Daddy Long Legs

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

4.4K

YOUR RATING

Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron in Daddy Long Legs (1955)

A wealthy American has a chance encounter with a joyful young French woman, and anonymously pays for her education. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor, nicknaming him from the description given by some of her fellow orphans.

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Musical Romance

A wealthy American has a chance encounter with a joyful young French woman, and anonymously pays for her education. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor, nicknaming him from the d... Read allA wealthy American has a chance encounter with a joyful young French woman, and anonymously pays for her education. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor, nicknaming him from the description given by some of her fellow orphans.A wealthy American has a chance encounter with a joyful young French woman, and anonymously pays for her education. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor, nicknaming him from the description given by some of her fellow orphans.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

4.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 nominations total

Ray Anthony
(as Ray Anthony and his Orchestra)

Robert Adler

Deliveryman
(uncredited)

Suzanne Alexander

College Girl
(uncredited)

Gertrude Astor

Art Gallery Patron
(uncredited)

Wilda Bieber

College Girl
(uncredited)

Paul Bradley

Second Jeweler
(uncredited)

Bob Bush

'Sluefoot' Dancer
(uncredited)

Tim Cagney

Orphan
(uncredited)

Gwen Caldwell

College Girl
(uncredited)

Director
- Jean Negulesco
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Fred Astaire's wife died during filming, so between some takes he would retreat to his trailer and cry. That's why, in some scenes, his eyes look red and swollen.

Goofs
When Jervis is about to play the drums for Griggs, his brushes suddenly turn into sticks between shots.

Quotes
Julie Andre: Did he have a weakness for girls?
Jervis Pendleton III: Oh no, a great strength!

Connections
Edited into Fred Astaire Salutes the Fox Musicals (1974)

Soundtracks
History of the Beat
(uncredited)
by Johnny Mercer
[Instrumental with Fred Astaire on drums]

User reviews65

Review

Featured review

7/10

Drum solo! Neil Peart eat your heart out.

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.