ANGELA MADE TIM WATCH: Daddy Long Legs (1955)

 

DADDY LONG LEGS (1955), starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. Written by Henry and Phoebe Ephron. Directed by Jean Negulesco. 

TIM SAYS:

It is obvious almost right from the beginning of the film that this has to be judged on its own merits. Though it takes the bare bones of the plot from the novel, several major changes to the story structure and characters essentially make it a different story.

For instance, the movie set in the then-contemporary 1950s, Judy is now from a French orphanage and we find out right away that Jervis is her sponsor (though it is still a secret from her). 

And this is fine, because it's a fun movie. The dance sequences are magnificent and (in every case) also serve to further either the plot or character development. Both Astaire and Caron exude their usual charm in their roles and both seem to be having fun (though in real life, Astaire was mourning the death of his wife, so perhaps he wasn't having all that much fun). 

As Judy, Caron doesn't have the same "Anne of Green Gables" vibe that book-Judy had, but she is still smart and vivacious. 

I also liked the supporting cast, especially Fred Clark as Jervis' assistant and Thelma Ritter as his secretary. The script succeeds in giving them all three-dimensional personalities.

ANGELA SAYS:

If you read the book before you watch the movie, please note, the book clearly inspires the movie more than anything else. The feel of the book is rural, quiet and content. The feel of the movie is urbane, sophisticated and splashy. This is just an observation, but an important one if you have read the book.

Jervis Pendleton (Fred Astaire) is presented, not as a playboy in the traditional sense, but as a swinging New York bachelor. Without the book's foundation of philanthropic orphanage trustee, Hollywood had to create a reason for him to send an orphan to college. Their rather ham-handed approach was to send him on a government mission to France where he stumbles across an orphanage after his car runs off the road. The orphanage just happens to have a beautiful, former ward, who is now a teacher. Pendleton sees Julie Andre (Leslie Caron) teaching the children and is enchanted with her, arranging for her to attend college in the United States. Fast forward two years and Pendleton's majordomo forces him to read the thick stack of letters that has accumulated from Andre. This sets off the events that leads to the inevitable conclusion.

The movie was amusing and Caron's depiction of a bemused and confused Frenchwoman coming to the US for college was charming. As this cast would suggest, the movie is a dance musical and the routines fit the plot well. There isn't the feel that they are just shoved in somewhere to allow the actors to show off their abilities. 

BONUS: the fantasy scene of Astaire as a dancing Texas cowboy is hilarious. 

The supporting cast is excellent, and even the minor characters are given enough to work with that they feel fleshed out and real. And the finale, when Julie learns the truth, is believable and doesn't feel contrived.

Some minor critiques.

• There is no real explanation of why an orphan girl, from an out of the way institute in the backwater of France would speak perfect English. Like many things Hollywood does, you just have to accept it and move on.

• I know the ages of the actors rarely has a real influence on the ages of the characters they play, but I really dislike Hollywood's insistence of casting leading men who are old enough to be the father; sometimes even grandfather, of the leading lady. It's disconcerting at best and creepy at worst.

I love old movies, partly for the fact that they rarely fail entirely and make me regret the time I spent watching them. And this is far from a fail; it's a fun movie and well worth a couple of hours of your time.