	\| image = ~~"Second_Fiddle"_~~(~~1957_film~~).jpg		\| image = Second Fiddle (1957 film).jpg
	\| caption = DVD cover		\| caption = DVD cover
	\| director = [[Maurice Elvey]]		\| director = [[Maurice Elvey]]
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	*https://www.silversirens.co.uk/productions/second-fiddle-1957/		*https://www.silversirens.co.uk/productions/second-fiddle-1957/
	*{{IMDb title\|0050946}}		*{{IMDb title\|0050946}}

	~~{{Maurice Elvey}}~~

	[[Category:1957 films]]		[[Category:1957 films]]

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{{use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Second Fiddle
| image = "Second_Fiddle"_(1957_film).jpg
| caption = DVD cover
| director = [[Maurice Elvey]]
| producer = Robert Dunbar
| writer = Robert Dunbar<br>[[Allan MacKinnon]]
| based_on = story by Mary Cathcart Borer<br>Robert Dunbar
| starring = [[Adrienne Corri]]<br> [[Thorley Walters]]<br> [[Lisa Gastoni]]
| music = William Davies
| cinematography = Arthur Graham
| editing = Ted Hunter
| studio = [[Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians#Act Films Ltd|Act Films Ltd]]
| distributor = [[British Lion Films]] (UK)
| released = {{Film date|1957|06}}
| runtime = 78 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
'''''Second Fiddle''''' is a 1957 British [[comedy film]] directed by [[Maurice Elvey]] and starring [[Adrienne Corri]], [[Thorley Walters]], [[Lisa Gastoni]] and [[Richard Wattis]]. The film was produced by Robert Dunbar for [[Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians#Act Films Ltd|Act Films Ltd]].<ref>Action! Fifty Years in the Life of a Union. Published: 1983 (UK). Publisher: ACTT. {{ISBN|0 9508993 0 5}}. ACT Films Limited - Ralph Bond p81 (producer listed as Robert Dunbar)</ref> It was the final film of prolific director Maurice Elvey.<ref name=dvdcompare>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3743 |title=Review |publisher=www.dvdcompare.net |date= |accessdate=2021-06-06}}</ref>

The title comes from the phrase "to play second fiddle" in allusion to an orchestra, meaning to be ignored in relation to some other more important party whilst putting in as much effort.

''Second Fiddle'' was missing from the [[BFI National Archive]], and was listed as one of the [[British Film Institute]]'s "[[BFI 75 Most Wanted|75 Most Wanted]]" lost films.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/second-fiddle.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803092340/http://old.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/second-fiddle.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-08-03 |title=Second Fiddle / BFI Most Wanted |publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref> BFI's update on the list reveals that the film is now found and commercially available on DVD from mid-2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://networkonair.com/shop/2184-second-fiddle-5027626431143.html|title=Network ON AIR > Second Fiddle|work=networkonair.com}}</ref>

==Plot==
Deborah and Charles are an engaged couple, and both are young executives at the successful Pontifex Advertising Agency in London. Deborah writes very successful jingles for television commercials, whilst Charles creates advertisements for print publications. However, the Pontifex board of directors will only allow the employment of single women on their staff, so Deborah worries about her future with the company if they get married, although Charles believes a successful man should be able to support a stay-at-home housewife.

Just before they get married, Deborah is asked to compose a series of jingles in a very short time and then take them to the company's [[New York City|New York]] office to run an advertising campaign there. This results in her spending most of her time at the office and seeing very little of Charles. Meanwhile, a promotion which Charles was hoping for goes to someone else. After their wedding, Deborah has to immediately fly to New York, and while she is away Charles is flattered by the attentions of his attractive secretary Pauline and spends time with her outside work. At the same time, he is annoyed that Deborah seems to be writing to everyone else in the office but he has had only two postcards, despite her promise to write letters.

Eventually, a campaign by the staff to change the company's policy on the employment of married women leads to a long debate by the board of directors which is dominated by the owner of the company, Lord Pontifex. Eventually, alarmed at the prospect of losing Deborah, he agrees to the change, and the staff have a party to celebrate.

