User reviews

Jean Webster's novel Daddy Long Legs has certainly been popular enough ever since it was written in 1912. First a play the following year that starred a young Ruth Chatterton, than film versions with Mary Pickford as a silent and an early sound film starring Janet Gaynor. There was even a Dutch language version in the Thirties and a couple of years back South Korea filmed a version of the story. Still the best known one is the one with the singing and dancing of Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron.

Johnny Mercer who can well lay claim to being the greatest lyricist America ever produced occasionally wrote the music as well for some songs, an example being I'm An Old Cowhand. Another one he did both music and lyrics for is Dream which was interpolated into this otherwise original score and sung by the Pied Pipers. Mercer did music and lyrics for the rest of the score as well which included the Oscar nominated Something's Gotta Give for Best Song. It lost in 1955 to Love Is A Many Splendored Thing.

I've got a feeling that Jean Webster took as her inspiration for the Daddy Long Legs Story the marriage of Grover Cleveland. The future President of the United States was practicing law in Buffalo, New York when his law partner, one Oscar Folsom, was killed in a carriage accident leaving a widow and small daughter. Cleveland took over the guardianship and raised young Frances Folsom and when he was president in his first term he married young Ms. Folsom when she came of age in the White House.

In this updating of the story, Fred Astaire is a millionaire diplomat on a trade mission to France after World War II. The car breaks down near an orphanage and while there spots and becomes enchanted with young Leslie Caron. He becomes her unseen benefactor, putting her through college in America and she calls him, Daddy Long Legs. Of course like the Clevelands the March/July romance commences.

Daddy Long Legs gave Darryl Zanuck an opportunity to try and respond to MGM's classic ballet in An American In Paris, where not coincidentally Leslie Caron danced with Gene Kelly. In an incredible generosity of spirit it's not Fred who dances, but Caron. In her fantasy Astaire just ambles through. It's a nice number but doesn't come close to what Kelly achieved. It's interesting to speculate what might have happened had Fred danced here.

Thelma Ritter has some nice lines herself as the usual wisecracking girl Friday and for once Fred Clark is a good guy as Astaire's factotum. That must have been a welcome change for him.

If you should be with your beloved watching Daddy Long Legs, you can bet as sure as you live, Something's Gotta Give, Something's Gotta Give, Something's Gotta Give.

'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.

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!

I think this film, "Daddy Long Legs", is much better than its Imdb rating indicates. I rate it "8" of 10. Fred Astaire was 56 and Leslie Caron 24 when this film came out, so it stretches the age thing a bit, but I suppose we can write that off as cultural differences among the French.

Simple story, executed very well. I didn't read the book, nor do I think it is relevant. This is a movie and it should be appreciated on its own merits. It is well-established that the author of this screenplay changed the story quite a bit, for purposes of this Hollywood production, so comparing it to the book is moot.

Wealthy American (Astaire/Jervis) is on an economic mission to France when their vehicle gets stuck in a ditch. He wanders upon a French orphanage, looking for a phone or ride, and spots the 18-yr-old orphan (Caron/Julie), so lively, bright, responsible, attending to the younger orphans. He becomes an anonymous sponsor and sends her to a college in Mass. The only stipulation is that she write a letter weekly to "Mr Jones" to keep him informed of her progress.

The letters never get to Jervis, intercepted and filed by his staff. Until over two years later, when he had forgotten about her, but her letters are called to his attention. Finds out his niece is one of her roommates, he goes to a college dance to visit his neice, but really to see Julie. They meet, hit it off despite their age difference, dance marvelously. Later Julie visits NYC alone, ambassador to France is on next patio, at breakfast overhears what he thinks is hanky-panky, persuades Jervis to quit seeing Julie.

Julie eventually graduates, is lonely because she has never met "Daddy Long Legs", and has no place to go to after graduation. She insists on meeting her benefactor, who lives in a mansion, sort of museum, that even gives art tours to the public. There she realizes Jervis is in fact her benefactor, he proposes, she accepts.

