Happy Mother's Day! - Young People

20th Century Fox, 1940

Starring Shirley Temple, Charlotte Greenwood, Jack Oakie, and George Montgomery

Directed by Allan Dwan

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

We celebrate Mother's Day and unconventional families with Shirley Temple's last movie as a child star. By this point, she was 12, and just starting to outgrow melodramatic stories like this one. When her previous fantasy movie The Blue Bird was a flop, Fox tossed her back into something closer to the movies she'd been making since 1935. Were they right to do this, or should this be shunned? Let's begin onstage with Joe (Oakie) and Kit (Greenwood) Ballantine as they receive a certain basket from a mysterious older woman (Mary Gordon) and find out...

The Story: The basket contains not birds, but the infant daughter of their dear friend Barney O'Hara. He was about to pass on and wanted his daughter to be well cared-for. Kit and Joe not only take little Wendy (Temple) in, they keep the New England farm O'Hara left them, too. 

When Wendy turns 12, they move to the farm in the hope of starting a new life away from the stage. Though they try to be friendly, most of the townspeople consider them to be too brash and loud and shun them. It doesn't help when they align with the town's newspaper editor Mike Shea (Montgomery) against snooty Hester Appleby (Kathleen Howard) and her pretty niece Judith (Arleen Whelan) on the idea of progress. After Wendy's simple class dance offends the parents, they're ready to leave town but are prevented by a hurricane. It takes an act of selflessness from the trio to prove to the town that there's nothing wrong with being different, and maybe progress isn't such a bad thing.

The Song and Dance: Though the focus is on Temple, Oakie and Greenwood are the ones who really steal the show as the seasoned troopers who want to give a better life to a child that has come to mean so much to them. Oakie in particular has some very funny moments when he's clashing with the townspeople in the second half. Temple also does her best onstage in numbers with her onscreen parents and the hilarious song and dance at the school that got the parents so upset. 

The Numbers: We open onstage at a vaudeville house, as faux southerners Kit and Joe sing about "The Mason-Dixon Line." We see Wendy grow up in sequences from two previous Temple films with Joe singing and Kit clowning, "On the Beach at Waikiki" from Curly Top and the title song of "Baby Take a Bow" with her in the infamous polka-dot dress. (The latter lets Greenwood parody Temple in her own short dress and babyish voice!) "Fifth Avenue" is the top hat-and-cane routine that introduces the 12-year-old Wendy. They sing it again later when getting ready to leave after being shunned.  

"I Wouldn't Take a Million," says Joe when he and his two favorite ladies are driving home from the town meeting. The children sing the gentle hymn "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton" at school, but it's too quiet for Joe and the young men. Wendy and the children, dressed as adults, insist that they're "Young People" and deserve to be treated more like grown-ups. Their assertiveness is shocking enough, but then they start tap dancing! Wendy reprises "I Wouldn't Take a Million" to explain how much she loves her parents, even if they aren't her birth parents. The film ends with the trio singing "Tra La La" to celebrate their staying at Stonefield.

What I Don't Like: On one hand, Oakie and Greenwood's genial presence (and the fact that no one tries to take Temple away from them) keeps this a bit lighter than some of her other melodramas. It still hits a lot of the cliches, though, from the well-meaning old grouches who don't know how to have fun to the superfluous young lovers who are there for Temple to play matchmaker. Neither Montgomery nor Whelan are terribly memorable in underwritten roles. The songs are also far from the best to appear in her movies. "I Wouldn't Take a Million" is sweet, but "Fifth Avenue" sounds like a parody of "Lullaby of Broadway," and "Tra La La" is a generic cheer-up ditty.

The Big Finale: Temple's final movie from her child star days isn't her best, but it's worth checking out with your kids this Mother's Day weekend if they or you are a fan of her films.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - The Littlest Rebel

20th Century Fox, 1935

Starring Shirley Temple, Bill Robinson, John Boles, and Karen Morley

Directed by David Butler

Music and Lyrics by various

We remain in 1861, but move to the south for our next Civil War musical. This is Shirley Temple's second Civil War-set vehicle that year after The Little Colonel, but this one hews a lot closer to the conventions of her films. It does have a lot in common with Colonel, including her dancing with Bill Robinson again, but it may be even harder for many audiences to swallow today. Let's begin with Virginia "Virgie" Cary (Temple) for a glimpse of her privileged world at her lavish birthday party and find out...

The Story: Virgie and her parents are shocked when Fort Sumter is attacked and the Civil War begins. Her father Herbert (Boles) joins the Confederate Army as a spy and captain. Her mother (Morley) tries to keep things going on their plantation, but it's hard when the Union Army pretty much moves in. Spunky Virgie manages to gain the respect of the officers, especially Colonel Morrison (Jack Holt), who has a little girl of his own. 

Unfortunately, it's not enough to keep their plantation from being burned to the ground during a torrential thunderstorm. Mrs. Cary becomes deathly ill shortly afterwards. Her husband sneaks in to see her, and while he does talk to her one more time before her death, he and Colonel Morrison are arrested when the Union officer tries to help him escape. Virgie and her family's last remaining servant, Uncle Billy (Robinson), earn the money for a train to Washington DC in order to plea for Captain Carey's release from the ultimate authority himself, President Lincoln (Frank McGlynn Sr.).

