Greetings,
I should hate this movie. I really should. Not because it ever did anything bad to me, but because of the countless people who always thought it was hiLARious to call me Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm when I was a kid. Maybe even longer than that. Hey, grown ups! Not funny then; not funny now. Still, I should not hold any of my anger about their misplaced humor against this great film of Shirley Temple's. And it is quite great. Here's the story.
The titular character played by Shirley in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is Rebecca Winstead. At the start of the film, she is in the custody of her stepfather, Harry Kipper, because her parents are...well, you know the drill. Sucks for her where this is concerned, because this guy is kind of creepy. Not as creepy as the guy who was stalking her in Poor, Little, Rich Girl but still. Also, he is obviously trying to capitalize on her talent to make money as he takes her to audition for something called Little Miss America, a radio role being spearheaded by a guy named Tony Kent, played by Randolph Scott. He hears her sing and wants to hire her, but through some miscommunication thanks to Jack Haley's character, Orville, she thinks she didn't get it. So, believing that his chance of making money on her is no more, Harry takes Rebecca to live on a farm with her Aunt Miranda, played by Helen Westley, and her cousin Gwen, played by Gloria Stuart. Now Aunt Miranda is a slightly bitter woman who hates show business people. She says she'll take Rebecca, but Harry can never come back for her. Gee, I hope he doesn't come back and try to take her later!!! Yeah, if there is one lesson we can learn from these movies, it's that if someone leaves a Shirley Temple on your doorstep, they'll be back for her.
In a crazy twist, the house next to Aunt Miranda's is owned by Tony Kent, the guy who wanted to hire Rebecca to sing. What are the odds! He's there on vacation, because farmland for rich people was the Hamptons of the 1930's. He meets Rebecca and Gwen, with whom he begins a ongoing flirt session, but, of course, it takes a while for him to find out who the little girl is. When he does, he still wants her for his radio show, but Aunt Miranda says NO! I'm not kidding. She just shouts "NO!" You know, because she hates showbiz people. It also doesn't help that Tony employs a guy named Homer Busby, who was an old sweetheart of Aunt Miranda's and she is not fond of him at all anymore. And I'm sure that won't change. Not at all. Oh, yeah. They went there, alright.
A big part of the movie after this has to do with everyone trying to trick Aunt Miranda so Rebecca can get on the radio anyway. They do, but she finds out and gets mad. For like two seconds. Sometimes I wonder if this whole thing was just to pad the movie a bit, since she had to get on the radio anyway. Her being on the radio is what brings back her stepfather (no kidding!), along with his new and hilariously awful wife, and turns the last chunk of this film into a big custody battle, which is resolved as you would expect in these movies. You know, where somebody knows what should be done, but decides that Shirley getting whatever she wants is more important. And you know what? IT IS!!!
The highlights in this film certainly include the radio show wherein Shirley does a medley of some of the songs for which she has been known over the years. I can't decide if it was meta or breaking the fourth wall. You pick, but I think it might be both. Also, we get some more dancing with her and Bill Robinson, who plays Aloysius, Aunt Miranda's farmhand. I can never complain about a movie that has that in it. I should also point out that they gave us quite an interesting subplot concerning a love quadrangle. Seriously. I know I mentioned that Tony was getting flirty with Gwen, but I failed to mention that he already had a sort of girlfriend-ish named Lola. She's nuts about him, though you can see that he might not be so much into her. Who is into her? Orville, of course. He knows his chances are slim, but they do have some chemistry. Especially when they sing "Alone With You" together. It's another major highlight, I must say.
So, despite people's efforts to make me hate this movie, as I mentioned at the start of this review, I actually love it, a lot. It doesn't have a ton of music, yet it is some of the best. Same goes for the comedy, and all the performances are fantastic. It's another of the must see films. Oh, who am I kidding? All of Shirley Temple's movies are must see!
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
The Little Princess - Movie Review
Greetings,
Oh, no! Shirley Temple is eleven-years-old in this one. Eleven! Too old. TOO OLD! I kid, though of all the movies of hers I am reviewing this week, this is the one wherein she is the oldest. And whilst I do, at this point, miss some of the adorable chub that has abandoned her cheeks, I also enjoy seeing her growing up into a young lady and maturing a bit as an actress. And since this is considered a classic, it seems other people felt the same way about The Little Princess. And here's the story of it.
