Daddy Long Legs

This last remake (thus far) of the Jean Webster novel Daddy Long Legs was extensively revised to accommodate the talents of Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. Fragments of the basic plot remain: American millionaire Astaire is the unknown benefactor of French orphan girl Caron, financing the girl's ...more

The fact that Fred Astaire was often considerably older than his partners can be problematic, and is especially so in Daddy Long Legs. More than 30 years the senior of co-star Leslie Caron, this might not have been important if the story had not centered around a very young college girl and her much older guardian and the romance that eventually blooms between them. While the filmmakers go out of the way to bowdlerize the situation, there's still something uncomfortable about the whole set-up; ...more