PAPA LONGUES JAMBES [DADDY LONG LEGS] [1995 / 2012] [Blu-ray] [French Release]
Glorious Technicolor, Breathtaking CinemaScope, and Stereophonic Sound!
‘DADDY LONG LEGS’ is a Hollywood musical comedy film set in France, New York City, and the fictional college town of "Walston" in Massachusetts. The film was directed by Jean Negulesco, and stars Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Terry Moore, Fred Clark, and Thelma Ritter, with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The screenplay was written by Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron, and loosely based on the 1912 novel "Daddy-Long-Legs" by Jean Webster.
Wealthy American Jervis Pendleton III [Fred Astaire] has a chance encounter at a French orphanage with a cheerful 18-year-old resident, Julie Andre [Leslie Caron]. He anonymously pays for her education at a New England college. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor regularly, but he never writes back. Her nickname for him, `Daddy Long Legs,' is taken from the description of him given to Julie Andre by some of her fellow orphans who see his shadow as he leaves their building.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1956 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration in Color for John DeCuir, Lyle R. Wheeler, Paul S. Fox and Walter M. Scott. Nominated: Best Music and Original Song for Johnny Mercer for the song "Something's Gotta Give." Nominated: Best Music and Scoring of a Musical Picture for Alfred Newman. 1956 Writers Guild of America: Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Written American Musical for Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron.
FILM FACT No.2: ‘DADDY LONG LEGS’ was Fred Astaire's first and only film musical at 20th Century Fox. It was also the first and only time he co-starred with Leslie Caron, who at the time, was still under contract to M-G-M, but was also loaned out to 20th Century Fox for this production. The film was one of Fred Astaire's personal favourites, largely due to the script which, for once, directly addresses the complications inherent in a love affair between a young woman and a man thirty years her senior.
Cast: Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Terry Moore, Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark, Charlotte Austin, Larry Keating, Kathryn Givney, Kelly Brown, Ray Anthony (Ray Anthony and his Orchestra), Robert Adler (uncredited), Gertrude Astor (uncredited), Paul Bradley (uncredited), Tim Cagney (uncredited), Kathryn Card (uncredited), John Carlyle (uncredited), Janice Carroll (uncredited), Barrie Chase (uncredited), Ann Codee (uncredited), James Conaty (uncredited), Paul Cristo (uncredited), Lillian Culver (uncredited), Sayre Dearing (uncredited), Guy Des Rochers (uncredited), Shirley Doble (uncredited), Ralph Dumke (uncredited), George Dunn (uncredited), Pat Ferguson (uncredited), Steven Geray (uncredited), Kelly Gordon (uncredited), Ivis Goulding (uncredited), Chester Hayes (uncredited), Bill Hines (uncredited), David Hoffman (uncredited), Charles Anthony Hughes (uncredited), J. Anthony Hughes (uncredited), Virginia Hunter (uncredited), Diane Jergens (uncredited), Tim Johnson (uncredited), Joseph Kearns (uncredited), Kenner G. Kemp (uncredited), Larry Kent (uncredited), Frank Kreig (uncredited), Numa Lapeyre (uncredited), Eileen Maxwell (uncredited), Michael McLean (uncredited), Lisa Montell (uncredited), Liliane Montevecchi (uncredited), Ralph Moratz (uncredited), Forbes Murray (uncredited), William H. O'Brien (uncredited), Damian O'Flynn (uncredited), Leslie Parrish (uncredited), Murray Pollack (uncredited), Paul Power (uncredited), George Reich (uncredited), Evelyn Rudie (uncredited), Harry Seymour (uncredited), Sara Shane (uncredited), Pat Sheehan (uncredited), Olan Soule (uncredited), Bert Stevens (uncredited), Hal Taggart (uncredited), Charles Tannen (uncredited), Helen Van Tuyl (uncredited), Percival Vivian (uncredited) and Carleton Young (uncredited)
Director: Jean Negulesco
Producer: Samuel G. Engel
Screenplay: Henry Ephron (screenplay), Phoebe Ephron (screenplay) and Jean Webster (novel)
Composer: Alfred Newman (uncredited), Cyril J. Mockridge (uncredited) and Alex North (ballet music) (uncredited)
Cinematography: Leon Shamroy (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Anamorphic) (Color by Deluxe)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (CinemaScope)
Audio: French: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio and
English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: French
Running Time: 126 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of Discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox / Filmédia Distribution
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: Fred Astaire made his only appearance in a 20th Century-Fox picture in ‘DADDY LONG LEGS’ [1955], the much-filmed story of a millionaire who anonymously sponsors, then falls in love with a young orphan [Leslie Caron]. Although some critics complained that the two stars were too far apart in age to make a suitable romantic couple, once they started dancing, in their only film together, all thoughts of age differences were banished. And it helped that they had a sprightly hit from Johnny Mercer, "Something's Gotta Give," that accounted for one of the film's three OSCAR® nominations, the others were for Best Art Direction and Best Scoring of a Musical.
