Starring Shirley Temple, Charles Farrell, Joan Davis, and Bert Lahr
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music by Harold Spina; Lyrics by Walter Bullock
Most of Shirley Temple's movies were made to help Depression-weary audiences forget their troubles and were usually adaptations of famous children's books or set in far-away places like a farm or in a historical setting like the Deep South. This may have been her only movie to really tackle the problems of the Depression head-on, or at least reference them from a child's point of view. How does the story of a little girl who thinks American icon Uncle Sam lives in her apartment building look in these equally troubled times? Let's start at an exclusive girl's school, where perky Penny Hale (Temple) was told she could go home to her father in New York, and find out...
The Story: Penny returns to the Riverview Apartments to find a very different family living in what was once her home. Her father Jeff (Farrell) was once a prominent architect, but has now been reduced to working as the building's janitor and living in the basement. Penny doesn't mind working. She's still with her father, and she gets to visit with her friends Kitty the dog sitter (Davis), Gus the chauffeur (Lahr), and Corporal Jones the doorman (Bill Robinson). She's less happy with being constantly told to stay out of the penthouse by snobbish apartment manager Waters (Franklin Pangborn).
The head of the rich family who now occupies the penthouse, Sam Henshaw (Claude Gillingwater), is a cranky old man who constantly worries about his many business holdings. He refuses to listen to Jeff's ideas about new apartments, and while he doesn't like Jeff running around with his niece Lola (Amanda Duff), he has fewer problems with Penny helping his pampered nephew Milton (Bennie Bartlett) fit in better with the neighborhood kids. Convinced he's the real iconic "Uncle Sam" after her father shows her a cartoon that resembles him, Penny insists on holding a benefit for him. She's hoping to keep him from sending her father to Borneo on assignment...but "Uncle Sam" may not appreciate her efforts.
The Song and Dance: Well, the story is definitely unique. Most musicals from this time used the Depression as a backdrop and an excuse for cheer-up routines. We do get that here (as in "This Is a Happy Little Ditty"), but the economic downturn of 1937-1938 is one of the driving forces behind the plot. It's a big part of the reason Sam's businesses are in trouble. The supporting cast mostly runs with the odd script, bringing out some decent gags from Davis and Lahr and two good solos from Robinson. Even Bartlett does well as the sheltered boy who learns to be a "he-man" from Penny.
Favorite Number: "Happy Little Ditty" is kind of goofy, but it manages to encompass most of cast, from Lahr and Davis goofing off to Robinson getting a good dance solo in. The movie ends with Robinson and Temple in raincoats, tapping together to the big dance number at the benefit, "I Love to Walk In the Rain."
What I Don't Like: The story is kind of bizarre and frequently just plain dated. Many people who don't know anything about the mid-late 30's and that economic downturn may not understand what all the fuss is about. It doesn't help that it pretty much conforms to most of the clichés of Temple's films - her among an unusual "family" and charming a curmudgeon into letting them stay together. (Granted, this is one of the few times she isn't an orphan and manages to keep her father around for most of the film.)
The Big Finale: Cute enough way to pass an hour or so if you or your kids are a fan of Temple...but be prepared to explain a few things about the time period and how it relates to the story.
Home Media: Like all of Temple's movies, this is easy to find on DVD and streaming.
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