Starring Shirley Temple, Michael Whalen, Jack Haley, and Alice Faye
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music by Mack Gordon; Lyrics by Harry Revel
Shirley Temple was the biggest star in the world when she made this movie. Most of her movies has her as a poor girl who suddenly comes into money. This is one of three that goes the opposite route of having her be a wealthy child who is suddenly poor and shows how she deals with it. It's also another one that plays on the economic realities of the time. Many real-life companies bought each other out or merged during the Depression years. Radio became one of the most popular forms of advertising. Companies did everything they could to have celebrities appear on their program and advertise their products. For performers looking for work, appearances on radio brought them to a wider audience and could be make or break for their careers. How does this play into Temple as the lonely daughter of a soap company magnate? Let's begin at the home of Richard Barry (Whalen), owner of Barry's Soap, as his daughter Barbara (Temple) eats lunch and find out...
The Story: Barbara loves her daddy, but not all the time he spends taking care of his company. She wishes he'd pay more attention to her, but he's too busy. He sends her to boarding school so she can be with other girls her age. She's separated from her fussy nanny Collins (Sara Haden) at the train station when she's hit by a car while searching for her purse. Barbara declares herself to be on vacation and follows Tony (Henry Armetta), an organ grinder who resembles a similar character in a book Barry's housekeeper Woodward (Jane Darwell) always read to her. She claims she's an orphan, convincing Tony, his wife (Mathilde Comont), and their many children to take her in.
Jimmy (Haley) and Jerrie (Faye) Dolan, a pair of vaudeville performers hoping to find a spot in radio, overhear her dancing. Jimmy's so impressed, he convinces her to join the act as their little girl. She charms the crotchety owner of Peck's Soap (Claude Gillingwater) to take them. They become a sensation on his show. Needless to say, Barry's not happy when he hears his daughter singing jingles for the competition and will do anything to get her back. Meanwhile, he's also pursing the pretty head of Peck's advertising department Margaret Allen (Gloria Stuart), and there's a far less friendly man who is also after Barbara (John Wray).
The Song and Dance: Faye and Haley make this a little more interesting than most of Temple's melodramatic vehicles. They play well off each other and show some terrific chemistry as the optimistic dancer and his pessimistic singer wife. We even get some action at the end when they save Barbara from the man who really wants to kidnap her. Temple is charming and funny as ever, especially following Tony and playing with his children as Barbara enjoys the first real companions her own age she's ever had.
Favorite Number: Barbara laments that her dolls are the only ones she has around to take care of, even if she doesn't regard them as the best-behaved, in "Oh My Goodness." Temple amusingly reprises it in an accent representing each of her toys' nationalities - German, Russian, Japanese, and African-American. We even get some nice special effects as the dolls seemingly come to life and dance for Barbara, thanks to forced perspective. The ballad "When I'm With You" is heard three times, most effectively when Faye sings it during the radio show towards the end.
"You've Gotta Eat Your Spinach" is Faye and Haley admonishing Temple that she's a kid, and she has to take her lumps whether she likes it or not. It's a hilarious callback to Barbara trying to avoid the spinach she had for lunch in the beginning, and is just plain adorable. It may have been hard for Faye, Haley, and Temple to get into step for the big "Military Man" precision tap dancing finale, but it was worth it. The song is funny as heck, and they all look terrific as they imitate soldiers marching in perfect unison.
What I Don't Like: First of all, let's discuss Temple's rendition of "When I'm With You." She sings it to her father after hearing Tony Martin perform it on the Barry's radio show. Unfortunately, it also retains the romantic lyrics, making her sound more creepy than cute or sweet nowadays. There's also the stereotypical accents in "Oh My Goodness." Barbara also manages to run away from her father and nearly get three people arrested without anyone scolding her. I'm hoping her father at least punished her a little later on for causing so much trouble. Speaking of her father, his romance with Margaret Allen is almost an afterthought, providing little more than a love interest and someone who puts the Barry's-Peck's rivalry into context.
The Big Finale: One of Temple's better movies is fun for her fans or for fathers to share with younger kids who will enjoy her antics.
Home Media: For some reason, this is currently one of two Temple movies not on DVD in the US. You're better off streaming this one.
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