The Song and Dance: Shirley and Bill Robinson are really the thing here, along with a relatively lavish production with tiny hoopskirts for Shirley and authentic Civil War uniforms for the gentlemen. Shirley's hilarious defying the Union soldiers - especially when showing off her real-life skills with a slingshot! - and handles the dramatic sequences almost as well. Robinson's character is treated with at least a little more respect than most of the black servants in the movie. Mrs. Carey relies heavily on him, and Virgie sees her as her actual uncle (which Temple apparently did as well). He and Temple have most of the best moments, including two terrific tap numbers.

Favorite Number: We begin after Virgie's birthday lunch with her and the children at the party dancing together. This is quickly ended by the announcement of the war as the fathers announce their intention to join the Confederate Army. Temple cheekily sings "I Wish I Was In Dixie" to the Union officers when they first arrive at the plantation. Shirley plays and sings "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms" to her father when he's visiting the first time. Robinson gets his own solo to "Turkey In the Straw" and joins Temple later for their delightful "Polly Wolly Doodle" with updated lyrics by B.G DeSylva. No wonder they made enough money to travel just with this dance. They're both having a marvelous time tapping together. 

Trivia: The scene with Virgie shooting the Union Army with a slingshot was written into the film because Shirley actually was an excellent shot. 

This was based on a Broadway play from 1911. 

What I Don't Like: Between the treatment of its black characters and the ridiculous melodrama, especially in the second half, this is one of Shirley's most dated vehicles. Shirley even turns up in blackface at one point to evade the Union Army. It's no more convincing for them than it is for us. The black characters are actually happy they're in slavery. Willie Best and his annoying slow drawl is the worst offender here, making him an unpleasant contrast to dignified Robinson. 

While it is amusing to see Virgie defy the Union army in the first half, I really wish her mother didn't have to die mid-way through. It's an unnecessary burst of melodrama in a movie already bogged down with it. The entire thing with her convincing Lincoln to release her father is utterly ridiculous and just plain silly. 

The Big Finale: Not Temple's best by a long-shot, but still worth seeing for her dances with Robison. Put it on with your older kids, but be prepared to have some long discussions about the treatment of blacks in the Civil War era and the 1930's. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Stand Up and Cheer!

Fox Film Corporation, 1934

Starring Warner Baxter, Madge Evans, James Dunn, and Shirley Temple

Directed by Hamilton MacFadden

Music and Lyrics by various

Shirley Temple had mainly appeared in shorts and in bit parts in larger movies before she joined the cast of this all-star blue-chaser. The Depression was starting to look a little more bearable, thanks to Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" and other programs created to help those who were struggling. Musicals, too, made a comeback as backstage stories now were about more than putting on a show. They were first and foremost a way to lift spirits during the darkest times. This started life as Fox's attempt to revive its Fox Follies from 1929. By 1934, it had evolved into something more than mere "follies." How does this attempt at mixing politics and putting on a show look today? Let's star with the president deciding the US needs a "Department of Amusement" and find out...

The Story: The President appoints producer Lawrence Cromwell (Baxter) as the Secretary of Amusement. He puts lovely Mary Adams (Evans) in charge of the children's division, then tries to find what would most lift people's spirits. Many people are out of work or are scrambling for work, including janitor George Bernard Shaw (Stepin Fetchit) and vaudevillian Jimmy Dugan (Dunn) and his beloved daughter Shirley (Temple). There's also a cabinet of financiers and bankers who are profiting off the recent malaise and would prefer people's spirits not be lifted. It's Mary who encourages him when the backers start breathing down his neck and insists he doesn't let the Depression - or anything else - get him down.

The Song and Dance: And with a story that flimsy, song and dance are the operative words here. Temple made her debut for most film goers here, and even in her few brief scenes, you can see the charm and talent that made audiences (and Fox) adore her. She has a nice speech with Evans when she asks her about her father, and in addition to her big "Baby Take a Bow" number, she can be seen leading the women drummers in the finale. It's also one of the few musicals of the time to tackle the Depression almost literally head-on and even make it part of the plot.

Favorite Number: "I'm Laughing" gives us a montage of working people, from worker Dick Foran to blackface singer "Aunt Jemima" (Tess Gardella), cops in the rain and overworked women in factories, all trying to be cheerful despite their difficult situations. James Dunn sings with the chorus girls on the more traditional "Baby Take a Bow"...at least until Temple comes out in her iconic polka-dot dress. Her tap is professional-level for a six year old, and she basically steals the show.

"Broadway's Gone Hillbilly" is a truly bizarre routine that has the chorus girls in farm overalls and straw hats as giant farmer's daughters climbing around in a New York skyline. Tenor John Boles, joined by Syliva Froos, perform the ballad "This Is Our Last Night Together" as a ship's captain on his way to sea. Mary watches them, and can't help wishing her relationship would be that romantic. Every group we've seen (including Dunn and Temple) come together to celebrate the end of the Depression as they declare that "We're Out of the Red" and back on their way to prosperity. 

Trivia: Will Rogers partly wrote the film and was going to star in it, but dropped out. 

Temple's number was the one she'd done at her audition for Fox. The studio thought it would be easier for her if she did something she knew, instead of a new one, so she taught it to Dunn.