The Little Princess is set against the backdrop of the Second Boer War. A man named Captain Crewe is called to fight and must leave his daughter, Sara, played by Shirley, along with her pony, at Miss Minchin's School for Girls. What's that you say? You're wondering about the pony? Well, Captain Crewe is a very wealthy man and wealthy people give their kids ponies, because why not? And all of this money is why Miss Minchin is overwhelmingly, albeit insincerely, nice to Sara. Now, mind you, the actress playing Miss Minchin is the same one who played Fraulien Rottenmeir in Heidi. Call that foreshadowing, if you must.
Anyway, Sara befriends many people whilst at the school, including many of her fellow students and a servant girl named Becky, who has one of the thickest accents I have ever heard. She also becomes friends with Bertie, Miss Minchin's brother, who is played again by Arthur Treacher. Yes! And then, there is also her riding instructor, Geoffrey Hamilton, and Rose, one of her teachers. There's a bit of a subplot about Geoffrey and Rose having a secret relationship, because...I don't know, Miss Minchin is a control freak? And, sadly, not everyone can love Sara. Enter the 'mean girls' clique. No, I'm not kidding. This squad of wenches is led my Lavinia, the former top dog of the school who resents Sara for seeming to take her place as Miss Minchin's favorite. This girl, amazingly enough, is played by Marcia May Jones, who also played Clara in Heidi. Quite a shift in character, I see. And, yes, you counted correctly. Four actors who were in Heidi, were also in this. It's a thing that happened a lot back then, so, obviously, the Shirley Temple oeuvre was The Avengers of the 1930's. Actually, this was a thing back then, wherein certain actors were signed certain studios and could not make movies with anyone else. I don't think they do this anymore. But I digress. Back to the story.
We soon learn that Captain Crewe has been reported killed in the war, and his money is gone. So that means that Miss Minchin doesn't like Sara anymore, because poor people - ewww! No lie, she does a complete 180 on this little girl, making her live in the attic and work as a servant. I think she even sells off her belongings. That can't be legal. Of course, Sara rarely complains, and she does make yet another friend named Ram Dass, played by the great Cesar Romero, who lives across the way and is servant to a man named Wickham. Holy crap, Sara, don't you read Jane Austen. Never trust a man named Wickham. I kid. He's actually a nice guy.
Now the later part of the story is basically Sara being in denial about her father being dead and running off in the hopes to find him in the hospital. Also, a couple of her other friends are sent off to the war, and we get a cameo from not actually Queen Victoria. I will say this, though. The ending is quite a bit of a tearjerker.
So the highlights of The Little Princess would include pretty much anything involving Arthur Treacher, as per usual, and a very interesting dream sequence. Good times. Also, whilst other of Shirley's movies were eventually released in color instead of black and white, for better or worse, this was the first one actually filmed in Technicolor. And it was the most expensive movie of hers to be made to date. You can certainly see why. Now I don't know if I would call this one of my most favorites, but it certainly is charming enough to be enjoyable. If for no other reason than to see the amazing production and Shirley give her most mature performance at the time, I say check it out.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
Oh, no! Shirley Temple is eleven-years-old in this one. Eleven! Too old. TOO OLD! I kid, though of all the movies of hers I am reviewing this week, this is the one wherein she is the oldest. And whilst I do, at this point, miss some of the adorable chub that has abandoned her cheeks, I also enjoy seeing her growing up into a young lady and maturing a bit as an actress. And since this is considered a classic, it seems other people felt the same way about The Little Princess. And here's the story of it.
The Little Princess is set against the backdrop of the Second Boer War. A man named Captain Crewe is called to fight and must leave his daughter, Sara, played by Shirley, along with her pony, at Miss Minchin's School for Girls. What's that you say? You're wondering about the pony? Well, Captain Crewe is a very wealthy man and wealthy people give their kids ponies, because why not? And all of this money is why Miss Minchin is overwhelmingly, albeit insincerely, nice to Sara. Now, mind you, the actress playing Miss Minchin is the same one who played Fraulien Rottenmeir in Heidi. Call that foreshadowing, if you must.
