My first love was Joan Leslie. Seeing her on the screen today in one of her old movies, I can easily see why I was so smitten. In the early 1940s she was always typed as the wholesome girl next door, and I wondered why none of the girls who lived next door to me ever looked like Joan Leslie. Then, as she grew a bit older, she was exactly the kind of loyal wife the girl next door could be expected to become. She was the dependable, staunchly supportive better half to George M. Cohan (“Yankee Doodle Dandy”), Sergeant York’s girl back home, and a near-miss romance for George Gershwin (“Rhapsody in Blue”). But her shining hour came when she danced to the beautiful Arlen-Mercer ballad “My Shining Hour” with none other than Fred Astaire, in “The Sky’s the Limit.” Joan was 17 during the filming, Astaire 44 and a living legend. How did she do? Just fine. Dance critic John Mueller, in his excellent “Astaire Dancing,” writes that of Astaire’s partners in the post Rogers era, “Joan Leslie is most closely reminiscent of Rogers, particularly as an actress: attractive, intelligent, feisty, vulnerable.” No one could seriously say that she was as good a dancer as Rogers, but she was better than her 17 years gave anyone the right to expect.
“The Sky’s the Limit” tells the improbable story of a Flying Tigers pilot on leave in Manhattan and trying to score points with a young magazine photo-journalist, who regards him as just another wolf, which he is. (He is dressed in civvies and hides his true identity.) Joan’s character is named Joan, and Fred’s character is named Fred, and the chemistry between them works, despite the obvious age difference. After the usual plot complications are resolved, the two are obviously fated to be mated, though first Fred has to fly back across the Pacific to win the war. You could always count on a happy if not downright inspiring ending in 1943. It’s a pleasant enough movie, because the two leads are so likeable. A bonus is the appearance of Robert Benchley, one of the era’s best humorists, as Joan’s boss and Astaire’s rival.
“The Sky’s the Limit” received mixed reviews, but Mueller calls it “one of the most effective and affecting war films Hollywood ever turned out,” thanks to its stars, its music, and a script of considerable depth. My only complaint is that there are too few songs. When you have Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer on the payroll, it makes no sense to settle for just a few musical numbers.
Truth to tell, Joan Leslie was not a great actress, or even an especially good one. She was no singer, so her vocals had to be dubbed. As noted, she was an excellent dancer, and the pity is that she didn’t have more opportunities to display her footwork. What Joan Leslie had was a sparkling personality, a slightly mischievous smile, a good figure, and a wonderful face, which managed to convey wit and intelligence and style, all rolled together. She was the girl any parents would want their son to marry.
She was also a poster child for the 1940s and the age of innocence. All in all, she appeared in more than 40 movies, most of them forgettable, first as Joan Brodel (the name she was born with), then as Joan Leslie (much better). For a while, she was, for the studios, money in the bank, even playing herself, a bonafide celebrity, in “Hollywood Canteen.” At 17, she was featured on a Life Magazine cover, a sure sign of stardom.
After the war, as innocence went out of style, so did Joan Leslie. Today, I doubt that one out of 20 people would recognize her name. I try to think of a contemporary actress who is a latter-day version of Joan Leslie, someone I can compare her to, but it is no use; the girl next door doesn’t live there any more.
In 1950, Joan Leslie married a doctor, who died in 2000, a month after their 50th wedding anniversary. She has long been active in Catholic charities, and she has twin daughters, both doctors. In January, Joan will be 82.
To me, though, Joan Leslie will always be 17, on the big screen at the Codman Square Theater, smiling at me. Just me.
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Note: "Searching for Joan Leslie," a collection of these blogs in book form, is available from www.lulu.com.
