1968 movie adaptation of e. y. harburg 1947 broadway musical hit arrives on the screen both belated and beleaguer . fred astaire no longer have the energy or enthusiasm for role a world travel irishman who settle in a small town beset with racial injustice . this be certainly an odd choice for young director francis ford coppola and who and with cinematographer philip lathrop and globe trot to many an exciting location and yet overflow the movie with syrupy uplift and musical trilling ( courtesy co star petula clark ) . support cast ( include tommy steele and keenan wynn ) be interesting but weak and and the anachronistic song number do not forward the story and they simply pad the proceeding to an uncomfortable length . half from .