Daddy Long Legs

Fred Astaire, that supremely talented perfectionist, had a graceful and utterly charming partner in Leslie Caron in this oft-told fairy tale, so handsomely mounted by Twentieth Century Fox. It's an artifact of its era, with elements such as Ray Anthony's dance band for the prom scene; New York before it became overwhelmingly crass and vulgar; scenes set in a studio version of France when it was still permissible to admit a liking for things Gallic (which is now tantamount to treason - How absurd!); Terry Moore before she began claiming that she'd been secretly married to Howard Hughes; and Thelma Ritter allowed once more to almost steal the whole show with her slightly cynical brand of warmth. Sure there are things to object to: Larry Keating's merciless depiction of a pompous old fogey, eager to deflect Cupid's arrows; the somewhat overblown dream sequence (which did not benefit from Fred Astaire's ability to make a production number flow so matchlessly, as in the "Sluefoot" dance with Fred and Leslie, in which she's allowed to outshine all of her American schoolmates); and a score with only a couple of memorable numbers (i.e., "Dream" and the unforgettable "Somethin's Gotta Give!")

But overall you have to be more than demanding to find this anything but a delightful way to forget the world's harsher realities. The VHS version, with a DVD version probably not on the immediate horizon, no doubt does not duplicate Leon Shamroy's elegant CinemaScope framing. So be forewarned - this was made at a time when the hierarchy at Twentieth virtually commanded that all A-list productions take full advantage of the widescreen ratio and if that's lost, then you won't be seeing anything like what we saw in theaters during the theatrical release of this charmer.

'Daddy Long-Legs', previously filmed silent with Mary Pickford and once more in the 1930s, gets the musical treatment here as the story of the millionaire and the orphan he sponsors gets a Technicolor, Cinemascope, Johnny Mercer update.

Fred Astaire, at 55, is a little old for his role as stick-in-the-mud business whizz Jervis Pendleton, but hey, this is Hollywood. And his interest in, and subsequent wooing of, the French girl Julie Andre (played with charm and wit by Leslie Caron) is helped a lot by the fact that the two stars do not actually share screen time until nearly halfway through the film! With scintillating choreography for both Astaire and Caron, those wonderful songs, and support from Fred Clark, Thelma Ritter, and Terry Moore, 'Daddy Long Legs' is an excellent musical just balancing on the cusp of classic musical vs rock n roll.

Leslie Caron elevates this film with her charm, her pleasant French accent and innocence. The movie also is bright and colorful and features a lot of dance with The Master: Fred Astaire. For me, the bad side was it wasn't the kind of dancing from Astaire that I always liked: tap. For those who prefer the '50s dance style, this movie will be super.

Caron also does a few ballet numbers. She plays an 18-year-old which was a little unrealistic because she doesn't look that young, although I think she was only around 24. Astaire, even though he was in his mid '50s, the same year as the movie, was still agile and very talented.

The dialog is very dated, especially with the college girls of the day. Even though I don't own it, I am glad to see this is out on DVD. The formatted-to-TV VHS picture cuts off a lot of the colorful dance scenery, so the disc is a "must" over the tape.

Having been discovered a few years previously, by that multitalented dance icon: Gene Kelly, cute, pixie-like Leslie Caron here gets to costar with MGM's other dance icon: Fred Astaire., although actually Fox sponsored the film. Of course, both stars being known firstly for their dancing, this, as opposed to merely singing, is emphasized. However, notable Johnny Mercer, who composed all the music, save for one number by Ray Anthony, managed to include several classic lyrical songs, in "Dream", and "Something's Gotta Give". .........As most reviewers have mentioned, and some bitterly complain, Fred and Leslie make an odd-looking romantic couple, he being 30 years her senior, and 35 years older than her scripted age of 18, at the beginning. Thus, on the surface, it looks like an incestuous relationship, in the sense that he is old enough to be her father, and perhaps even her grandfather. But, perhaps their characters don't look at it that way. It would hardly be the first such relationship in history. A pertinent example comes to mind in Charlie Chaplin who, at age 54, married his last wife, of age 18, basically the same as in this script. That marriage lasted the rest of his life. ............Among the supporting actors, Thelma Ritter and Fred Clark stand out as charismatic, playing their usual roles. Larry Keating is also excellent as the American ambassador, in Paris, who has to deal with Fred's desire to send Leslie to college in the USA, with a suspected ambition to eventually marry her. Blond Terry Moore, is also present at times, as Leslie's college roommate, who also happens to be Fred's niece. Now 90y.o., she is perhaps most (in)famous for claiming that she was secretly married to eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, for several decades, until his death. Meanwhile, she had openly married and divorced several other men during that time! However, she also has many screen and TV credits, although not recognized as a big star............I thought Fred's imaginary impersonation of a Texas oil millionaire was the funniest bit............Leslie's perhaps too long ballet I see as being equivalent to Gene Kelly's equally long ballet in "An American in Paris", costarring Leslie.

How terribly sad that during such a delightful and romantic film, Fred Astaire was mourning the death of his wife.

"Daddy Long Legs" is a sweet film with an utterly charming performance, in words and dance, by Leslie Caron, and Astaire's usual high-class, debonair, energetic work.

Thelma Ritter and Larry Keating give fantastic support, and in looking over the cast list, I see that a future dance partner of Astaire's, the wonderful Barrie Chase, is an uncredited dancer.

My only complaint is that the movie is on the long side, with the final dance being not only terribly long, but just one dance sequence too many.

The highlight of the film for me was definitely "Sluefoot." A fantastic number! I noticed one hilarious comment about an "uncredited appearance by Cary Grant." I remember my mom telling me how much Ray Anthony resembled Grant - I guess she was right!