Anyway, Sara befriends many people whilst at the school, including many of her fellow students and a servant girl named Becky, who has one of the thickest accents I have ever heard. She also becomes friends with Bertie, Miss Minchin's brother, who is played again by Arthur Treacher. Yes! And then, there is also her riding instructor, Geoffrey Hamilton, and Rose, one of her teachers. There's a bit of a subplot about Geoffrey and Rose having a secret relationship, because...I don't know, Miss Minchin is a control freak? And, sadly, not everyone can love Sara. Enter the 'mean girls' clique. No, I'm not kidding. This squad of wenches is led my Lavinia, the former top dog of the school who resents Sara for seeming to take her place as Miss Minchin's favorite. This girl, amazingly enough, is played by Marcia May Jones, who also played Clara in Heidi. Quite a shift in character, I see. And, yes, you counted correctly. Four actors who were in Heidi, were also in this. It's a thing that happened a lot back then, so, obviously, the Shirley Temple oeuvre was The Avengers of the 1930's. Actually, this was a thing back then, wherein certain actors were signed certain studios and could not make movies with anyone else. I don't think they do this anymore. But I digress. Back to the story.
We soon learn that Captain Crewe has been reported killed in the war, and his money is gone. So that means that Miss Minchin doesn't like Sara anymore, because poor people - ewww! No lie, she does a complete 180 on this little girl, making her live in the attic and work as a servant. I think she even sells off her belongings. That can't be legal. Of course, Sara rarely complains, and she does make yet another friend named Ram Dass, played by the great Cesar Romero, who lives across the way and is servant to a man named Wickham. Holy crap, Sara, don't you read Jane Austen. Never trust a man named Wickham. I kid. He's actually a nice guy.
Now the later part of the story is basically Sara being in denial about her father being dead and running off in the hopes to find him in the hospital. Also, a couple of her other friends are sent off to the war, and we get a cameo from not actually Queen Victoria. I will say this, though. The ending is quite a bit of a tearjerker.
So the highlights of The Little Princess would include pretty much anything involving Arthur Treacher, as per usual, and a very interesting dream sequence. Good times. Also, whilst other of Shirley's movies were eventually released in color instead of black and white, for better or worse, this was the first one actually filmed in Technicolor. And it was the most expensive movie of hers to be made to date. You can certainly see why. Now I don't know if I would call this one of my most favorites, but it certainly is charming enough to be enjoyable. If for no other reason than to see the amazing production and Shirley give her most mature performance at the time, I say check it out.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
Thursday, April 24, 2014
The Little Colonel - Movie Review
Greetings,
This Shirley Temple movie is weird, very weird. Why, you may ask? Because in this Shirley Temple movie, she has - brace yourself - TWO PARENTS! That's right. A mom and a dad, right the heck there! Now I know that in all the films I'm discussing, she always has someone to take care of her, so don't think I'm undermining them. Anyway, though she does have mom and dad, due to the circumstances of the story, one of them isn't around the whole time. More on that in a second. Still, she does get something of another father figure in her life, and that is what the plot of the movie revolves around. Off we go.
The Little Colonel begins just after the Civil War when a young Southern woman named Elizabeth Lloyd falls in love with and marries a man from the North named Jack Sherman. You'd think that would be okay, since the war is over, but it isn't, especially when it comes to Elizabeth's father, Colonel Lloyd, played by Lionel Barrymore. Being a proud Southerner, he does not approve of their relationship and disowns his daughter. With that, Elizabeth and Jack move out West. Wow, I feel bad for us in the East. We get no love in this thing.
Cut to six years later, where we see Shirley for the first time playing Lloyd Sherman and being made an honorary colonel in the Army. Get it? SHE is the little colonel. Whilst her father remains in the West to go looking for gold, as you did in those days, Lloyd returns to the South with her mother, where they are both shunned when seen by Colonel Lloyd. Little Lloyd has no idea what's going on but is told the whole story by their housekeeper, Becky Porter, played amazingly here by Hattie McDaniel, who is hilarious in this. She is lovingly referred to as Mom Beck, and I love the way Shirley says her name always in an inquisitive way, because she always has so many questions for her. After hearing what happened, Lloyd eventually and officially meets her grandfather and promptly throws mud on him. Yep. She makes sure he knows how stubborn she can be, as she is known to stamp her foot when she gets mad, and she gets all red in the face, and she hollers back at people. Her words. They begin to have a bit of a relationship, albeit a combative one, but it's there, nonetheless.
When Jack Sherman arrives home, he is quite sick from a fever, and Lloyd must be kept away from him. This leads her to have to stay with her grandfather. Though, they had been getting to know each other, there is still tension and she really doesn't want to be there. Still, during her stay, she begins to learn about her own maternal family history. Most memorably, there is a touching scene where Little Lloyd sings a song and Colonel Lloyd tells her about his deceased wife, her grandmother. It is quite a pivotal moment in the story.
