The film is unlike many other Astaire films. Teaming up with a younger woman was something Astaire also did when he selected the young Barry Chase in his 1955 TV special that led to many more specials with her. He won an emmy for it and appeared on the cover of Life magazine, I believe.
Actually the special with Barrie Chase premiered on October 17, 1958 and won
the lion's share Emmy awards for that season. Many were baffled, because though entertaining (I've never seen it, but how could it not have been?), this surfeit of awards was thought to be a bit much.
Barrie Chase has a
very brief scene in 'Daddy Long Legs' -- she is one of the dancers in Astaire's reverie about how the Lesie Caron character may have envisioned him.
Some interesting trivia and firsts in this film:
- Astaire's and Caron's first film for 20th Century Fox.
- Astaire's first film in Cinemascope.
- First film for which Johnny Mercer wrote the
music and lyrics.
- Caron's last musical where her dancing is key -- there are no dance sequences in
Gigi, which was her last musical.
- the first movie for which Astaire appeared on television (Ed Sullivan, What's
My Line, I've Got A Secret) to promote.
They certainly make optimal use of Cinemascope in the dance sequences, Caron is just lovely, looks beautiful and really walks off with the film, IMHO.
Astaire's wife had died days before filming started, so it was a bittersweet experience for him. The only reason he went ahead with it was his beloved wife of 21 years liked the project and encouraged him to do it after the huge, international success of
The Band Wagon. Astaire wanted to retire after
The Band Wagon, but his wife wanted him to do this and he did it for her and for us -- he would never have made
Funny Face or
Silk Stockings, if not for
Daddy Long Legs. He was wise to keep working, grief-stricken though he was.
A most enjoyable film (if a tad too long) and a must-see, I think for those who love Astaire, Caron, some wonderful performances by some top rank character actors (Fred Clark, Thelma Ritter, Terry Moore) and, techically, to see how Fox used Cinemascope in a muscial to lure people back to the movies.
Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.
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TheJabberwocky
17 years ago
Thank you for all this very interesting facts!
I also think that even if the dance sequence are just beautiful (especially those that Astaire did) they tend to get a tad too long, and I would have love to see more of the story. The dialogues were so funny, Astaire was so charming, Leslie Caron was so lovely that really one wish to see more of it.
And too old my shoe. Any girl will elope with a gentleman like that, at any age! I completly fell in love with him in this movie...
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dencar_1
17 years ago
Perhaps the dance numbers were long, but I've always enjoyed them nevertheless...The color, the jazz tempo, great. And remember this wasn't an MGM musical like AN AMERICAN IN PARIS starring Gene Kelly---it was a 20th Century Fox produced musical!
Interesting that L. Caron was in the legendary AN AMERICAN IN PARIS number with Gene Kelly, then did the dream ballet in DADDY LONG LEGS with Astaire a few years later. I always thought the later was trying to compete with the former in a way. But Caron was really something special and was only 18 when she did AN AMERICAN IN PARIS...
And you had two great second bananas in DADDY LONG LEGS---Fred Clark and Larry Keating. I always liked them. And Thelma Ritter--perefectly cast for her role.
I've got to watch this musical agains soon!
Dennis Caracciolo
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movibuf1962
17 years ago
>>Actually the special with Barrie Chase premiered on October 17, 1958 and won the lion's share Emmy awards for that season. Many were baffled, because though entertaining (I've never seen it, but how could it not have been?), this surfeit of awards was thought to be a bit much.<<
I can shed a *tiny* bit of light on the TV special. The Emmy awards lavished on it were as much about Astaire triumphing in the new medium of television as the special itself. I did see once it a looong time ago (I think it aired on PBS as one of those fund-raising specials they sometimes broadcast). Astaire, who owned the rights to all his TV specials, was still alive at the time, and he had wanted to do something in television, aa he unofficiallly retired from dancing in movies. So with NBC and sponsorship from Chrysler, he entered musical variety television at the age of 59, and still danced like a 30-year old. He performed with Chase in two different duets: one ballroom ("Change Partners") and one jazz ("St. James Infirmary Blues," with trumpet solo and narration by Jonah Jones). And it was the jazz duet that was such an explosion on TV. The TV generation had never really seen Astaire dance before- and so athletically to boot. The success of this special kept Astaire dancing on television for ten more years.
I believe, however, that after he died in 1987, the rights to all his television specials reverted to his widow, who has not allowed them to re-air. Which is a shame, 'cause people should really see this man perform live in front of a studio audience.
And thanks for all your other trivia- that's way cool!!
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