What I Don't Like: The plot is ridiculous bordering on annoyingly naive. While the Depression was a bit better than it had been even a year or two before, it would continue in the US in one form or another through the late 30's. On one hand, while I appreciate them including African-Americans among the workers, their depictions are stereotypical at best...and having Fetchit, who was notorious for playing stereotyped lazy characters, and blackface actress Gardella in the cast doesn't help at all. In fact, it used to be worse. Apparently, a good 10 minutes of the movie, including a number for Fetchit and hillbilly John "Skins" Miller, was cut sometime in the 1980's. Some sequences have been restored (I saw Fetchit watching a penguin gobbling up prize fish on my copy), but not all of them. 

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent Temple fans. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Happy Mother's Day! - The Little Colonel

20th Century Fox, 1935

Starring Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore, Evelyn Venable, and Hattie McDaniel

Directed by David Butler

Music and Lyrics by various

This year, we celebrate a day for mothers with the story of a little girl who brings together her beloved mother and the grandfather she never knew. This was originally a popular children's book that debuted in 1895. It became the first of two southern-set vehicles for Shirley during the height of her own fame as the number one star - of any age - in the world. Nowadays, it's one of her best-known vehicles for the famous sequence with her and tap king Bill Robinson dancing on the stairs together, but in other ways, it hasn't dated well. Let's begin before Shirley's birth, at the home of Colonel Lloyd Sherman (Barrymore) and his daughter Elizabeth (Venable), and find out what caused that rift between father and daughter...

The Story: Elizabeth defies her father by marrying northerner Jack Sherman (John Lodge). Her father detests the north after the south lost the Civil War. The stubborn duo refuses to speak to each other or acknowledge each other again. Despite that, Elizabeth eventually names her only daughter, the pride of her husband's Calvary regiment, after her father (Temple). The officers dub Lloyd their "little colonel," a title she takes seriously.

Elizabeth and Lloyd are forced to move into a run-down cottage on her father's property after Jack goes west in search of gold. Her father doesn't even know about Lloyd until he catches her playing with two black children near his home and taking his flowers. He's not happy with her temper and dirty clothes at first, but the two gradually become friends. Lloyd's delighted when her father finally returns, but not that he's sick and was cheated out of his rightful share of fake gold by two swindlers. Lloyd knows it's up to her to get help when those two swindlers come after her father...and to bring her parents and grandfather together when he's the only one who can save them.

The Song and Dance: If nothing else, I do appreciate that this may be the only Shirley Temple vehicle where she has both parents and isn't adopted or an orphan. Her father is gone for a good chunk of the movie, but he does survive his ordeals. The real drama here is between father, daughter, and granddaughter. Barrymore is hilarious and adorable with Temple and perfectly stern with Venable. Hattie MacDaniel is hilarious as Elizabeth's housekeeper Rebecca, who knows how to keep an eye on mother and daughter, and Bill Robinson almost as much fun as the elder Lloyd's long-suffering valet Walker. Watch out for the last five minutes or so - it's filmed in absolutely gorgeous Technicolor. 

Favorite Number: We open at the party with a dubbed Venable singing the old favorite "Love's Young Dream." Temple reprises this later, wearing the same frilly dress and huge feathered bonnet her mother did as a child. Young Lloyd gets a view of African-American ritual in the south when Rebecca and Walker take her to see workers perform "Wade In the Water" as they baptize those who have sinned. 

Of course, the most famous routines from this one are Robinson and Temple dancing together. Everyone remembers them on the stairs, but they actually dance together twice. Robinson starts off on the stairs, showing Temple how to dance. She's so impressed, she wants to learn, and they tap up and down the stairs until Barrymore shows up and ends the number. Later, after her father's home, she comes to the stable to show Walker her fancy new clothes, and he teaches her more steps. They're so funny together and such scene-stealers, no wonder they'd dance together in at least two more films. (Not to mention, are pioneers in other ways - this was the first interracial dance couple in films.)

Trivia: Temple's habit of memorizing everyone's lines did not endear her to Barrymore at first, until she asked for his autograph and said he was one of her favorite actors. They really did become good friends after that and remained so until Barrymore's death in 1954. She also remained good friends with Robinson for years.

What I Don't Like: Though this movie is set after the Civil War, among free African-Americans, it portrays the black characters as perfectly happy to be servants and to take the abuse given by the whites (especially the elder male Lloyd). Temple gives orders to the two black kids who play with her and can be condescending to them as well. Venable and Lodge do well enough, and while it is refreshing to see both parents survive to the end of one of Temple's films, they're no match for Temple's cuteness, Barrymore's fire, or Robinson and MacDaniel getting some of the best lines.

The Big Finale: If you and your mother can handle the dated attitudes towards minorities and treatment of the post-Civil War south, this is one of Temple's best movies and is highly recommended. 

Home Media: As one of Temple's most popular vehicles, this is easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

DVD - The Shirley Temple Collection Volume Three

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Heidi (1937)

20th Century Fox, 1937

Starring Shirley Temple, Jean Hersholt, Marcia Mae Jones, and Arthur Treacher

Directed by Allan Dwan

Music by Lew Pollack and others; Lyrics by Sidney D. Mitchell and others

This is one of eight adaptations of classic children's literature Temple appeared in, and possibly the most popular. It's also one of the most typical, and is often the movie people think of when she comes to mind. Swiss writer Joanna Spyri's tale of the little orphan who comes to the Alps to live with her grandfather has been made into a movie many times. We've already seen it once on this blog, in an animated version from Hanna-Barbara in the early 80's. How does this live-action retelling compare? Let's begin with Aunt Dede (Mady Christiens) as she brings little Heidi (Temple) to her grandfather's remote cabin in the Alps and see...