Things go nuts, though, when some former partners of Jack's show up with not so good intentions. Lloyd is forced to run to her grandfather for help and realizes that her biggest hurdle will be working her way through his stubbornness in order to help her family and waiting to see whether he decides to put aside the contention and assist them is the nail biting end to this film.
I enjoy The Little Colonel for a lot of reasons. As I said, I like the Mom Beck character, especially when she takes Shirley to the baptism, and I also like how Shirley gets a chance to be a little bratty in this film. Now it's mostly to show how Lloyd has clearly inherited the stubbornness of her grandfather, but it's still entertaining. But, without a doubt, the highlight of this film is the work that Shirley did with Bill Robinson who played Colonel Lloyd's butler, Walker. He is one of the most phenomenal and legendary dancers of all time. They worked together on no less than four films, but this was their first, and because of this casting, they are recognized as the first interracial dancing couple. Amazing. In fact, he was known for this very complicated dance done on stairs, and whilst he did not have time to teach it to Shirley in the few days that they had, he modified it for her and mimicked what she could do, in order to make it look as though she was mimicking him. And yet, though it was whittled down, the dance was still incredible. Actually, he and Shirley stayed friends, and she always said she loved him because he treated as an equal while others talked down to her. I don't doubt that he felt the same way about her for the same reason.
So if I am going to give this film some extra credit for something other than what I already mentioned, I'd have to say that this is one of the better stories where Shirley's movies are concerned. It does entertain us, but it also gives us a lot to think about.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
This Shirley Temple movie is weird, very weird. Why, you may ask? Because in this Shirley Temple movie, she has - brace yourself - TWO PARENTS! That's right. A mom and a dad, right the heck there! Now I know that in all the films I'm discussing, she always has someone to take care of her, so don't think I'm undermining them. Anyway, though she does have mom and dad, due to the circumstances of the story, one of them isn't around the whole time. More on that in a second. Still, she does get something of another father figure in her life, and that is what the plot of the movie revolves around. Off we go.
The Little Colonel begins just after the Civil War when a young Southern woman named Elizabeth Lloyd falls in love with and marries a man from the North named Jack Sherman. You'd think that would be okay, since the war is over, but it isn't, especially when it comes to Elizabeth's father, Colonel Lloyd, played by Lionel Barrymore. Being a proud Southerner, he does not approve of their relationship and disowns his daughter. With that, Elizabeth and Jack move out West. Wow, I feel bad for us in the East. We get no love in this thing.
Cut to six years later, where we see Shirley for the first time playing Lloyd Sherman and being made an honorary colonel in the Army. Get it? SHE is the little colonel. Whilst her father remains in the West to go looking for gold, as you did in those days, Lloyd returns to the South with her mother, where they are both shunned when seen by Colonel Lloyd. Little Lloyd has no idea what's going on but is told the whole story by their housekeeper, Becky Porter, played amazingly here by Hattie McDaniel, who is hilarious in this. She is lovingly referred to as Mom Beck, and I love the way Shirley says her name always in an inquisitive way, because she always has so many questions for her. After hearing what happened, Lloyd eventually and officially meets her grandfather and promptly throws mud on him. Yep. She makes sure he knows how stubborn she can be, as she is known to stamp her foot when she gets mad, and she gets all red in the face, and she hollers back at people. Her words. They begin to have a bit of a relationship, albeit a combative one, but it's there, nonetheless.
When Jack Sherman arrives home, he is quite sick from a fever, and Lloyd must be kept away from him. This leads her to have to stay with her grandfather. Though, they had been getting to know each other, there is still tension and she really doesn't want to be there. Still, during her stay, she begins to learn about her own maternal family history. Most memorably, there is a touching scene where Little Lloyd sings a song and Colonel Lloyd tells her about his deceased wife, her grandmother. It is quite a pivotal moment in the story.
Things go nuts, though, when some former partners of Jack's show up with not so good intentions. Lloyd is forced to run to her grandfather for help and realizes that her biggest hurdle will be working her way through his stubbornness in order to help her family and waiting to see whether he decides to put aside the contention and assist them is the nail biting end to this film.
