Fred Astaire as an American Flying Tiger ace during World War 2 is the appeal of the underappreciated The Sky’s the Limit. The set-up is the point of the picture, which was apparently lost on critics including the New York Times’s critic Bosley Crowther, who dismissed this movie. That’s too bad because it’s delightful despite the challenge of an age difference between Fred Astaire and his leading lady, Joan Leslie, who was 17 years old during filming.

This is a musical. Like most Fred Astaire movies, the plot’s thin. The music, by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, is partly what attracted Fred Astaire to return to his former studio, RKO. Songs are uniquely suited to the underlying dramatic premise. As with most Fred Astaire films, and with most movies during Hollywood’s Golden Age, you either accept the wispy premise or you don’t. Here, opening scenes are essential to understanding Fred Astaire’s playboy character and the cavalier attitude he adopts during a respite from war. The Sky’s t…