First, the story is very plausible. A rich man seeing a talented person and wanting to help out anonymously. So I naturally find the story compelling. Second, Astaire and Caron were two of the best dancers, and also very good actors, that ever lived. "Dream scenes" were concocted to showcase each alone, and both together, in production dance numbers. For its genre, it is an almost perfect film. It gets its name from the small orphans telling Julie they saw him, not distinctly, at night and his shadow cast on the orphanage's wall made him look like he had very long legs.

This CinemaScope musical romance from 20th Century Fox and director Jean Negulesco stars Fred Astaire as millionaire Jervis Pendleton III. On a business trip to France, he happens upon an orphanage where he hears 18-year-old Julie Andre (Leslie Caron) singing to the other kids. Impressed by her talent, he arranges to anonymously adopt her and have her sent to America to an exclusive girls' boarding school. Julie has never met Jervis, and she imagines all sorts of romantic notions about his appearance and demeanor. When Jervis later meets Julie, he falls in love with her, but doesn't reveal that he's her adoptive father, which can only spell trouble down the line. Also featuring Ray Anthony & His Orchestra.

This was another early attempt to utilize the CinemaScope widescreen format in the musical genre, and it had mixed results. Some of the numbers are visually impressive, like Caron's ballet number later in the film, but others seem to keep the action to the center of the screen, wasting the wider imagery. The story isn't as creepy as it sounds, although there's no way this would get green-lit today. Caron was quite likeable here. Reportedly this movie was a favorite of director Akira Kurosawa. It earned Oscar nominations for Best Color Art Direction, Best Score (Alfred Newman), and Best Song ("Something's Gotta Give").

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.

I tried playing the drums once. I poked an eye out. Lucky for me it wasn't my own eye. Still, that catastrophic experience told me that I should leave the drumkit to the pros. Neil Peart, John Bonham, and Fred Astaire. Yes. Fred Astaire.

Drum fans, you have GOT to check out the opening number where Fred sings and dances while playing the drums (and he's really playing, too). It's one of those overlooked gems like his golf routine in "Carefree" (1938) where he does a little tap whilst driving a few 300-yarders. Innovative dance routines like these are what made Fred Astaire so great and what make his movies so entertaining.

I'm not really a Fred Astaire Fan; in fact, "Daddy Long Legs" and "Carefree" are the only two films of his that I've seen. But if they're any indication, I'm going to start hunting for more. I watched "Daddy Long Legs" mainly because I really enjoyed the 2005 Korean remake "Kidari ajeossi" (which is not a musical). Now that I've seen the original, I appreciate both films.

My only gripe with this film is that it didn't seem to get personal enough. We rarely get any closeups of the stars, which is a crime considering how stunningly beautiful the leading lady Leslie Caron is. But if it's any consolation, she does a lot of twirls, and each time she does it, we see her dress fly up. Yeah babay! Spin! SPIN!! Oh sorry, I got carried away there. Well, now that I've talked about drums, Korean flicks and spinners, maybe I should talk about the actual film. Naah.

Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron were such marvelous dancing partners in 1955's Daddy Longlegs.

The story line is wonderful. Astaire "adopts" a young Parisian orphan and pays for her college tuition. Throughout the years, she writes in gratitude but he chooses to ignore the letters.

Fred Clark and Thelma Ritter, two veteran movie pros, gave terrific support as workers under Astaire. The sentimental Ritter, as Alice, is able to bring the two together and the film takes on a new meaning until Caron discovers that Astaire has been her benefactor. As romance blossoms, we're happy to see that Clark and Ritter have romantic designs on each other as well.

The dance sequences have never been better. Both Astaire and Carone show their gracefulness. Fred even knew how to put-over "Something's Got To Give."

This is one of the best films I've seen in quite some time. The dance sequences were used beautifully to further the story and flesh out characters. Astaire and Caron have great chemistry, overcoming the age difference of the characters. And Caron is with Astaire on every step of the dance sequences.

Unlike some dance-heavy, Astaire-vehicles (like An American in Paris in some places), this film's dance sequences do not drag down the plot or flow of the film. To the contrary, they are delightful-- and I'm generally not one for these kinds of films.

I have to say that I wasn't engaged throughout the entire film. But I really think this is more a matter of generation gap than quality of cinema. It's relatively long for a fairly simple story, and thus takes some patience to watch all the way through. However, I believe it's worth it for more thoughtful viewers and lovers of '50s films and dance.

