Little Miss Broadway

20th Century Fox, 1938
Starring Shirley Temple, George Murphy, Edna Mae Oliver, and Edward Ellis
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music by Harold Spina; Lyrics by Walter Bullock

Judy Garland was hardly the only girl who figured putting on a show during the Depression would save her family. Shirley Temple, probably the most famous child star in Hollywood, appeared in several variations on that particular plot. How does this stand up against the similar Everybody Sing and other similar backstage films of the time? Let's head to an orphanage in New York and find out...

The Story: Betsy Brown (Temple) is delighted when Pop Shea (Ellis), an old friend of her parents, takes her in. He runs a theatrical hotel, where many different show business types rent rooms. She makes friends with everyone in the hotel, including Pop's daughter Barbara (Phyllis Brooks) and malaprop-prone bandleader Jimmy Claydon (Jimmy Durante). Their next-door neighbor and the owner of the hotel, grouchy old Sarah Wendling (Oliver), isn't crazy about performers or the noise they make while rehearsing. She orders Pop to either pay the back rent or vacate the premises. Betsy goes to her to make an appeal and meets her nephew Roger (Murphy). Roger eventually falls for Barbara, to the delight of Betsy, who considers them to be her parents. Sarah's appalled by pretty much everything. She tries to cut off Roger, but he opts to fight for his part of the building and his inheritance. Betsy is sent back to the orphanage. She doesn't stay there for long before she hurries off to help her unusual family, even if the show has to go on in the courtroom.

The Song and Dance: Not every movie Shirley did was a musical, but this is one of the more charming ones. She has a couple of nice dances with Murphy and works very well with him, especially when they're invading the stuff club where Sarah's brother Willoughby (Donald Meek) tries to practice with his glee club and proceed to make noise. If nothing else, this is the only backstage musical I've ever seen where the big show in the end is performed before a judge in a court of law!

Favorite Number: The opening at the orphanage gives us the girls and Temple performing what could be the theme song for her films in general, "Be Optimistic." She gets the charming "We Should Be Together" at the mansion with Murphy as they begin their friendship. The big finale in the courtroom encompasses two cute numbers. Temple teaches Willoghby and his group how to "Swing an Old Fashioned Song" after their initial version of "When You Were Sweet Sixteen" doesn't go over. The title song is the sole large-scale production number. Temple and Murphy really put it over, complete with an intricate dance and elaborate sets.

Trivia: Murphy wasn't satisfied with "We Should Be Together" and asked to redo "Little Miss Broadway." Temple agreed (despite her mother's worries), and apparently it went over so well, the crew requested encores.

What I Don't Like: If you've seen one of Temple's films, you've pretty much seen them all. She did the same idea in most of her films - she's adopted by an odd group of people, brings young lovers together, and manages to barely avoid being separated from her new family by an old sourpuss. Durante is ill-used - he's barely in most of the movie - and Brooks is an especially dull love interest. The songs are cute, but not especially memorable.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Temple or are looking for a musical for younger kids, you can do far worse than this charmer.

Home Media: The Shirley Temple movies are pretty easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD
DVD - The Shirley Temple Collection, Volume 1
Amazon Prime