The Story: Grandfather (Hersholt) isn't popular among the people in the tiny Swiss village below his cabin. The people fear him after he turned away his son for marrying a woman he didn't approve of. Heidi is the result of that union...and indeed, he resents her at first. She finally wins him and everyone else in the town over with her sweet and bubbly personality. Grandfather even comes down to the village church for the first time in a decade.

Aunt Dede returns to sweep Heidi away to the German town of Frankfurt, where she's to be a companion for crippled Klara Seseman (Marcia Mae Jones). Klara thinks she's adorable, but her nanny Frouline Rottenmeyer (Mary Nash) wishes she'd stop encouraging Klara to recover faster. Rottenmeyer's worried she'll lose her job if her charge can walk. Heidi, for her part, only wants to return to her grandfather and her beloved mountain home by any means possible.

The Song and Dance: To be honest, this is more of a melodrama than a musical, but there's still some nice performances. Jean Hersholt is a delightfully gruff Grandfather and plays very well off Temple's darling Heidi, especially when they're in the Alps during the first half. Jones did so well playing Klara, she actually got letters from real disabled children who appreciated her performance. Marsh makes a nice hissable Rottenmeyer who lives up to her name, and Arthur Treacher has a few good moments as the Sesemans' stuffy butler Andrews.

Favorite Number: Heidi has a dream sequence when Grandfather reads her the story of a little Dutch girl as she imagines herself surrounded by children "In My Little Wooden Shoes," and then as a grown-up lady at a fancy costume ball. Everyone in the village - including Heidi - is surprised when Grandfather joins them at the church for the hymn "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name." 

What I Don't Like: The first half is a relatively faithful version of the original novel, with a few condensed characters and situations. It's the finale where things go off the rails. The big finale, with Heidi being dragged off in the snow by Rottemeyer while her grandfather is in prison, is way too melodramatic for the mostly comic story that came before it. Even if it does end happily, it's still too much. Klara doesn't really get to meet most of the mountain people, and we don't get to see her walk for long, either. 

Like Heidi's Song, this does feature a pair of somewhat out of place young lovers in the minister and schoolteacher. At least here, they are based on characters from the book and have slightly more to do. The minister hears Grandfather's backstory from the blind grandmother (Helen Wesley), and they parrot the villagers' opinions when they try to get Heidi to attend school.

The Big Finale: Not my favorite Temple movie, but there's enough to recommend, especially in the less-overwrought first half, for families or fans of hers or the book.

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Happy Father's Day! - Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)

20th Century Fox, 1936

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. 

Amazon Prime (Colorized)

Honoring Chinese New Year - Stowaway (1936)

20th Century Fox, 1936

Starring Shirley Temple, Alice Faye, Robert Young, and Helen Westley

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music by Harry Revel; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

Let's celebrate the Year of the Tiger with one of Temple's most successful features. This one changes things up slightly by going for not one, but two exotic settings and focusing more on the lovers than the older curmudgeon and Temple's antics. How does the story of a little American girl raised in China who plays matchmaker to a confirmed bachelor and a young lady look today? Let's begin in the village of Sanchow, China, which is about to be raided by bandits, and find out...

The Story: Barbara "Ching-Ching" Stewart (Temple) flees Sanchow with a guide hired by her friend Sun Lo (Phillip Ahn). The guide abandons her and makes off with her money, leaving her alone in Shanghai. She runs into Tommy Randall (Young), a handsome playboy on a world cruise with his valet Atkins (Arthur Treacher). He leaves her and her dog Mr. Wu in his convertible, but she flees into the rumble seat to avoid the rain. After she falls asleep there, she finds herself on the ocean liner when the convertible's loaded on there.

Susan Parker (Faye), who is traveling to Bangkok to marry her banker fiancée Richard Hope finds Ching-Ching when she's hiding from the Captain (Robert Grieg). Susan agrees to take her in for the voyage, to the dismay of Richard's pushy mother (Wesley). Ching-Ching tries to bring Susan and Tommy together, but Mrs. Hope doesn't like that one bit. Richard likes it even less. There may not be much anyone can do when it turns out Ching-Ching is now an orphan and has to be taken to Shanghai, unless Tommy steps up to take responsibility for her and Susan figures out which man she really wants.

The Song and Dance: The exotic Chinese setting is relatively well-represented for 1936, as are the Chinese themselves. Most of the Chinese characters speak in Confucius homilies and we can hear a few "me speekee English," but they're at least somewhat respected and are played by actual Asian actors. It makes Tommy look even more ridiculous arguing with a shopkeeper when he first meets Ching-Ching. Temple's having a blast, whether she's ordering around her dog or imitating Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor, and Faye is a warm and inviting presence as the woman she latches on to. 

Favorite Number: Ching-Ching first sings "Goodnight, My Love" as a lullaby to herself. Tommy and Susan later dance to it after she sings while they chat about Ching-Ching on the deck. Faye's solo also has her on deck in the moonlight as she muses "One Never Knows, Does One?" Temple's big cheer-up number she performs at the talent show is "You've Gotta S-M-I-L-E to Be H-A-P-P-Y." The movie finishes with a delighted Ching-Ching and her new family gathered around the tree as she sings "That's What I Want for Christmas."

