Daddy Long Legs (1955)

What's this? A Fred Clark and Thelma Ritter musical?

Fred Clark and Thelma Ritter

Well, yes and no. They don't sing and they don't dance, but they are the perfect eggs that bind this confection together. The other leavening agent consists of the writing duo of Phoebe and Henry Ephron (Nora Ephron'sparents!). Bon appétit.

Fred Astaire was 30 years older than Leslie Caron and knew ignoring that fact, could be detrimental to the picture. The writers met the issue head on with direct and clever dialogue—never shirking the issue.

In fact, the dialogue continues to bring up the inherent conflict throughout the story. Here's a sampling from Alex the Ambassador, “You can’t adopt an eighteen year old girl. They have a name for what you’re asking me to do.” Johnny Mercer wrote the song Somethings Gotta Give that Astaire was particularly fond of because he said, “That’s it! I’m too old for this part anyway. This is a wonderful way for me to tell the girl that I’m too old for her.” The words he sings are: “When an irresistible force such as you meets an old immovable object like me, you can best as sure as you live, somethings gotta give.” It fits the scene perfectly. The interesting thing about this method is that even though the age difference is addressed, much of the film is spent showing the youth and vitality of Astaire’s character and the growing maturity of Leslie Caron’s. They eventually meet somewhere in the middle.

Two small points: This is one of my first memories of watching musicals, so whether it's good or not, it's good to me. And, Fred Astaire's wife passed away right as they were getting ready to shoot the film. He tried to back out, but since his wife had liked his role and the story, he decided to go through with it. I had read that sometimes when he wasn't needed he would spend time alone and cry. Once in a while his eyes look sad and a little puffy in the film.