I enjoy The Little Colonel for a lot of reasons. As I said, I like the Mom Beck character, especially when she takes Shirley to the baptism, and I also like how Shirley gets a chance to be a little bratty in this film. Now it's mostly to show how Lloyd has clearly inherited the stubbornness of her grandfather, but it's still entertaining. But, without a doubt, the highlight of this film is the work that Shirley did with Bill Robinson who played Colonel Lloyd's butler, Walker. He is one of the most phenomenal and legendary dancers of all time. They worked together on no less than four films, but this was their first, and because of this casting, they are recognized as the first interracial dancing couple. Amazing. In fact, he was known for this very complicated dance done on stairs, and whilst he did not have time to teach it to Shirley in the few days that they had, he modified it for her and mimicked what she could do, in order to make it look as though she was mimicking him. And yet, though it was whittled down, the dance was still incredible. Actually, he and Shirley stayed friends, and she always said she loved him because he treated as an equal while others talked down to her. I don't doubt that he felt the same way about her for the same reason.
So if I am going to give this film some extra credit for something other than what I already mentioned, I'd have to say that this is one of the better stories where Shirley's movies are concerned. It does entertain us, but it also gives us a lot to think about.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Poor Little Rich Girl - Movie Review
Greetings,
I am posting this on April 23rd, the day our beloved Shirley would have turned 86-years-old. In honor of that, I have chosen today to discuss what is my all-time favorite of her movies, Poor Little Rich Girl. Oh, friends, it is just glorious. There's so much singing and dancing and funny. Also, car accidents and kidnappings, sort of, and creepy creeper dudes and a ton of things that you could get away with in the 1930's that you SO could not get away with today. More on that later. I'd say that this review will have the most spoilers this week, probably because there is so much I want to talk about, what with this being my favorite. Hope you don't mind.
In Poor Little Rich Girl, Shirley plays a poor, little, rich girl named Barbara Barry. She is the daughter of a wealthy soap manufacturer played by Michael Whalen and no one else. Get it? Because she's Shirley Temple and she's not allowed to have two parents in a movie. Anyway, Mr. Barry begins to worry about her and the fact that she's alone too much with no friends. But wait, sir, she does have friends: her dolls. Say, do you remember when I mentioned that this film had some things that you could get away with in the 1930's that you couldn't today? Well, let me introduce you to the "Oh My Goodness" song. Whoa, boy!
Okay, so in the beginning of the movie, Barbara is confined to her room because her nanny thinks she's getting sick. She feels lonely so she starts to sing to her dolls. So far, so cute. Then, we get some instrumental music and the dolls start to dance on their own. Alright, she has an active imagination. Also, I'd say those were good special effects for the time. And THEN, she re-sings the song to each of the dolls, individually. Oh, did I mention that these are dolls of the world, each one a different nationality, featuring one Dutch, one Russian, one Japanese and one African-American? And as she sings she takes on their accents and, let's say, personas...in the 1930's. Um...yeah. Look, I can't even get into this and do it justice. It's a thing you need to see for yourself. It also may be the reason why I can't find this thing on DVD. Maybe. Moving on.
Anywho, since she has no friends and no mother and he works a lot, Mr. Barry decides to send her off to boarding school, as you do when you're rich. Of course, this is not before she sings a little song she made up for him, which also has a couple of creepy lyrics, though I'm sure the intention was for them to be cute. Again, go hear it for yourself. So Barbara goes off to the train station with her nanny, Collins, to send her to school. Whilst they are waiting with their luggage, Collins realizes that she misplaced her purse somewhere outside, so she leaves Barbara alone and then gets hit by a car. Wow! First, what happened in Bright Eyes and now this? Shirley Temple sure is dangerous to be around.
It doesn't matter, though, because, after a quick conversation with one of the train station employees that also might cause you to cringe a little, she just wanders off into the crowd. Why? Because she's, like, 8-years-old and she loves lollipops and everyone in the world is a good person who is pure of heart. No, not even in the 30's. So she runs into an Italian organ grinder named Tony. He has a monkey, a wife and about 87 children. They take her in after she tells them that her name is Betsy Wear, an orphan who ran away because they treated her badly. She's basically pretending to be a character she read about it a book. Hey, why not? That night, we get a glimpse of this guy who we saw earlier at the train station WATCHING HER THROUGH THE WINDOW AS SHE SLEEPS! What in the actual heck? Some people say that he knew whose daughter she was and was going to go all extortionist on us. My mind goes to a more sinister place, as it tends to do. But who knows?
