Upon completing another successful mission, Flying Tigers Fred Atwell (Fred Astaire, he looked so handsome in that uniform!), Reginald Fenton (Robert Ryan) and Richard Merlin (Richard Davies) are given a hero's welcome and a ten-day leave. The three pilots are then sent cross-country on a personal appearance tour, but when Fred tires of the acclaim and attention, he jumps off the train in a small western town, dons a cowboy hat and boots and hitches a ride to New York City.
At a nightclub, Fred becomes infatuated by celebrity photographer Joan Manyon (Joan Leslie). Bored with snapping celebrity photographs, Joan begs her boss, magazine publisher Phil Harriman (Robert Benchley), for a war-related assignment. Fred then tries to get Joan's attention, adorably popping into her shots and then follows her to a diner after she finishes work. Reluctant to discuss his work, Fred introduces himself as Fred Burton and receives a lecture from Joan about the seriousness of the war. After following Joan home, Fred rents a room in her apartment building, and the next morning, she awakens to find Fred cooking breakfast in her kitchen. Joan then delivers another lecture to Fred about his lack of commitment.
Joan agrees to join him for dinner if he will talk to Harriman about a job the next day. That night, Joan insists upon going to work at the Canteen, where she and Fred are drafted to fill in for a dancing act. After completing his performance, Fred sees Reg and Richard at the Canteen and begs them to keep his identity secret. The next morning, Reg visits Fred at his apartment with orders to report to duty in two days.
Fred, however, keeps his appointment with Harriman. When Harriman discloses that Joan has refused his marriage proposal, Fred offers him advice about how to woo her and suggests that Harriman invite her to a romantic dinner at his apartment that night. Following Fred's advice, Harriman invites Joan to dinner, but when he realizes that she has fallen in love with Fred, he tells her that Fred is waiting for her at the apartment. That night, Joan proposes marriage to a surprised Fred and insists upon introducing him to Harvey J. Sloane, the founder of Sloane Aircraft, so that he can ask for a job.
The night before Fred is to rejoin his squadron, he accompanies Joan to a banquet honoring Sloane. When Fred insults Sloane about the performance of his aircraft, Sloane tells Joan, who angrily walks out on Fred. Harriman then invites Fred to join him at his favorite bar, where he discloses that he knows Fred's true identity. Fred confides that although he loves Joan, he is unable to make a commitment to her because of the risky nature of his calling. He then launches into the famous "One For My Baby" dance number. I don't want to spoil the ending for you, so I'll stop there.
The Sky's The Limit is a delightful movie sprinkled with charm. I went into it already loving Astaire, but found by the end of the film that I was now a Joan Leslie fan. She was absolutely wonderful in this movie, and she was only 18!
"A Lot In Common With You", the number performed by Astaire and Leslie at the Canteen, was my favorite number from the whole movie! It was so fun and upbeat, and I loved the choreography. "My Shining Hour" was a song I already knew, but still wonderful to hear in the movie. And "One For My Baby" was a terrific dance performed as only Mr. Astaire could perform it. There was one line Fred Astaire said in the beginning of the movie when Joan Leslie tells him she is supposed to be taking pictures, he replies: "Couldn't I be the fellow who never gets his name mentioned? The one they call 'a friend'? You know: 'Ginger Rogers - and friend.'". Haha! I loved that part! Also worth mentioning is the marvelous wardrobe worn by Miss Leslie. Her clothes and hairstyles were so lovely in this film.
Another thing to note is that Astaire alone was credited for the choreography in this movie, which was a departure for him since he was always credited with another choreographer. Actually, this whole movie was sort of a departure for him. In this film, he played a troubled pilot. Set during wartime, the script provided him with his first opportunity to act in a serious dramatic role, which I think he did very well with. I honestly didn't expect to like this film as much as I did, and I highly recommend it to any fan of Fred Astaire.
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