Daddy Long Legs (1955)

20th Century Fox, 1955

Starring Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Fred Clark, and Thelma Ritter

Directed by Jean Negulesco

Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

This week, we jump ahead to the 1950's for one of my favorite underrated musicals. Leslie Caron was one of the most popular stars of the decade, in and out of musicals. She started the decade in the Oscar-winning An American In Paris with Gene Kelly, and while Lili wasn't a huge hit, her personal notices were glowing. Astaire personally asked her to star alongside him in this updated musical version of the 1912 novel of the same name. We've already seen it done once at this blog, as the adorable Shirley Temple vehicle Curly Top in 1935. How different is this version from that previous one? Let's begin at the home of millionaire Jervis Pendleton III (Astaire) as we see people touring his home and find out...

The Story: Jervis is on assignment in France when he stops at an orphanage to use their telephone. While there, he sees 18-year-old Julie Andre (Caron) working with the younger children and is enchanted with her vivacity, her creativity, and her intelligence. Over the protests of his fussy aide Griggs (Clark), he arranges for her to attend college in the United States with his niece Linda (Terry Moore). To avoid a scandal, he says he'll keep a hands-off approach, and she can write to him about her progress once a month. 

Jervis doesn't even look at Julie's letters at first, until his secretary Alice Pritchard (Thelma Ritter) brings them to his attention. Julie calls him her benefactor "Daddy Long Legs," after the long shadow the orphans saw when he was first in France, but she's getting tired of never hearing from him. He finally connects with her at a school dance while visiting Linda with her mother Gertrude (Kathryn Giveny) and falls for her, taking her out on the town and sending the boy who is interested in her to work in Bolivia. Griggs points out their rather large age difference, which makes Jarvis flee for several long business trips. Julie, however, is almost finished with college. She thinks she still hasn't met her "Daddy Long Legs" and wonders if he or Jervis really love her. It's Alice who finally convinces the men that age matters less than love, companionship, and compatibility. 

The Song and Dance: For all the trouble they had making this - Fred Astaire's wife died right before filming began and they almost replaced him, the studio originally wanted Mitzi Gaynor for Julie - it actually came out quite well. Astaire and Caron work better than you might think. Like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face two years later, Caron's warm, airy persona helps to transcend their age differences. The Technicolor glows here, especially in Caron's two witty dream ballets and the gorgeous 50's gowns, tutus, and suits for Astaire and Clark. Mercer's songs are lovely too. "Something's Gotta Give" was nominated for an Oscar and has since become a jazz standard.

The Numbers: We open with Jervis showing off his drumming skills to an annoyed Griggs in the instrumental drum-and-dance routine "History of the Beat." Julie teaches the orphans that "C-A-T Spells Cat" as Jervis watches them in delight at the orphanage. She wanders around the outdoor classroom in shock and delight as an offscreen chorus sings about her "Daddy Long Legs" after she's told she'll be going to college in the US. "Welcome Egghead" the other college girls tease when Julie arrives. "Julie's Dream Ballet" is the first of two instrumental ballets. Julie imagines what her "Daddy Long Legs" looks like. Jervis dances as a Texas millionaire doing a square dance, a sensual playboy after all the ladies, or Julie's guardian angel. 

"The Sluefoot" is the big chorus number at the dance, with Ray Anthony and His Orchestra and the Pied Pipers. Jervis and Julie turn the intimate dance into a delightful moment. Jervis brings her to New York, where he sings "Something's Gotta Give" at the penthouse he sets her up in, and they dance together. This is followed by the instrumental "Dancing Through Life" ballet as the two kick up their heels in all of the fashionable Manhattan clubs. Julie's dream of meeting her benefactor becomes a "Nightmare Ballet" as she dreams of dancing for Jervis in a Paris ballet, encountering him in a smoky cafe in Hong Kong, and chasing him through carnival in Rio. The movie ends with the brief "Dream" as Julie finally realizes who her benefactor is. 