Trivia: Temple was eventually given the Pekinese she had in this movie. She renamed him Ching-Ching, after her character. 

Temple learned 40 words of Mandarin Chinese for her role. 

What I Don't Like: While this one does switch things up a bit by putting the emphasis on the lovers and making the crochety old person the villain, it still comes off as Temple's standard melodrama. For all that they get right with the Chinese, the things they get wrong (like the guy who abandons Ching-Ching, Temple's sing-song delivery, and some of more obvious "me speekee English" in Shanghai and Hong Kong) stand out all the more as annoying and dated. The songs in this one, aside from Temple's imitations and "Goodnight, My Love," are barely afterthoughts, and certainly not up to the scores in some of her earlier movies. The courtroom finale is silly and a bit unnecessary, given that even the judge could see Tommy and Susan were in love. 

The Big Finale: One of Temple's better films is a must if you're a fan of hers, and not a bad place to start with younger kids if you explain about some of the more overt Asian stereotypes. 

Home Media: As with most of Shirley's films, this is easy to find on DVD and streaming. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Musical Documentaries - That's Dancing!

MGM, 1985

Hosted by Gene Kelly, Ray Bolger, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr, and many others

Directed by Jack Haley Jr.

Music and Lyrics by various

When I was six, this used to appear with some frequency on cable. It gave me my first glimpse of Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, and ballet, and I was entranced. It's one of several older films and more recent musicals I saw as a child that helped make me the musical film fan I am today. How does this summation of the history of dance on the big screen look nowadays, with most of these films easily found on home media and no longer limited to cable showings and rare big-screen revivals? Let's start with a man who certainly knows something about dance on-screen, Gene Kelly, as he explains to us about primitive dance around the world, and find out...

The Story: Some of the most popular musical stars and dancers to ever appear on the big screen relate to us the history of dance via segments from movies made by MGM...and for once, other studios as well.

Kelly discusses the origins of filmed dance, dance on the silent screen, and how Busby Berkley's surreal choreography revolutionized chorus numbers on film.

Sammy Davis Jr. talks about solo and couple dance on film, via Fred Astaire, who insisted on the camera remaining on his full figure while he danced and his frequent partner Ginger Rogers. He also goes into Shirley Temple, whose mixed-race tap routines with Bill Robinson broke barriers in the 30's, Robinson's graceful style as a solo act in shorts, and solo stars Eleanor Powell and Ray Bolger and the amazing duo the Nicholas Brothers. 

Russian ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov gives us the history of ballet on film, from Anna Palova on the silent screen to major international ballet greats of the 60's and 70's Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, as well as screen ballerinas Vera Zorina and Moira Shearer. 

Liza Minelli discusses screen adaptations of classic Broadway dance routines, from James Cagney demonstrating what George M Cohan's style looked like in Yankee Doodle Dandy to the explosive "Cool" from the original 1961 West Side Story. 

Ray Bolger gives us the (then) future of dance on the screen, including the "What a Feeling!" finale of Flashdance and Michael Jackson's influential and much-parodied "Beat It" music video. 

The Song and Dance: If That's Dancing does one thing right, it's expanding its net to include a truly wide variety of dance...including acknowledging that dancers came from studios other than MGM. We get the Yankee Doodle Dandy and Busby Berkley footage from Warners, the Shirley Temple/Bill Robinson, Nicholas Brothers, and Rogers and Hammerstein dances from 20th Century Fox, Universal's release of Sweet Charity, Flashdance from Paramount, The Red Shoes from England, and the MTV Michael Jackson footage. We also get our first glimpse of cut songs in an incredible extension of Bolger's "If I Only Had a Brain" solo from The Wizard of Oz. They even wrote two original songs. It's also nice to see sequences from musicals made after the 50's as the hosts point out that dance on the screen continues to evolve. There's also the extremely rare footage of early silent dancers, some of it going far back as 1897. 

Favorite Number: As mentioned, we begin with footage, some of it rare, of primitive dances from around the globe, from African tribal ritual to native dances in Mexico and China. Of the Busby Berkley routines shown here, none continue to amaze more than the Oscar-winning "Lullaby of Broadway" from Gold Diggers of 1935, with its thousands of tap dancers who all manage to move in perfect unison. 

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers have a lot more fun with two of their best routines, the romantic "Night and Day" from The Gay Divorcee and comic "Pick Yourself Up" from Swing Time. A decidedly different duo, Shirley Temple and Bill Robison, show off their "Organ Grinder's Swing" from The Littlest Rebel. Robison goes it alone and shows off his light-as-air footwork in two numbers from the short King for a Day. A very young Sammy Davis Jr. gets in on his own short, Rufus Jones for President, and gives us a delightful and adorable tap routine. Fred goes it solo as well with "I Won't Dance" from Roberta and later, "A Shine On Your Shoes," making brilliant use of an arcade on Broadway in The Band Wagon. Eleanor Powell manages to combine tap and graceful hula and make it work in the peculiar "Hola E Pae" from Honolulu. 