I love this movie, have watched it countless times, never tire of it...except for one part: the dream sequence near the end. It's kind of tedious and I always fast forward it to the cute ending. I think it is neat that Fred wanted Leslie Caron for the part of Julie (Jerusha in the book) instead of Mitzi Gaynor. The movie would have been a dud with anyone else but Leslie in the ingenue role. She is just darling. The best scene is "Something's Gotta Give". That is one classy song and one classy scene. It has more sex appeal and chemistry than most modern romantic movies can muster.

Just one more note: Fred Clark and Thelma Ritter are quite funny, together and apart. I like the interplay between them and Fred's character Jervis, and some of the dialogue makes me burst out laughing each time I see it. Overall good 1950's musical. I liked it better than Funny Face because the character Audrey Hepburn played in that film rubbed me the wrong way. Leslie is just as sweet as a sugar plum fairy in contrast.

There's a terribly sad story behind the filming of this movie, so if you find Fred's performance a little lackluster or if you notice his eyes are red and puffy, please give him a break and don't criticize him. I'll never understand why actors and actresses who are grieving agree to finish their current picture. Fred's adoring wife died during the production, and he tried to buy himself out of his contract but the studio wouldn't hear of it.

For such a delightful story, Daddy Long Legs had a terrible pall of sadness to taint it. Leslie Caron plays the sweet, innocent schoolgirl with the mysterious benefactor, but instead of the charming turn of the century setting of the original novel, it's updated to suit modern times. I really don't like the change, since much focus is placed on the generation gap between her and Fred. She speaks in slang, dances the jitterbug (which is a total waste of her talents) and has to show Daddy-O how to be hep with atrocious jazz songs. Does the elegant Astaire really belong in that environment?

No, he doesn't. And you don't have to watch this movie if you don't want to. You can support him and his broken heart in other ways, by reading biographies or watching him at his best. I'm sure he never watched this movie, either.

Most would probably cast their votes for THE BANDWAGON, EASTER PARADE, or any number of other Ginger Rogers-Fred Astaire team-up's as the most stellar of Fred Astaire's efforts. Yet DADDY LONG LEGS is perhaps the most beguiling of the Astaire musicals and quite possibly captures the purest romantic sensibility of them all. However, few admirers of the legendary dancer ever seem to cite this wonderful motion picture as being among the most shimmering of the Astaire nuggets--and it remains a mystery why that is so.

Directed by Jean Negulesco, the film is the Cinderella story of a wealthy New York playboy, Jervis Pendleton (Astaire), who stumbles upon a beautiful young orphaned girl, Julie Andre, (Leslie Caron) while on a trip to France. He decides to bring her to America and sponsor her college education while keeping his identify unknown. From the beginning, Caron idealizes the benefactor she never sees and identifies him as her "Daddy Long Legs." Writing hundreds of letters to him in an attempt to establish a relationship, she receives only the depersonalized anonymity of continuing financial aid. Eventually, the two do come face to face at a college prom through Astaire's niece, Linda (Terry Moore), who is a classmate of Caron. But Caron still has no idea that Astaire and "Daddy Long Legs" are one in the same. Of course, Astaire falls for Caron after the couple spend a whirlwind night on the town, but then severs all connection to her after Ambassador Williamson (Larry Keating)lectures him on the public scandal of his being a Sugar Daddy.

The musical numbers, choreographed by Astaire, are fresh, colorful, and romantically vibrant. The dance ballet inspired by the music of "Dream" --in which Caron fantasizes over the identify of her "Daddy Long Legs"-- shifts through a series of tempo, costume, and musical changes and is inescapably reminiscent of the Gene Kelly-Leslie Caron 20 minute masterpiece in AN American IN Paris. In the night on the town number, after meeting at Linda's college prom, they swing through Johnny Mercer's Acadamy Award nominated SOMETHIN'S GOTTA GIVE. It is the turning point when the two realize they are falling in love, though Caron is still not aware that Astaire is her benefactor. Not to be missed is Astaire's performance of "Slew Foot" with Caron at the prom where Jervis Pendleton shows the younger set a thing or two about what a man over 50 can do on a dance floor. It's one of the most entertaining sequences in the film and contains some very funny moments.

