tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post4801903215656949384..comments2024-02-22T17:59:50.213-05:00Comments on in so many words...: Tuesday's Forgotten (or Overlooked) Film: DADDY LONG-LEGS (1955) starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron.Yvettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-43905255555687249412013-11-24T13:27:13.038-05:002013-11-24T13:27:13.038-05:00Oh, I think we all like it well enough 'for al...Oh, I think we all like it well enough 'for all its weird faults', Sergio. As for Fred being seen as 'sexless' well, I think that's a persona he cultivated, whether purposely or not, it's debatable. I know exactly what you mean. EXCEPT when he was dancing. I read somewhere that when Astaire danced with a woman, THAT'S when he made love to her. And I agree. Just watch him dancing with Ginger Rogers to Night and Day in TOP HAT. Near the end, Ginger is faint, almost speechless with emotion. That, my friend, was Fred's specialty on film.<br /><br />Whereas, Gene Kelly was all energy and physical stamina and raw sexual power. He and Leslie Caron in the fountain during the ballet - AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, an otherwise sexless film in my view. But it's that Gershwin music which heightens those scenes of course. <br /><br />Otherwise near the end I always get the feeling that Caron is running away with someone who will be all wrong for her in a couple of years. If you really look at the film 'realistically' (I know, I know, hard to do) Nina Foch is the right woman for Gene. Caron and he hardly know anything about each other. He has idealized the Caron character. She - ? - who knows what she thinks of Kelly. It's all surface far as I can see. And yet I always watch the film for the ballet sequence and for Oscar Levant and for the 'Stairway to Paradise' number.<br /><br />Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-62107269934538490422013-11-24T13:16:56.860-05:002013-11-24T13:16:56.860-05:00Wow, Patti. You're a spring chicken. :) My fir...Wow, Patti. You're a spring chicken. :) My first movie is lost in memory. But I have a feeling it was Disney's Snow White. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-6732263691905058882013-11-22T03:24:18.855-05:002013-11-22T03:24:18.855-05:00I have a real soft spot for this film - which is t...I have a real soft spot for this film - which is to say that I like it despite the fact that the age gap is so huge, which would less of a problem if it weren't for the quasi-parental nature of the relationship - it's as if at the end of AMERICAN IN PARIS she had gone off with Georges Guetary instead of Kelly. I know what you mean about Kelly vs Astaire in this regard - and I think that when you refer to Astaire as 'ageless' that is very fair but it also implies (correctly, in my view) that he is also a bit sexless, which you could not say about the much more masculine charms of Kelly. But I love the look and feel of this film - and 'Something's Gotta give' is wonderful! So I love it, for all its weird faults!Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-84452181283993619802013-11-22T00:40:06.692-05:002013-11-22T00:40:06.692-05:00Pretty sure this was the first movie I saw. Pretty sure this was the first movie I saw. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-73586544844698175822013-11-21T15:33:15.314-05:002013-11-21T15:33:15.314-05:00Thanks, Dorian. Glad you enjoyed it. I liked FUNNY...Thanks, Dorian. Glad you enjoyed it. I liked FUNNY FACE enormously - primarily because of the art direction and the setting. I mean, PARIS! Fred, Audrey and Kay Thompson - who practically steals the movie from under the stars' noses. I adore Kay Thompson. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-46732075226009453992013-11-21T15:23:05.644-05:002013-11-21T15:23:05.644-05:00I love that scene too, A.L. :)I love that scene too, A.L. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-74382305891874850432013-11-21T14:22:55.306-05:002013-11-21T14:22:55.306-05:00Yvette, though I'll admit FUNNY FACE is more m...Yvette, though I'll admit FUNNY FACE is more my speed, you sure made this movie version of the book sound charming! And like I said before, if Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn could make a May-December romance work in CHARADE, so could Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron -- especially with Thelma Ritter and Fred Clark rooting from the sidelines! :-) Swell review, my friend, as always! :-)DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-7272444943652807232013-11-20T16:17:27.939-05:002013-11-20T16:17:27.939-05:00I've loved this movie since I was a kid. The ...I've loved this movie since I was a kid. The best part is the Slewfoot song! Good post.