Anyway, the next day she dances for all the kids and Tony as he plays his organ grinding thing, whilst above live a former Vaudeville couple, Jimmy and Jerry Dolan, played by the amazing Jack Haley and Alice Faye. Man, these people are fantastic in this movie. Jimmy's working on some new tap dancing moves, and he hears someone downstairs matching him, step for step. And it's Betsy, formerly Barbara. She feeds the Dolans her sob story and they decide to take her and make her part of their act, so that they can make a comeback. Wait, what? That easy, huh? Just find a kid, take a kid, I guess.
So they rename her Bonnie, say she's their kid and put her in the act. So, to recap, she has, in about ten minutes, gone from being Barbara Berry to Betsy Wear to Bonnie Dolan. This is getting harder to follow than Face/Off. Anyway, they go on an audition for a radio spot where they sing the song "But Definitely". Now Shirley does get her part, and she's so cute. But the part where Alice Faye performs is incredible. Besides the fact that her voice is gorgeous, they shot her in a way that made her look so unbelievably beautiful. The whole thing is breathtaking.
Now whilst we follow Shirley's character, there are also other things going on. Her father, Mr. Barry, starts getting flirty with a woman he met at the start of the film named Margaret played by Gloria Stuart. You youngsters will know her as older Rose from Titanic. The problem is, though, she works for Barry's biggest competitor, the Peck's Soap Company. Oh, no! And here's the thing with these two companies. Mr. Barry is all about using the radio to do advertising through hour long entertainment shows and whatnot. Mr. Peck, on the other hand, who is played brilliantly by Claude Gillingwater, is very much against radio, though his employees are trying desperately to talk him into it. In fact, the radio show that the Dolan's were auditioning for was for the Peck's Soap Company. What a twist! And after Barbara/Betsy/Bonnie melts his heart, Peck decides to go ahead with the radio show.
At this point, we get some great musical numbers and a boat load of moments where Mr. Barry almost finds out where his daughter actually is. It's not until a night when he and Margaret are having a date and listening to the show that he realizes what's been going on. Craziness ensues after this, but not to worry. Everyone is punished according to their crimes, sort of. Okay, creepy creeper dude is punished. Everybody else becomes friends with everybody and we get a nice big musical number at the end. Good times.
And that is my most favorite movie from Shirley Temple, Poor Little Rich Girl. I know I made some jokes about some of the things that go down in this film, and I stand by what I said about some of those things being a little off, but I still love it for some reason. It's got so much good music and the dancing is phenomenal. Seriously, the last number they perform has this part where there is no music, just tapping, and it's mesmerizing. Also, we get a song about spinach. What else, as an audience, do we need.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
I am posting this on April 23rd, the day our beloved Shirley would have turned 86-years-old. In honor of that, I have chosen today to discuss what is my all-time favorite of her movies, Poor Little Rich Girl. Oh, friends, it is just glorious. There's so much singing and dancing and funny. Also, car accidents and kidnappings, sort of, and creepy creeper dudes and a ton of things that you could get away with in the 1930's that you SO could not get away with today. More on that later. I'd say that this review will have the most spoilers this week, probably because there is so much I want to talk about, what with this being my favorite. Hope you don't mind.
In Poor Little Rich Girl, Shirley plays a poor, little, rich girl named Barbara Barry. She is the daughter of a wealthy soap manufacturer played by Michael Whalen and no one else. Get it? Because she's Shirley Temple and she's not allowed to have two parents in a movie. Anyway, Mr. Barry begins to worry about her and the fact that she's alone too much with no friends. But wait, sir, she does have friends: her dolls. Say, do you remember when I mentioned that this film had some things that you could get away with in the 1930's that you couldn't today? Well, let me introduce you to the "Oh My Goodness" song. Whoa, boy!
Okay, so in the beginning of the movie, Barbara is confined to her room because her nanny thinks she's getting sick. She feels lonely so she starts to sing to her dolls. So far, so cute. Then, we get some instrumental music and the dolls start to dance on their own. Alright, she has an active imagination. Also, I'd say those were good special effects for the time. And THEN, she re-sings the song to each of the dolls, individually. Oh, did I mention that these are dolls of the world, each one a different nationality, featuring one Dutch, one Russian, one Japanese and one African-American? And as she sings she takes on their accents and, let's say, personas...in the 1930's. Um...yeah. Look, I can't even get into this and do it justice. It's a thing you need to see for yourself. It also may be the reason why I can't find this thing on DVD. Maybe. Moving on.
