Based on the Jaap van der Poll's stage version of Jean Websters 1912 novel 'Daddy Long Legs', this was the fourth version of the story put on film and the first in Dutch. It came about when producer Rudi Meyer wanted to duplicate the success of 1937's Pygmalion, including hiring the same actress (Lily Bouwmeester) to play the lead. Released in 1938, this humor in this comedy is extremely tame by today's standards and the acting is suitably restrained and, well, old-fashioned. I do love to hear all the outdated expressions that were used at the time and the sets and cinematography are very nice.
Bouwmeester plays Judy Aalders, an orphan girl longing for a family of her own who seems destined to stay cooped up in the Orphanage 'Stichting Wenselaer' well into her teens simply because the too useful to let go. A wealthy benefactor named Albert van Woudenberg takes pity on her and decides to sponsor her in her dream of becoming a writer. He insists on staying anonymous however, as well as being kept informed of her progress by monthly letters (the original novel mainly consists of these). Having only gotten a single glimpse of his elongated shadow, Judy begins referring to her sponsor as 'Vadertje Langbeen' (Daddy Long Legs).
As a student, Judy shares a room with two other girls, Doris van Woudenberg & Ina Donkers. The latter has a bit of a drip as a brother, Frits, who takes a liking to Judy. However, it is Doris' dashing and young uncle Albert who really impresses Judy (not that hard as he's the first uncle she's ever met). Albert takes an interested in young Judy as well, and does his best to keep Frits away from her (lucky for him Doris is there to help him 'impress Judy' only to have him fall for her instead). It isn't until the very end that Judy discovers the true identity of Vadertje Langbeen, who turns out to be a lot younger, shorter and more familiar than she thought.
Unfortunately the DVD version prepared by Het Filmmuseum leaves more than a bit to be desired. I realize that not very many copies of the film have survived to this day and have grown to accept the regular skipping of frames and an occasional repeating of dialog (the film seems to have been authored from a battered and torn celluloid copy. However, about 73 minutes into the film, during quite a dramatic scene, the frame inexplicably freezes and remains the same for 3 minutes while the viewer is left to guess what's happening by listening to the soundtrack alone. I'm sure it's not just my disc that's faulty but that this mistake is burned onto the disc. Shame on you, Filmmusem. Still, I managed to get the gist of what was going on. Apparently Bob de Lange appeared in a supporting part, but I haven't been able to spot him yet. Hopefully he didn't appear in those three missing minutes...
7 out of 10