Trivia: This would be the only movie Caron or Astaire made for 20th Century Fox.

If Astaire looks a little red-eyed and upset at a few junctures...well, see the death of his beloved wife mentioned above. They pushed back filming to give him more room to process his grief.

This is the third version of Daddy Long Legs 20th Century Fox made, and the fourth time the 1912 children's novel made it to the big screen. In addition to Curly Top, Mary Pickford did a silent version in 1919, while Janet Gaynor would appear in a non-musical sound remake in 1931. It would become a London stage musical, Love From Judy, in 1952. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, while the age difference doesn't bother me, some people may find 50-something Astaire dancing with 20-something Caron (and kissing her in the end, a rarity for Astaire's films) to be a tad creepy. Second, this movie, for all the lovely art direction and costumes, didn't really need the lavish Cinemascope. It's really an intimate four-person story at its core. We have the one chorus number in "Sluefoot." Most of the songs are duets, solos, or ballets. Clark and Ritter are the only ones besides Astaire and Caron who even remotely register. We barely see Caron's roommates, which is a shame because they're pretty funny when we do meet them, and Kelly Brown as Jimmy McBride barely registers as window dressing.

The Big Finale: The age difference aside, this is a must-see if you're a fan of Astaire, Caron, or the big lavish ballet-filled musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: The DVD and Blu-Ray are hard-to-find and often pricey at this writing. Your best bet would be streaming. 

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Cult Flops - The Glass Slipper

MGM, 1955

Starring Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Estelle Winwood, and Elsa Lanchester

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Bronislau Kaper; Lyrics by Helen Deustch

After their success with Lili, MGM tried again two years later with another ballet-influenced vehicle for Leslie Caron. This time, they went with one of the most famous fairy tales in the world. Helen Deustch, who wrote Lili, adapted a 1944 stage version of Cinderella, The Glass Slipper, into a whimsical semi-musical with two major dance sequences. How does this version of one of the most beloved fairy tales in the world look now? Let's begin in a picturesque European dutchy, where everyone is very happy to be preparing for a local festival...everyone but one little servant girl...

The Story: Ella (Caron) is not popular among the locals, who see her covered in cinders and make fun of her. For her part, she throws every insult back at them. She knows she'll live in a palace someday, like a fortune teller once told her mother. She's basically a servant to the Widow Sonder (Lanchester) and her pretty but icy daughters Birdena (Amanda Blake) and Serafina (Lisa Daniels), who respect her even less than the townspeople do. Her only friend is Mrs. Toquet (Winwood), an eccentric woman whom many people in town think is a witch.

One day, when visiting the lovely little pond on the palace grounds, she encounters a handsome man (Wilding) and his friend Kovin (Keenan Wynn). Angry with them taking over her favorite spot, she pushes the fellow in the pond. He's really Prince Charles, newly returned from school, but he tells her he's the cook's son. Enchanted with her spunk and beauty, he gives her an invitation to a ball at the palace. Ella is sure her stepmother won't let her go, but Mrs. Toquet knows how to get her there...

The Song and Dance: Caron is once again enchanting in a very different role. Ella's no put-upon little doll. She's a wild, willful creature, too strong-willed for the narrow-minded townspeople. I've never seen Cinderella played like this, not even in Disney's versions, and it's refreshing. Prince Charles is equally interesting, playful, funny, and intelligent enough to see that under her disdainful nature, Ella only wants to be loved. Stage actress Winwood had a lot of fun as the eccentric old woman who is the first person to ever give Ella a kind word. The gorgeous costumes and scenery go a long way to bringing fairy-tale Europe of the 18th century to life, especially the amazing ball gowns.

Favorite Number: The only song is Wilding's performance of"Take My Love" on the spinet after he's fallen for Ella at the pond, but there are two extended ballet sequences. The first is Ella's dream of what it would be like to be married to the cook's son. She and Wilding twirl and leap with maids in frilly petticoats and striped stockings and white-coated chefs around a white kitchen with massive blue stoves and copper pots, ending on a gigantic wedding cake.

