This last remake (thus far) of the Jean Webster novel Daddy Long Legs was extensively revised to accommodate the talents of Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. Fragments of the basic plot remain: American millionaire Astaire is the unknown benefactor of French orphan girl Caron, financing the girl's education on the proviso that his identity never be revealed to her. Moved by Caron's letters of thanks, Astaire's secretary Thelma Ritter advises Astaire to go to France to visit the "child". When he arrives, he finds that his ward has grown up rather nicely, and the two fall in love--though Caron never knows until the very end who Astaire really is. The old story has been updated to allow for an elaborate "cowboy" number and a couple of Eisenhower jokes. Highlights include a solo ballet by Caron and a wonderful Astaire routine involving a set of drums. The score for Daddy Long Legs is unremarkable save for Johnny Mercer's hit "Something's Gotta Give". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Review
The fact that Fred Astaire was often considerably older than his partners can be problematic, and is especially so in Daddy Long Legs. More than 30 years the senior of co-star Leslie Caron, this might not have been important if the story had not centered around a very young college girl and her much older guardian and the romance that eventually blooms between them. While the filmmakers go out of the way to bowdlerize the situation, there's still something uncomfortable about the whole set-up; it verges on the unsavory, even with someone as respectable as Astaire. That aside, the screenplay itself is acceptable -- not exceptional, but the structure is fine and there are a number of good lines. It's not musicalized as well as it might have been; as far as songs go, there's really only one "book" number (although that one is the marvelous "Something's Gotta Give"). The first dream ballet, in which Caron wonders about her mysterious guardian angel, is well danced by Astaire (and features the unforgettable sight of Fred in cowboy boots and cowboy hat), but doesn't add up to much. The second ballet, in which Caron imagines herself seeking Astaire in three different settings, including Rio at Carnavale time, is much better (and sports some very eye-catching sets and costumes). And the "Sluefoot" number is very well staged. Individually, the two stars are both winning and appealing, but together they don't set off sparks romantically or even as dancers (their styles don't quite mesh). Thelma Ritter is quite good in a part which draws a bit more on her sensitive side and less on her wisecracking persona. This would be Astaire's only musical for Fox. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
It was one of Astaire's personal favorites, largely due to the script which, for once, directly addresses the complications inherent in a love affair between a young woman and a man thirty years her senior. However, the making of it was marred by his wife's death from lung cancer. Deeply traumatized, Astaire offered to pay the production expenses already incurred in order to quit the project, but then changed his mind.
This was the first of three consecutive Astaire films set in France or with a French theme (the others being Funny Face and Silk Stockings), following the fashion for French-themed musicals established by ardent Francophile Gene Kelly with An American in Paris (1951), which also featured Kelly's protégée Caron.
Wealthy American Jervis Pendleton III (Fred Astaire) has a chance encounter at a French orphanage with a cheerful 18-year-old resident, Julie Andre (Leslie Caron). He anonymously pays for her education at a New England college. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor regularly, but he never writes back. Her nickname for him, "Daddy Long Legs", is taken from the description of him given to Andre by some of her fellow orphans who see his shadow as he leaves their building.
Several years later, he visits her at school, still concealing his identity. Despite their large age difference, they soon fall in love.
Key songs/dance routines
His first film in Cinemascope widescreen - which he was to parody later in the "Stereophonic Sound" number from Silk Stockings (1957) - provided him the opportunity to explore the additional space available, with the help of his assistant choreographer Dave Robel. Roland Petit designed the much-maligned "Nightmare Ballet" number. As usual, Astaire adapted his choreography to the particular strengths of his partner, in this case ballet. Even so, Caron ran into some problems in this, her last dance musical, to the extent that Astaire mentioned in his biography that "one day at rehearsals I asked her to listen extra carefully to the music, so as to keep in time". Caron herself puts this down to flaws in her early musical training. The final result, however, has a pleasing and appropriate dreamlike quality. In this respect, it is a more successful attempt to integrate ballet into his dance routines than his previous effort in Shall We Dance (1937).
"History Of The Beat": An Astaire song and dance solo using drumsticks performed in an office environment. While the use of drumsticks recalls the Nice Work If You Can Get It routine from A Damsel In Distress (1937), and the Drum Crazy number from Easter Parade (1948), it is a pale shadow of either, and, given that this was the first number to be filmed, some commentators have speculated that it was affected by Astaire's grief at his wife's death.
"Daddy Long Legs": An off-screen female chorus sing this attractive number while Caron muses fondly at a blackboard cartoon sketch of Astaire.
"Daydream Sequence": Astaire appears in three guises: A Texan, an international playboy, and a guardian angel based on images of him described in letters from Caron. As a Texan he performs a comic gallumphing square dance routine to a short song dubbed for him by Thurl Ravenscroft - the only time in his career that Astaire's voice was dubbed. As an international playboy he tangoes his way through a flock of women, one of whom is Barrie Chase - who was later to be his dance partner in all of his television specials from 1958-1968. The third routine is a particularly attractive and gentle romantic partnered dance with Caron, where she performs graceful ballet steps while Astaire glides admiringly around her.
"Sluefoot": A boisterous and joyous partnered dance with Astaire and Caron with a lot of sharp leg movements in which, atypically, Astaire inserts a short and zany solo segment. The chorus join in towards the end.
"Something's Gotta Give": Astaire was deeply grateful to his friend Mercer for composing this now famous standard as he felt the film sorely lacked a strong popular song. In the romantic partnered routine which follows Astaire's rendition of the song, he exploits - albeit reluctantly - the wide lateral spaces afforded by the Cinemascope format. While the routine has many attractive qualities and the ending is particularly fine, some commentators have detected a certain stiffness in Caron, especially in her upper body.
"Nightmare Ballet": A solo routine for Caron frequently criticised for its rather meaningless content and length (it lasts all of twelve minutes).
"Dream": A short but much admired celebratory romantic partnered routine for Astaire and Caron with dreamlike twirling motifs and, unusually for Astaire, incorporating a kiss.
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