The veteran supporting cast works wonderfully well: Terry Moore as Pendleton's niece, Fred Clarke as Griggs, Pendleton's assistant, and Larry Keating as Ambassador Williamson. But it is the sympathetic Thelma Ritter who shines as Pendleton's secretary Alicia. She is the one who has been reading and filing all the Julie Andre letters for years until she takes it upon herself to be the only friend at Caron's graduation and instigates the pivotal meeting between Pendleton and Andre at Astaire's Park Avenue office. It is there that Pendleton's identity is unmasked and Andre discovers that Astaire is, after all, her "Daddy Long Legs."

DADDY LONG LEGS may not usually be thought of as reigning near the top of Fred Astaire's films, but it surely must be included among his best musicals. The Phoebe Ephron script of a May-September romance is fresh and colorful; the musical numbers are beautifully and artfully choreographed; and the 1950's Technicolor cinematography memorably filmed.

Trivia: Fred Astire was 56 years old when he made the film; Caron was 24...DADDY LONG LEGS was not one of Astaire's MGM musicals; it was released by 20th CENTURY FOX...Both Fred Clarke and Larry Keating played Harry Morton, next door neighbor to George Burns and Gracie Allen on the BURNS AND ALLEN show of the 1950's. Clarke came first beginning in 1951, then in 1953, George Burns actually announced the cast change in the middle of an episode as Clarke exited and Keating stepped in and took his place!...Leslie Caron never wanted to be in movies, but when Gene Kelley offered her a part in the MGM legendary musical AN American IN Paris in 1950, she gave in to her mother's demands and flew to Hollywood...Johnny Mercer was nominated in 1955 for best original song for SOMETHIN'S GOTTA GIVE. However, the winner that year proved to be LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING...Mitzi Gaynor was the studio's choice for the Julie Andre role, but Astaire held out for Leslie Caron--probably after being dazzled by her performance in AN American In Paris with Gene Kelly, which won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year, 1951...It was during the filming of DADDY LONG LEGS that Fred Astaire's wife died. At various times he retreated to his trailer emotionally overcome. Some have said that in certain scenes Astaire to have "red eyes."...

Dennis Caracciolo

On a trip to France, millionaire Jervis Pendleton sees an 18 year old girl (Leslie Caron) in an orphanage. Enchanted with her, but mindful of the difference in their ages, he sponsors her to college in New England.

Is this a creepy story? In a way, yes, because you have a much older man with a woman who is barely an adult. The movie plays it off early on, with Astaire's character completely forgetting about the girl for two years until reminded by his staff. Clearly he is not out to pursue her in a creepy way. And yet, this is a romance.

Although the film is towards the end of Astaire's dancing career (he did "Funny Face" after this but not much else), it is still fun of the great songs and dances he was known for. If I had to decide, I would say Astaire was the all-time dance master, with Gene Kelly a distant second.

A garish and overlong Astaire musical somewhat reminiscent of 'Yolanda and the Thief' of considerable historical interest as the film that teamed him with Leslie Caron; while any film benefits from the presence of Thelma Ritter.

It's a measure of just how long ago this all was that ingenues Caron and Terry Moore are now both in their nineties.

In Feb. 2013 TCM showed an excellent transfer of the film, full Cinemascope aspect ratio, relatively sharp image, better color than what I remember from viewings years ago. The full vibrant color in the dream dance sequences especially added to my enjoyment of the film; really noticed the wonderful set design/artwork. The color schemes in Caron's dream ballet seemed to predict those common in the psychedelic 1960's.

A couple of people here say Fred Astaire's wife died during filming; I'm fairly sure that is incorrect. She died in 1953, I believe, while he was filming The Bandwagon at MGM. I remember reading that Arthur Freed walked with the grieving Astaire to calm him down when he got the news. Also it's doubtful that DLL would have been filmed in 1953 and release held up til 1955. And the reason Astaire was not in White Christmas (he was to have had the part played by Danny Kaye), filmed and released in 1954, was because he was still grieving from his wife's death in 1953.