Vera Zorina demonstrates grace of a different sort with Charles Laskey in "La Princesse Zenobia Ballet" from On Your Toes. Delicate Moira Shearer is haunted by her scarlet footwear, which stands out like a beacon in the sherbet tones of The Red Shoes. Ray Bolger does death-defying leaps after crows (with the help of MGM's special effects department) in a delightful extension of his "If I Only Had a Brain" from The Wizard of Oz. 

Astaire this time joins an unusually tough Jane Powell for the colorful tropical chorus routine "I Left My Hat In Hati" from Royal Wedding. Anne Miller joins Bob Fosse, Bobby Van, and the late Tommy Rall for their big tap number "Tom Dick and Harry" from Kiss Me Kate. We get a glimpse at a more spontaneous chorus routine with the teens dancing in the streets and stopping traffic to the tune of the Oscar-winning title song from Fame. The dancers of the original West Side Story show why they're still "Cool" with their stylized, finger-snapping dance moves. "Cool" inspired much of Michael Jackson's "Beat It"; song and video were smash hits in 1983, and we get to see why here, with their equally dramatic moves. We also get Kim Carnes' pop song "Invitation to Dance" over the end credits. 

Trivia: The use of the rare Ray Bolger/Wizard of Oz footage was so well-received, it inspired MGM to dig in its vaults for more deleted numbers to use in That's Entertainment III a decade later. 

Final film appearance of Ray Bolger. 

Bolger and Minnelli's sequences were to have been much longer and feature more numbers from other studios, but many were dropped in the interest of time and expense, as was the sequence with Fred and Ginger. Which brings me to...

What I Don't Like: It's pretty obvious that MGM chopped this up since before release. There's even less rhyme and reason to this than there is to the Kelly and Astaire-hosted That's Entertainment Part 2. Liza Minnelli's segment from Cabaret was dropped, leaving her as the only host without a dance routine in the film and making many audiences wonder what she's doing there. Many of the MGM numbers seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel after three films and makes you really wish the other studios had cooperated more. 

There's problems with the other hosts, too. Their narration is just as stiff as the first That's Entertainment film, and mostly of interest to real dance aficionados. Casual audiences will likely be bored and wish they'd get out of the way and let the footage speak for itself. Baryshnikov in particular lacks the charm and intensity he usually shows when dancing. (And he's not helped by his thick Russian accent.) The five hosts often seem spread too thin as well, with Davis Jr. and Kelly covering more than half the film. 

Let's talk about that final "modern" segment. Breakdancing was a huge fad in 1985, but it's barely remembered today by anyone but fans of 80's dance. I understand they wanted to convey the evolution of dance, from primitive times to modern times, but the emphasis on 80's fads like breakdancing and music videos dates this in a way the That's Entertainment films, with their use of mostly older footage, manages to avoid. 

The Big Finale: Mainly of interest to fans of dance on the screen, dance history, or the That's Entertainment documentary series. 

Home Media: Finally got its first solo release on Warner Archive DVD in October 2020; can be found easily for streaming as well. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Dimples

20th Century Fox, 1936

Starring Shirley Temple, Frank Morgan, Helen Westley, and Robert Kent

Directed by William A. Seiter

Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Ted Koehler

Most of Shirley Temple's movies followed the same basic pattern. She's an orphan taken in by lower-class citizens, including a man (usually an older man) she's close to. Her spunky ways charm members of the upper-class, including two younger people who side with her and her relatives. People who think they know better take her away...but she always returns to those she truly loves in the end, as she does in this one. How does this fairly typical example look today to kids with more jaded tastes? To answer that question, we start at the Bowery in 1853 New York, where a street gang performs for the passer-by...including a certain little girl with curls and a big smile...

The Story: Sylvia "Dimples" Appleby (Temple) loves dancing with her friends for pennies, but wishes her grandfather Professor Eustace (Morgan) would give up pickpocketing. She, her friends, and her grandfather are hired to play for a wealthy family at Washington Square Park. Mrs. Caroline Drew (Wesley) is taken with Dimples and asks her to live there, but she insists on staying with her grandfather.

Mrs. Drew's nephew Allen (Kent) shocks his fiancée Betty Loring (Delma Byron) and her stuffy father Colonel Loring (Burton Churchill) by becoming a stage producer. His first show is Uncle Tom's Cabin, with Dimples as Little Eva. The Professor gets into trouble by using Allen's money to buy a supposedly "antique" watch, which he can barely get a few dollars for at the pawn shop. Dimples agrees to live with Mrs. Drew so her grandfather will get the money and stay out of jail, but she's not happy away from him. 

The Song and Dance: Frank Morgan proved a formidable adversary for Shirley off-screen, being one of the only actors in any of her movies as prone to scene-stealing as she is. For all the problems, they do work well together and are believable as grandfather and adoring granddaughter. The other thing I like here is the unique setting. I don't know too many other family movies set in New York in the years prior to the Civil War; the kid gangs who roved the streets of the city then are even part of the plot. 

Favorite Number: Shirley kicks off the movies performing two really cute numbers with the street kids. "Hey, What Did the Blue-Jay Say?" is her big solo; talented young African-American dancers Jesse Scott and Thurman Black join her for "He Was a Dandy." She wistfully performs "Picture Me Without You" to her grandfather when she's leaving to live with Mrs. Drew.

