Daddy Long Legs (1955)
The basic storyOn a trip to France, millionaire Jervis Pendelton III sees the young girl Julie Andre in an orphanage. Julie is an orphan herself, living at the orphanage and helping the children. Taking a liking to the young girl, he offers to sponsor a college education in the States. Aware of the age difference and how the sponsorship might be misunderstood, he is obliged to be an anonymous benefactor.
When asking about her benefactor, one of the kids at the orphanage who saw Jervis tells her, that he is a tall guy with long legs, like a daddy long legs, so from then on, Julie refers to her benefactor as Daddy Long-legs.
In the states, Julie studies for three years. While she is there, she is sharing a room with Jervis' niece, and she writes letters to her benefactor all the time, telling how she is doing and asking for him to write to her.
At her graduation, Jervis decides to check up on her, under the pretense of visiting his niece at her graduation, with no intentions of letting Julie know he is her benefactor. And so, the romance begins.
How was it?
Not bad. Not the best Fred Astaire musical I've seen, but still worth watching. A typical musical of the 1950's; innocent, colorful, happy, etc. If you like this particular type and era in movies, I can recommend Daddy Long-legs. I missed seeing Fred Astaire letting loose on the dance floor like in Top Hat or The Barkleys of Broadway, but it was a cute and entertaining story, well worth the time spent on watching it.
Rating
★★★★★
126 min.
Color
- Michael Pilgaard