I'm sure some will disagree, but I carefully watched Caron dancing with Astaire, and saw that she was one of his weaker partners. Ballroom and tap were not her usual style and she lacks the facility and panash of Rogers, Charisse, Hayworth. I've never been impressed with Caron's dancing anyway, but she was a very talented actress, both comic and dramatic, and was always charming on screen. And Astaire is so good in their partner dances that you have to really pay attention to see she is not anywhere near his caliber in that sort of dancing.

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.

This film is worth watching just for the drum performance by Fred Astaire in its first minutes.

Fred plays a very wealthy free spirit who crosses paths with a beautiful, 18-year-old French orphan (Leslie Caron). He is inspired to elevate her station in life by anonymously paying for her college education in the United States. The terms of the agreement require that she must never know who her benefactor is.

As she progresses in school, she regularly writes to him, but he never replies. Still, he periodically keeps tabs on her.

Johnny Mercer provides some clever songs. Astaire and Caron provide some solid dancing---especially the "Sluefoot" number, which allows Astaire to swing and jive with the younger crowd.

Though its story may be somewhat disjointed, this film delivers some memorable performances.

"Daddy Long Legs" was originally filmed back in 1919 and it starred Mary Pickford. I saw this film and enjoyed it very much--giving the film a score of 8. In 1955, Twentieth Century-Fox released a new version--a musical starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. Is it as good as the original or better? The film's plot is very similar. A rich guy (Astaire) notices a sweet orphan (Caron) and is so captivated by her, he arranges to send her off to school and make her a woman. However, this is all done without revealing who her benefactor is. Eventually, the man falls in love with her and,...well, you see the rest.

"Daddy Long Legs" (1955) has two major problems. First, seeing a middle-aged Fred Astaire falling for a MUCH younger Caron is pretty creepy--especially in light of their relationship. Second, and I am surprised by this, but the musical numbers SEVERELY hampered the film--often derailing the plot. Many of these songs are pretty bad and the film lacks the wonderful dance numbers you'd expect in an Astaire film. Overall, I say see the 1919 version. Despite being a silent, it's a delight. The 1955 version is anything but a delight.

One hot summer night I have stumbled upon Daddy Long Legs when it was being broadcast on the TV; funnily enough I've started watching since 10-minute mark and sadly missed one of the greatest character introductions in movie history. This wonderful musical tells a story of a millionaire who "adopts" an 18-year-old orphan girl from France so that she could come to America and study while he remains in the shadow as her guardian. Fred Astaire is phenomenal in this role and despite the loss of his wife in the midst of shooting the movie he played absolutely stupendously, and his rendition of "Something's gotta give" is among the best ones for sure. Leslie Caron is on the other hand a bit stiff in her role but she makes it all up with her outstanding dance and ballet performances; in fact all of the numbers (which were choreographed partially by Astaire himself) deserve an extra round of applause. The only thing I can charge the movie with is that by second half the plot gets fairly unrealistic and overall too safe while not losing the good sense of humor along the way.

In the mid 1950s, Astaire inexplicably turned into Cary Grant, romancing women less than half his age in this film and his next, "Funny Face." In this musical based on the popular children's novel, he is a 50-something millionaire who sponsors a French teenager's education in the U.S. and then falls in love with her. As in "Funny Face," where Astaire lusted after Audrey Hepburn, it is not only embarrassing but downright icky watching this May-December romance. The musical numbers are actually not bad, but the film far outstays its welcome at a running time of over two hours. Caron plays basically the same role she did in "An American in Paris" and "Gigi."

Fred Astaire as an American corporate shareholder with interest in numerous companies who, while on a trip to France, becomes enchanted from afar by an 18-year-old orphan and decides to sponsor her; she enrolls at college in Massachusetts, and dreams of who her benefactor is. Remake of both a 1919 Mary Pickford silent and a Janet Gaynor comedy from 1931 shows a fashionably plush, sassy style in its fantasy sequences; however, director Jean Negulesco isn't able to pick up the pace, and the rest of the film is bogged down by talk and a plot that seems constructed by-the-numbers. Leslie Caron, still doing the orphan routine, looks more than ready to graduate, but she's delightful dancing with Astaire. In these musical moments, the film takes flight and becomes a 1950s fashion-magazine come to life. ** from ****