As Fred Astaire grew older, he lost none of his grace as a dancer, but his leading ladies were getting progressively younger. The 1912 novel by Jean Webster, the grandniece of Mark Twain, had been filmed three times previously. The story is of an orphan given a college education by an older unseen benefactor who woos her. When the studio contacted Fred Astaire about playing the lead he was happy to do a film that treated his age as a plot element. 20th Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck had envisioned `Daddy Long Legs' as a vehicle for contract musical star Mitzi Gaynor, but Fred Astaire insisted the role go to Leslie Caron, whose work he had admired since Gene Kelly had cast her in ‘An American in Paris’ [1951]. As a result, the script was re-written to have Fred Astaire discover her during a visit to France.
Fred Astaire's friend Johnny Mercer provided most of the songs, creating both words and music, though he was primarily known as a lyricist. The hit of the film was "Something's Gotta Give," which was recorded by The Maguire Sisters. `Daddy Long Leg's also revived Johnny Mercer's 1945 hit "Dream." During the "Daydream Sequence" in which Fred Astaire imagines Leslie Caron's fantasies of him as a Texas cowboy, an international playboy and her guardian angel and his cowboy voice was dubbed by Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger and the singer who introduced "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." That was the only time Fred Astaire's voice was ever dubbed.
This was Fred Astaire's first film in CinemaScope, and he planned the choreography to take advantage of what was then a new shape for the film image. In particular, he used the screen format to create distance between himself and Leslie Caron in their dance to "Something's Gotta Give" and to fill the screen with activity in the "Daydream Sequence." Fred Astaire also incorporated ballet elements into the choreography to showcase Leslie Caron, whose background was in classical dance. She executed a variety of dance steps at the climax of the "Daydream Sequence" as he danced around her, and he used pirouettes and other twirling steps in their dance to "Dream." The number also includes a rarity in his choreography, a kiss. Unfortunately, Fred Astaire had no connection to the "Nightmare Ballet," a 12-minute sequence staged by Leslie Caron's first mentor, Roland Petit.
The CinemaScope screen also gave ample opportunities to the art department, which gave `Daddy Long Legs' a lavish look befitting its international setting and Fred Astaire's character. They redressed the Los Angeles International Airport to fill in for LaGuardia and shot exteriors for Fred Astaire's New York home at Andrew Carnegie's Fifth Avenue mansion. Portraits of Fred Astaire, his father and grandfather were painted in the styles of Picasso, John Singer Sargent and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, respectively, with director Jean Negulesco supplying Fred Astaire's portrait. He also painted posters for the "Nightmare Ballet" and used his artistic connections to borrow paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Braque and Claudette Colbert to fill out Fred Astaire's gallery.
20th Century Fox also gave the film a solid supporting cast to help carry the comedy in Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron's adaptation. Thelma Ritter stole every scene she was in as Fred Astaire's secretary, while Terry Moore was suitably pretty and sympathetic as Leslie Caron's college roommate. One of Fred Astaire's dancing partners in the "Daydream Sequence" was the young Barrie Chase, who would team up with him memorably in a pair of 1960s television specials. `Daddy Long Legs' is also the only film to feature both actors who played Bea Benaderet's husband, Harry Morton, on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, plus Fred Clark and Larry Keating.
Sharp-eyed spotters should look among the many actresses billed as "College Student" to find Barrie Chase in ‘Cape Fear [1962]; Diane Jergens in ‘The FBI Story’ [1959]; Lisa Montell in ‘World Without End’ [1956]; Leslie Parrish in ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ [1962] and Pat Sheehan in ‘Space Cowboys’ [2000].