What I Don't Like: This may be one of the most typical of Temple's films. Every melodramatic cliché is here, from an old man in unfortunate circumstances to the disapproving high society folks to her being torn away from her guardian, only to suddenly return to him. That the film hinges on a performance of the now-controversial Uncle Tom's Cabin doesn't help. Almost the entire final 20 minutes feature more than half the cast in very obvious blackface, including Morgan, that may be considered horribly offensive today. 

The "Dixieanna" minstrel show number does show off snazzy choreography for Temple by none other than Bill Robinson...but it's also awash in blackface, including on actual African-American actor Stephin Fetchit. That the few real black actors in the film play servants (including Fetchit) is historically accurate to the time and place, but may rub many people the wrong way today.

The Big Finale: I'm afraid that dated finale and the ridiculous melodrama makes this one of Temple's lesser vehicles. Only if you're a huge fan of hers or Morgan's. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Captain January (1936)

20th Century Fox, 1936

Starring Shirley Temple, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, and Sara Haden

Directed by David Butler

Music by Lew Pollack; Lyrics by Sidney B. Mitchell and Jack Yellen

Captain January came out at the height of Temple's popularity, when she was the biggest star of any age in the world. Most of her movies were escapist melodramas with music, often based after children's books or set in some exotic location like India or Northern Canada. This adaptation of a children's book set at a little town by the sea gives us a little of both, along with two of the cute cheer-up ditties that are still associated with her movies. How does the story of a lighthouse keeper (Kibbee) who fights with a stuffy truant officer (Haden) to raise a foundling (Temple) look today? Let's head to the lighthouse as Star (Temple) begins her day and find out...

The Story: Star loves living at the lighthouse with Captain January (Kibbee), whom she calls "Cap." The 8-year-old girl is the darling of all the sailors at the wharf, including Paul Roberts (Buddy Ebsen), who teaches her to sing and dance. Truant officer Agatha Morgan (Haden) catches their routine with teacher Mary Marshall (June Lang) and demands to know why the child isn't in school. 

Morgan finally convinces January to let Star take a test to see if she's good enough to enter school. To the relief of January and his friend Captain Nazro (Summerville), she passes with flying colors. All is not well, however. Not only does Morgan not appreciate being made a fool of, but the lighthouse is being automated. When Nazro writes Star's only living relatives, January has to deal with not only the loss of his duty as lighthouse keeper, but his beloved daughter, too.

The Song and Dance: One of Temple's most charming vehicles gives her a chance to show off all her talents, including two nice routines with lanky Ebsen. Summerville and Kibbee also have a lot of fun as the two "frenemies" who spend as much time fighting each other as they do helping keep and eye on Star. Love the sequence with Star taking the actual test, proving to Morgan and her equally stuffy know-it-all nephew (Jerry Tucker) that a good imagination is just as important as book knowledge.

Favorite Number: We open with "Early Bird," Temple's ditty that explains her daily routine and how much she enjoys it. The cheerful fantasy "At the Codfish Ball" is the hit here, and Ebsen and Temple have a lot of fun with their jaunty little tap routine to it early-on as the sailors hoot and holler and sing along. Temple, Kibbee, and Summerville have a lot of fun tossing nonsense words into the "Sextet" aria from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor after Star turns up in her mother's old dress. 

What I Don't Like: Like most of Temple's films, this one piles on the melodrama towards the end, when Kibbee loses his job and runs before he can lose Star, too. It follows the clichés of her films - Temple is an orphan raised by loving but eccentric guardians who is nearly taken away by a stern authority figure - to a T. I'm just glad they didn't go with the original scripted ending, where January actually dies in the end. The finale is maudlin enough as it is. 

The ballad "The Right Somebody to Love" is cute when Temple performs it solo to her doll after she's taken from her "Cap," but the earlier version with her singing it as she takes care of Kibbee dressed as a giant baby in a bib and a huge high chair is more than a little creepy and weird. 

The Big Finale: One of Temple's better full musicals, with decent songs and some good performances. Check it out with your favorite little sailor or beachcomber. 

Home Media: As a public domain title, this is easily found in all formats. Look for the 20th Century Fox disc that comes in black and white or color. 

DVD

DVD - The Shirley Temple Collection, Vol. 1

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Just Around the Corner

20th Century Fox, 1938

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.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Curly Top

20th Century Fox, 1935
Starring Shirley Temple, Rochelle Hudson, John Boles, and Arthur Treacher
Directed by Irving Cummings
Music by Ray Henderson; Lyrics by Ted Koehler and others

Shirley Temple was at the height of her popularity as 20th Century Fox's number one star when this one came out. It's technically a remake of the Mary Pickford vehicle Daddy Long Legs, refashioned for the time and for Temple's sweet-little-girl persona. How does the story of a bachelor who adopts two girls anonymously- and falls for the older one - look nowadays? Let's head to the Lakeside Orphanage, just as one particular little miss is introducing us to her pets, and find out...

The Story: Elizabeth Blair (Temple) and her older sister Mary (Hudson) live at the orphanage with Elizabeth's pet pony and duck. Grouchy Mrs. Higgins (Rafaela Ottiano) threatens to take away Elizabeth's beloved friends after she brings them in to visit the other girls. She gets into even more trouble when she dances on tables during lunch and makes fun of the head trustee. Another trustee, Edward Morgan (Boles), likes Elizabeth's spunk and claims that he's taking her and Mary doing it on behalf of a non-existent "Hiram Jones."