The second is a lot darker. After Ella hears Prince Charles is to wed an Egyptian princess, she imagines him on the arm of a gold-clad Neferetti-esque beauty (Lilane Montevecchi) before he sees her laying on a coffin and kisses her. They flee together into the woods, only to be separated by guards in blue who return him to the princess.

What I Don't Like: First and foremost, the two ballets are so delightful, I really wish they'd gone full-on musical. Songs for the king and his court, the widow and her daughters, and maybe a patter number for Winwood might have been fun. Second, I can kind of understand why it didn't go over nearly as well as Lili did. It lacks that film's whimsy and graceful simplicity. 

The Big Finale: If you or your kids are fans of ballet or Cinderella tales, you might want to visit with Ella and give this dance-heavy retelling a shot.

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.

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Lili

MGM, 1953

Starring Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean-Paul Aumont, and Zsa Zsa Gabor

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Bronslaw Caper; Lyrics by Helen Deustch

This sweet little story of a lonely girl who befriends a group of puppets, believing them to be real, was a surprise hit in 1953. It would be one of Leslie Caron's best-regarded performances and garnered her an Oscar nod, and gave Ferrer's career a boost. How does this whimsical tale look today? Let's start in a small town in the French countryside on market day, just as Lili (Caron) arrives, and find out...

The Story: Lili seeks the town's baker, but he's dead when she arrives. She's taken in by Marcos (Aumont), a magician with a carnival, who gets her a job as a waitress. Her job ends quickly when she spends more time watching Marcos and his assistant Rosalie (Gabor) in their magic act than serving tables. About to throw herself off the tightrope, she's stopped by the voices of the puppets in the puppet show. She interacts with them and treats them as if they were real, which enchants the crowds. 

The crowds may love Lili's new act, but she doesn't love the man in charge of the puppets, Paul Berthalet (Ferrer). Paul was once a great dancer, but his career ended after he injured his leg during World War II. He's been bitter ever since. Any good and kind feelings he has are filtered through his creations. Lili's more interested in Marcos, until she learns the truth about him. Now Paul has to reveal his true feelings, before Lili walks out on him and his creations for good.

The Song and Dance: What a lovely, adorable film! Caron is truly enchanting as the innocent young woman who wants nothing more than to love and be loved and thinks she's found real friends in the puppets. No wonder everyone at the carnival had fun watching them. It really is a delight to see her chat with them, and the puppets all have equally distinct personalities. The costumes and Oscar-nominated sets are the appropriate mix of real-life French country simplicity and the glitter and spangle of the circus. Ferrer also comes off well as the unhappy former dancer who thinks his new career is beneath him.

Favorite Number: Along with the lilting hit "Hi Lili, Hi Lo," which Lili performs with the puppets when she first encounters them, Caron gets to show off her dancing chops with two extended dance fantasy sequences. Lili imagines herself as a glamorous gamine who is able to finally capture Marcos' roving eye and make him see her as every bit as womanly as Rosalie. The finale has Lili imagining she's running off with human versions of the puppets and dancing happily with them...only to realize that they each represent a facet of Paul's personality. 

Trivia: Famous puppeteers Walton and O'Rourke created the puppets. They rarely appeared on TV; this would be one of the only recordings of their work.

Lili became the first film musical to be turned into a stage show. Carnival! opened on Broadway in 1961, with Anna Maria Alberghetti as Lili and Jerry Orbach as Paul. The show was a minor hit, running two years. 

What I Don't Like: I love Carnival! so much, I wish the film could be even more of a musical, with maybe one more dance sequence and songs for other characters besides Lili and the puppets. Speaking of the puppets, they can be a little creepy-looking at times, especially when they're represented by huge masks during Lili's fantasy dance towards the end. And obviously, this isn't for anyone who isn't into dance or fantasy, or are looking for a darker story.