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10617108138238393563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-62799647002818354962013-11-20T12:53:25.130-05:002013-11-20T12:53:25.130-05:00Yup. We agree. :)Yup. We agree. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-41243578842331184552013-11-20T12:52:52.966-05:002013-11-20T12:52:52.966-05:00Oh definitely, Prashant - Gene Kelly was the more ...Oh definitely, Prashant - Gene Kelly was the more athletic dancer and Fred the more graceful. I know they appeared on screen only once in a short dance sequence, but I so wish they'd made a whole movie together.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-4695621547299272692013-11-20T12:51:25.385-05:002013-11-20T12:51:25.385-05:00I seem to remember watching it all the while I was...I seem to remember watching it all the while I was growing up, Kirk. Television then had many movie channels which primarily showed oldies. I loved Fred and Ginger and Edward Everett Horton and all the other loonies who joined in the fun. Those were the days. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-44571179818040471252013-11-20T09:47:06.078-05:002013-11-20T09:47:06.078-05:00I so agree with you, Yvonne, not one of my favorit...I so agree with you, Yvonne, not one of my favorites Astaire movies either but better than none! Peggy Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00426356514707257708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-27039948403849894242013-11-20T06:20:57.298-05:002013-11-20T06:20:57.298-05:00Yvette, I recall watching Fred Astaire's music...Yvette, I recall watching Fred Astaire's musicals on the VCR along with those of Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Donald O'Connor and, of course, Frank Sinatra. I liked both Astaire and Kelly equally though I think Astaire was a touch more graceful. I'm sure I've seen this film although I remember liking FUNNY FACE opposite Audrey Hepburn a lot.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-12371562711559239682013-11-20T01:43:44.497-05:002013-11-20T01:43:44.497-05:00Dear Yvette,
I'm with you: TOP HAT is my favou...Dear Yvette,<br />I'm with you: TOP HAT is my favourite Fred movie. What a greg movie that was to see as a rerun on Sunday Afternoon TV back in the 1980s and 1990s...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642768891794895642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-75045514692049664522013-11-19T18:06:38.327-05:002013-11-19T18:06:38.327-05:00Nothing today can even remotely compare - unfortun...Nothing today can even remotely compare - unfortunately. My favorite Astaire? As you say, hard to pick just one. I love TOP HAT and THE GAY DIVORCEE. But THE BAND WAGON would be right up there as well. Besides Astaire, I adored Jack Buchanan.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-27452265897778603522013-11-19T17:57:42.381-05:002013-11-19T17:57:42.381-05:00I haven't seen this one in so long that I hone...I haven't seen this one in so long that I honestly can't remember much of it. My favorite Leslie Caron appearance was in "Lili," which I found thoroughly enchanting. As for Astaire, its hard to pick just one, but perhaps "The Band Wagon" would have to be my favorite. And where ARE the equivalent movies today? Sigh.LesBlatthttp://www.classicmysteries.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-91575414415914805582013-11-19T17:40:49.792-05:002013-11-19T17:40:49.792-05:00Thanks, Jacqueline. :) I must say I loved the book...Thanks, Jacqueline. :) I must say I loved the book as well. This is not my favorite Fred Astaire, but it's better than none. :)<br /><br />Maybe the play will come to B'way. One can only hope.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-43026058892635663952013-11-19T17:29:48.117-05:002013-11-19T17:29:48.117-05:00"Sweater-sets, plaid skirts, saddle shoes, si..."Sweater-sets, plaid skirts, saddle shoes, singing, dancing, the students all perky and bright-eyed and looking to connect with husband material." Love this. A concise summary of the 1950s.<br /><br />I was never terribly fond of this movie, but I liked the book and I really loved the musical play now being shopped around in regional theatre, with Megan McGinnis and Robert Adelman Hancock. Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.com