Anywho, since she has no friends and no mother and he works a lot, Mr. Barry decides to send her off to boarding school, as you do when you're rich. Of course, this is not before she sings a little song she made up for him, which also has a couple of creepy lyrics, though I'm sure the intention was for them to be cute. Again, go hear it for yourself. So Barbara goes off to the train station with her nanny, Collins, to send her to school. Whilst they are waiting with their luggage, Collins realizes that she misplaced her purse somewhere outside, so she leaves Barbara alone and then gets hit by a car. Wow! First, what happened in Bright Eyes and now this? Shirley Temple sure is dangerous to be around.
It doesn't matter, though, because, after a quick conversation with one of the train station employees that also might cause you to cringe a little, she just wanders off into the crowd. Why? Because she's, like, 8-years-old and she loves lollipops and everyone in the world is a good person who is pure of heart. No, not even in the 30's. So she runs into an Italian organ grinder named Tony. He has a monkey, a wife and about 87 children. They take her in after she tells them that her name is Betsy Wear, an orphan who ran away because they treated her badly. She's basically pretending to be a character she read about it a book. Hey, why not? That night, we get a glimpse of this guy who we saw earlier at the train station WATCHING HER THROUGH THE WINDOW AS SHE SLEEPS! What in the actual heck? Some people say that he knew whose daughter she was and was going to go all extortionist on us. My mind goes to a more sinister place, as it tends to do. But who knows?
Anyway, the next day she dances for all the kids and Tony as he plays his organ grinding thing, whilst above live a former Vaudeville couple, Jimmy and Jerry Dolan, played by the amazing Jack Haley and Alice Faye. Man, these people are fantastic in this movie. Jimmy's working on some new tap dancing moves, and he hears someone downstairs matching him, step for step. And it's Betsy, formerly Barbara. She feeds the Dolans her sob story and they decide to take her and make her part of their act, so that they can make a comeback. Wait, what? That easy, huh? Just find a kid, take a kid, I guess.
So they rename her Bonnie, say she's their kid and put her in the act. So, to recap, she has, in about ten minutes, gone from being Barbara Berry to Betsy Wear to Bonnie Dolan. This is getting harder to follow than Face/Off. Anyway, they go on an audition for a radio spot where they sing the song "But Definitely". Now Shirley does get her part, and she's so cute. But the part where Alice Faye performs is incredible. Besides the fact that her voice is gorgeous, they shot her in a way that made her look so unbelievably beautiful. The whole thing is breathtaking.
Now whilst we follow Shirley's character, there are also other things going on. Her father, Mr. Barry, starts getting flirty with a woman he met at the start of the film named Margaret played by Gloria Stuart. You youngsters will know her as older Rose from Titanic. The problem is, though, she works for Barry's biggest competitor, the Peck's Soap Company. Oh, no! And here's the thing with these two companies. Mr. Barry is all about using the radio to do advertising through hour long entertainment shows and whatnot. Mr. Peck, on the other hand, who is played brilliantly by Claude Gillingwater, is very much against radio, though his employees are trying desperately to talk him into it. In fact, the radio show that the Dolan's were auditioning for was for the Peck's Soap Company. What a twist! And after Barbara/Betsy/Bonnie melts his heart, Peck decides to go ahead with the radio show.
At this point, we get some great musical numbers and a boat load of moments where Mr. Barry almost finds out where his daughter actually is. It's not until a night when he and Margaret are having a date and listening to the show that he realizes what's been going on. Craziness ensues after this, but not to worry. Everyone is punished according to their crimes, sort of. Okay, creepy creeper dude is punished. Everybody else becomes friends with everybody and we get a nice big musical number at the end. Good times.
And that is my most favorite movie from Shirley Temple, Poor Little Rich Girl. I know I made some jokes about some of the things that go down in this film, and I stand by what I said about some of those things being a little off, but I still love it for some reason. It's got so much good music and the dancing is phenomenal. Seriously, the last number they perform has this part where there is no music, just tapping, and it's mesmerizing. Also, we get a song about spinach. What else, as an audience, do we need.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Heidi - Movie Review
Greetings,
So is the book always better than the movie when it comes to adaptations? Well, I'd say usually yes. But what about Heidi? Is that book better than the movie? I have no idea. I've never read the book. Who cares, though? This is Shirley's time, and she did not write it. She was in the movie, however, and that is what we're talking about today. Again, a few spoilers.