The Big Finale: A truly charming and gentle film with sweet performances and some delightful dance routines. Highly recommended for lovers of dance, whimsical fantasy, or gentle romances.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.

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Oscar Winners - An American In Paris

MGM, 1951
Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, and Georges Guetary
Directed by Vincent Minnelli
Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Our first two Oscar-winners this week have a lot in common. Both are set in Paris, were made by MGM's famous "Freed unit" during the 50's, star French gamine Leslie Caron, were scored by popular composer-and-lyricist parings, and involve the romance between an older man and a younger woman. American In Paris is the modern-set one; along with taking home the Best Picture Oscar, it won Gene Kelly his only Oscar for his contributions to screen choreography. Does it soar like the dancers in its famous ballet in the finale? Let's head to Paris in the years following World War II and find out...

The Story: After World War II, American Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) stayed on in Paris to pursue his dream of painting. He's basically a starving artist in a tiny one-room apartment over a cafe, but he's happy having coffee and chatting with his buddy, the equally struggling pianist Adam Cook (Levant). Adam introduces him to his friend Henri (Guetary), who speaks eagerly of his new lover, Lise (Caron).

Jerry's career starts to take off when a rich American widow, Milo Roberts (Nina Foch), takes an interest in his work and offers to sponsor an art show for him. She brings him to a bar to meet her fashionable friends, but he's more interested in Lise. He tries dancing with her, with little success; he does better visiting her at the perfume shop where she works the next day. They go on dates and fall in love, but she keeps running off. Meanwhile, Milo rents an art studio for Jerry and says he'll be able to pay her back after his art exhibit. Jerry, however, is still in love with Lise...but he and Henri have no idea that the woman they love is one and the same.

The Song and Dance: As slight as the story is, it's relatively mature for a big Technicolor MGM extravaganza of the 1950's, with Jerry objecting to being kept for his looks rather than his work and Lise insisting that she stays with Henri because her protected her during World War II. Kelly, Caron, and Foch are all quite good as the central lovers, but they're overshadowed by the gorgeous costumes, production design, and cinematography, all inspired by real-life French artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Favorite Number: Gene Kelly has fun with French urchins, teaching them "I Got Rhythm" near a street flower shop. The kids have a great time watching Kelly's energetic tap dance. He also gets a rather sweet number with Levant, Guetary, and the old folks in the cafe in the opening, "By Strauss." In more traditional girls-and-stairs mode, Guetary scores with a flashy "I'll Build a Starway to Paradise." Caron and Kelly do a lovely pas de deux by the Seine to "Our Love Is Here To Stay." Levant's best moment is his dream sequence where he becomes a one-man orchestra - including conductor! - during a performance of the Concerto In F.

By far the most famous sequence from this film - and likely the reason it won Best Picture - is the famous American In Paris Ballet in the finale. Kelly, Caron, and the MGM chorus run through a riot of sound, color, and jazzy ballet, all done with stunning costumes and choreography evoking that Belle Epoque Paris of the early 20th century.

Trivia: That's Noel Neill, Lois Lane in the original TV Adventures of Superman, as the snooty art student who wants to discuss Jerry's paintings with him when he first displays them at Montmatre.

Two stage versions of this show debuted in the late 2000's-early 2010's. The first seems to have been limited to a regional theater at Houston. The second came to Broadway via France in 2015 and was a hit, running over a year.

What I Don't Like: The fine performances and gorgeous production help to mask the fact that the story is slight, and at times, a bit of a bore. Jerry and Lise aren't terribly exciting characters, and Jerry and Milo can both come off as a tad creepy with how they chase younger members of the opposite sex. By the end of the movie, you stop caring who's going to end up with whom and wonder when they're going to make it to that ballet.

The Big Finale: The ballet alone makes this worth checking out at least once if  you're a fan of dance, Kelly, the Gershwins, or Minnelli's work.

Home Media: Look out for the beautifully restored two-disc Special Edition DVD and Blu-Ray; it's also on several streaming platforms.

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