While Elizabeth charms Morgan's servants, especially the butler Reynolds (Treacher) and his aunt Genevieve (Esther Dale), Mary and Edward gradually fall for each other, but Edward won't admit it. Thinking he doesn't love her, Mary claims she's going to marry a handsome young Navy pilot named Jimmy Rogers (Maurice Murphy), but the truth is, she doesn't really love him...and Elizabeth is determined to bring both of her favorite adults together!

The Song and Dance: Charming Temple romantic comedy is best-known for introducing one of her most iconic songs, "Animal Crackers In My Soup." It's also one of four movies she did with Treacher; they always worked very well together, and this one is no exception. There's some hilarious scenes, especially when Temple is making fun of the trustee in his coat and hat and towards the end with the servants.

One thing I like - the fact that this is an adaptation that sticks at least somewhat closely to the original story allows it to avoid several of the cliches that run rampant in Temple's movies, including a nasty grouch trying to take her away from her family.

Favorite Number: The movie kicks off with "Animal Crackers," which has Shirley performing the sweetly silly song for the girls in the orphanage while dancing on tables. She poses as Cupid during Boles' big ballad "It's All So New to Me," which he performs on the piano after he realizes he loves Mary. "When I Grow Up" is the big number for Shirley at a benefit performance for the orphanage. She ages from child to woman getting married to elderly lady, and while the song itself isn't bad, the concept and execution are more than a little bizarre. Treacher and the servants do better with a brief reprise later. The other big number here is the title song almost at the finale. Boles plays as Shirley does a rather nifty solo tap dance on his piano.

What I Don't Like: Mary is completely unnecessary, her Navy boyfriend in the second half even moreso. When we do see Mary, she's stiff as a board, and Rogers really fails to make any kind of an impression. Most of the songs pale besides "Animal Crackers," and there's that strange "When I Grow Up" number for Temple, too.

The Big Finale: Cute enough time-passer if you're a romantic comedy fan or have kids who love Temple.

Home Media: Like most of Temple's films, it's easy to find on streaming or DVD.

DVD
DVD - The Shirley Temple Collection: Volume One
Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)

20th Century Fox, 1938
Starring Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, and Gloria Stuart
Directed by Allan Dwan
Music by various

Most of Bill Robinson's roles in Hollywood were closer to comic relief servant, as in this Shirley Temple vehicle where he's a goofy hired hand. This is about as typical of one of her movies as you can get, with cheer-up songs and a pretty decent cast. How does this modernized retelling of the 1903 novel of the same title look now? Let's head to an audition for a kids' radio show in New York City and find out...

The Story: Rebecca Winstead (Temple) and her stepfather Harry Kipper (William Demarest) are upset when they think she's lost a big radio audition. Out a home and desperate for money, he leaves the child with her Aunt Miranda (Westley). Miranda hates show business after Rebecca's mother couldn't make it and insists she stays out of it. Rebecca loves her new home and easily makes friends with Miranda's daughter Gwen (Gloria Stuart) and her handsome next-door neighbor Tony Kent (Scott).

Turns out Tony's the executive in charge of that radio show Rebecca auditioned for, and he really wanted her for the role. When Miranda refuses to allow Rebecca on the show, they sneak her out anyway. She finally relents after hearing her sing on the show. Unfortunately, Harry also heard her. He asserts his guardianship of Rebecca, takes her from the farm, and puts her in another show. It's Rebecca who takes matters into her own hands...or voice...and figures out how to get back to the people she loves most.

The Song and Dance: There's some adorable performances in this blend of down-home antics and radio shenanigans. Scott comes off as slightly more animated here than in his appearances with Fred and Ginger, and Wesley does well as grouchy Aunt Miranda. Rebecca auditioning for a radio show, rather than being involved in a more typical stage show or movie, gives the film a slightly topical edge that most "backstagers" often lack.

Favorite Number: "An Old Straw Hat" turns up several times; the best are a duet between Rebecca and Aloysius (Bill Robinson) the farm hand when they're picking berries and her singing it on the telephone for Tony's boss. Temple also gets to perform the cheer-up ballad "Come and Get Your Happiness" during the radio show, along with a medley of her older hits that includes "On the Good Ship Lollipop" and "Animal Crackers In Your Soup." The movie ends with her and Robinson again, this time dressed as soldiers dancing on steps to "The Toy Trumpet."

What I Don't Like: Temple's movies are pretty much all the same - she's adopted by people who love her and a grump who warms up to her, but she's eventually taken away by the authorities or other guardians before returning to her family and the young lovers for a happy ending. This one is no different...and I really wish it was. I wonder what would have happened if they'd put Temple into an actual retelling of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. This has nothing in common with the book but Rebecca, her grouchy Aunt Miranda, and them living on a farm. Using all of Temple's big hits in that one radio number shows just how dull the score for this movie is. The side romances with Tony and Gwen and Aunt Miranda and Tony's servant Homer (Slim Summerville) do nothing but pad out the plot.

The Big Finale: As with most of Temple's movies, this is mainly for families with younger kids, her fans, or fans of 30's musicals.

Home Media: Out of print as a solo DVD, but it can be found in several collections of Temple films and most streaming companies.

DVD - The Shirley Temple Collection Volume 2
Amazon Prime

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