On returning from their delayed honeymoon, Charles and Deborah arrive at their apartment and find an important letter that she had sent from New York but which Charles hadn't collected, and they also find many gifts from their clients, with more than one of many of them. Deborah announces that she is pregnant.

==Cast==
* [[Adrienne Corri]] as Deborah
* [[Thorley Walters]] as Charles
* [[Lisa Gastoni]] as Pauline
* [[Richard Wattis]] as Bill Turner
* [[Bill Fraser]] as Nixon
* Aud Johansen as Greta
* [[Brian Nissen]] as Jack Carter
* Ryck Rydon as Chuck
* [[Jill Melford]] as Dolly
* Joy Webster as Joan
* [[Dino Galvani]] as Dino
* [[Johnny Briggs (actor)|Johnny Briggs]] as Jimmy
* Launce Maraschal as Pontifex
* [[Frederick Piper]] as Potter
* [[Beckett Bould]] as General
* [[Madoline Thomas]] as Emily Pfennig ("Fenny")
* [[Ian Whittaker]] as Delivery Boy
* {{anchor|Christina Lubicz}}[[Christina Lubicz]]<ref name="Christina Lubicz">
*{{cite web |title=Christina Lubicz |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbb776c33 |website=BFI |publisher=bfi.org.uk |access-date=19 August 2023 |language=en}}
*{{cite web |title=Christina Lubicz |url=https://en.kinorium.com/name/393992/ |website=Kinorium |access-date=19 August 2023 |language=en}}
*{{cite web |title=Christina Lubicz |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/1165077%7C0/Christina-Lubicz/ |website=tcmdb |publisher=tcm.com |access-date=19 August 2023 |language=en}}
*{{cite web |title=Christina Lubicz |url=https://theatricalia.com/person/1bfn/christina-lubicz |website=Theatricalia .com |access-date=19 August 2023}}
*https://fdb.pl/osoba/1117199-christina-lubicz
*https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/item/?type=person&itemid=393746
*https://www.cine.com/actores/christina-lubicz
*https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Christina+Lubicz-145137
*{{cite web |last1=Kerr |first1=Harry |title=German juggler Tux balances crockery on his head, much to the astonishment of Christina Lubicz, who is sitting on a refrigerator. |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/german-juggler-tux-balances-crockery-on-his-head-much-to-news-photo/3373533 |website=Getty Images |access-date=19 August 2023 |language=en-us |date=1955}}
*{{cite web |title=The Benny Hill Show (1955-57) |url=http://www.turnipnet.com/whirligig/tv/adults/other/bennyhill.htm |website=Whirligig British Television and Radio nostalgia site |publisher=TurnipNet |access-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007001026/http://www.turnipnet.com/whirligig/tv/adults/other/bennyhill.htm |archive-date=7 October 2011}}
</ref> as waitress in the Tahiti coffee bar

==Critical reception==
''DVD Compare'' wrote, "it’s a film that is photographed in a very static way, in a studio setting ([[Shepperton Studios]]) and with much use of long takes and theatrical ‘side-on’ blocking of actors – but this fits the material like a glove. It's a funny, enjoyable film which also slyly comments on issues of gender at work and at home."<ref name=dvdcompare/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=Sue |last2=Porter |first2=Vincent |title=British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference |date=2003 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-815934-6 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyYTDAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Second+Fiddle%22&pg=PA362 |access-date=19 August 2023 |language=en |chapter=Second Fiddle}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20201027132039/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b550402 ]
*https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film768032.html
*https://www.studiocanal.com/title/second-fiddle-1957/
*https://www.silversirens.co.uk/productions/second-fiddle-1957/
*{{IMDb title|0050946}}

{{Maurice Elvey}}

[[Category:1957 films]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:1957 comedy films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Maurice Elvey]]
[[Category:British comedy films]]
[[Category:1950s rediscovered films]]
[[Category:Rediscovered British films]]
[[Category:1950s British films]]

Second Fiddle (1957 film) - Revision history

Kurt at 23:33, 10 September 2024

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>ButlerBlogBot: /* top */ButlerBlogBot task 4: apply date format for {{Infobox film}}; report bugs