PAPA LONGUES JAMBES [DADDY LONG LEGS] MUSIC TRACK LIST
HISTORY OF THE BEAT (uncredited) (Written by Johnny Mercer) [Instrumental with Fred Astaire on drums]
C-A-T SPELLS CAT (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Leslie Caron]
DADDY LONG LEGS (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Chorus]
WELCOME EGGHEAD (uncredited) (Music by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Girls at Walston College]
TEXAS MILLONAIRE (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Instrumental with Chorus and Danced by Fred Astaire]
INTERNATIONAL PLAYBOY (uncredited) (Music by Johnny Mercer) [Instrumental danced by Fred Astaire and Chorus Girls]
GUARDIAN ANGEL (uncredited) (Music by Johnny Mercer) [Instrumental danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron]
SLUEFOOT (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by The Pied Pipers with Ray Anthony and His Orchestra and Danced by Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron and Chorus]
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by Fred Astaire and Danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron]
DANCING THROUGH LIFE (uncredited) (Music by Johnny Mercer) [Instrumental Ballet danced by Leslie Caron and Chorus]
NIGHTMARE BALLET (Paris, Hong Kong, Rio) (uncredited) (Written by Alex North) [Danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron]
DREAM (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer) [Sung by The Pied Pipers and Danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron]
THUNDERBIRD (uncredited) (Music by Ray Anthony and George Williams) [Played by Ray Anthony and His Orchestra]
Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox and Filmédia Distribution offers us a top quality encoded 1080p image, virtually devoid of any defects or scratches. Regarding the definition, the Blu-ray offers a very nice result if we note that certain images show an average definition, these are rare and the rest of the film remains a good level. Of course, the depth of field is not impressive, but the detail is rich and corresponds exactly to what we can expect from such a film on Blu-ray. The colour is stable, offering a beautiful array of bright colours but not excessively. Encoding generates no obvious flaws, but film lovers of grain may regret smoothing a bit forced. Overall, this Blu-ray therefore has a very nice image and to rediscover the film Jean Negulesco in conditions never reached before. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – 20th Century Fox and Filmédia Distribution brings us two soundtracks and they are French 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio and English 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio and of course you have to manually select what language you want view it in. The original English version is very good and convincing spatial dynamism; this is not the case of the French version. This rather strident runway is closed with sharp dialogues that crush the rest of the sound spectrum. Besides the contrast can be seen very quickly during voice original musical numbers. One more reason to see this film in its original English language version!
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Le Jazz de Fred Astaire [The Jazz of Fred Astaire] [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [43:46] Divided into two parts, this documentary is a radio TSF Jazz illustrated with a series of photos featuring Fred Astaire. This documentary is not accompanied by a plethora of wonderful black-and-white and colour promotional images of Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron and especially images form the film ‘DADDY LONG LEGS.’ It is unfortunate and very annoying that we only get to hear the contributors comments from the people involved with this documentary, but equally annoying is that most of time keep repeating the same images throughout the 43:46 running time and not 45 minutes on the back of the Blu-ray cover and even more annoying is they split the documentary in two separate documentaries. That said, the documentary is quite interesting, because many experts talk about Fred Astaire and his love of the rhythm of Jazz and dancing. Among these, we find are Philippe Labro, NT Bihn, Yves Boisset and dance specialists and jazz. Comments are interspersed with songs and the whole documentary is mixed with elegance. French Language with no English Subtitles.
Special Feature: Papa Longues Jambes par Leslie Caron [Daddy Long Legs by Leslie Caron] [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:11] This is in the same format as the previous documentary, but this time we only get to hear how Leslie Caron of her meeting the dance maestro Fred Astaire and his work with Fred Astaire. But unfortunately you only get to view one black- and-white image still of Leslie Caron from the film ‘DADDY LONG LEGS.’ French Language and no English Subtitles.
FILM-ANNONCE [1955] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:30] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘DADDY LONG LEGS.’ This sadly is an unrestored film trailer and allows us to appreciate the upgrade work done for this French Blu-ray disc release. It is a shame they could not of cleaned this up, as you get lots of black and white speckles throughout the trailer.
Finally, all in all then, ‘PAPA LONGUES JAMBES’ [DADDY LONG LEGS] is a brilliant diversion for Fred Astaire's tenure as the greatest dancer on film. It's neither terribly disappointing, nor up to the standards of previous or subsequent endeavours in Fred Astaire's body of work, but it still is an enjoyable film. The anamorphic Blu-ray transfer from 20th Century Fox and Filmédia Distribution is remarkable in both its clarity, detail and colour fidelity. Rich, vibrant hues and deep saturation make for a stunning visual presentation augmented no doubt by Leon Shamroy's elegant direction of photography. Fine details are present throughout. Age related artefacts are practically non-existent. The audio is typically garish stereophonic 1950s full channel and robust, hearty and loud whenever possible and quite brassy in Johnny Mercer's scoring. The Gallic charm of the film gives it a lovely layer of charm and the sheer innocence of the performances give it a really adorable romantic feel. If you are a Fred Astaire fan or you just love classic films then this one is well worth purchasing this excellent Blu-ray disc. The only disappointment is with the special features being all in French, which is such a shame as why could they not have added English Subtitles, as I am sure they know people outside France who will want to purchase this brilliant Blu-ray disc. Despite this slight criticism, it is still worth getting such a beautiful Hollywood Classic film and will give you endless hours of pleasure and now it has been added to another of my Fred Astaire Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