The story of Heidi is all about a little girl named Adelheid. Relax, her nickname is Heidi, and that titular character is, of course, played by Shirley Temple. The film starts with her being brought by her Aunt Detie to the Alpine hut of her grandfather. See, Aunt Detie has been raising Heidi for years, because her parents are dead. Of course, they are. But Detie's tired of it now and decides to leave her with Adolph Kramer played by Jean Hersholt, the grandfather that Heidi doesn't really know. He takes the child in but says that Detie can never return to take her back. Gee, I hope she doesn't show up one day to try and take her back.
So Grandfather isn't exactly jovial, and it takes a while for him to warm up to Heidi. He eventually comes to love having her around , and she comes to love her life in the mountains, even making new friends like Peter, Blind Anna and Pastor Schultz. But, alas, Detie returns and full-on kidnaps Heidi in order to give her to a rich man in Frankfurt who needs a companion for his wheelchair-bound daughter. A companion? I'm sorry, is her wheelchair a TARDIS? Whatever, I guess, even back then, rich people bought friends.
Heidi, of course, does not want to be there as she wants to continue living with her grandfather, but she manages to start enjoying herself in this place as well. She becomes fast friends with Clara Sesseman, rich guy's daughter, and she gets to hang out with Arthur Treacher, who plays Andrews the butler. Who would't want to do that? However, she must also deal with Fraulein Rottenmeir (ROTTENmeir? Subtle!), who is, I don't know, the caretaker for the house and Clara, I guess, whilst her father is out of town. Yeah, she's a "B" alright, but there always has to be one person who is blind to the charms of Shirley Temple. Anyway, though she does enjoy herself, Heidi still longs to go home to her grandfather and Clara promises that she can, once her father, Herr Sesseman, returns. Still, Herr Sesseman had heard untrue things about the Grandfather and thinks Heidi would be better with them.
It's at this point where it really hits the fan. No lie! There's more kidnapping, cops, snow globes and porcelain dolls going kablooey! It's amazing, albeit, done very quickly. Like in the last five or ten minutes, a ton of things happen, and then it just ends. Because we got wrap this up and give everybody a happy ending where the last thing we see is Shirley smiling into the camera. Roll credits.
So Heidi came out at a time when Shirley's career was flagging a bit, because she was getting older. A whole nine-years-old. Still, she remained a box office success, and that's all that matters in Hollywood, am I right? For real, I do like Heidi. It's good for some laughs, especially when it comes to Arthur Treacher, and I like the "In Our Little Wooden Shoes" song. Though I have no idea why it was in there, other than Shirley wanted that dream sequence and we wanted to make Shirley happy. But it's well made and it has a good cast. It's one you should see.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
So is the book always better than the movie when it comes to adaptations? Well, I'd say usually yes. But what about Heidi? Is that book better than the movie? I have no idea. I've never read the book. Who cares, though? This is Shirley's time, and she did not write it. She was in the movie, however, and that is what we're talking about today. Again, a few spoilers.
The story of Heidi is all about a little girl named Adelheid. Relax, her nickname is Heidi, and that titular character is, of course, played by Shirley Temple. The film starts with her being brought by her Aunt Detie to the Alpine hut of her grandfather. See, Aunt Detie has been raising Heidi for years, because her parents are dead. Of course, they are. But Detie's tired of it now and decides to leave her with Adolph Kramer played by Jean Hersholt, the grandfather that Heidi doesn't really know. He takes the child in but says that Detie can never return to take her back. Gee, I hope she doesn't show up one day to try and take her back.
So Grandfather isn't exactly jovial, and it takes a while for him to warm up to Heidi. He eventually comes to love having her around , and she comes to love her life in the mountains, even making new friends like Peter, Blind Anna and Pastor Schultz. But, alas, Detie returns and full-on kidnaps Heidi in order to give her to a rich man in Frankfurt who needs a companion for his wheelchair-bound daughter. A companion? I'm sorry, is her wheelchair a TARDIS? Whatever, I guess, even back then, rich people bought friends.
Heidi, of course, does not want to be there as she wants to continue living with her grandfather, but she manages to start enjoying herself in this place as well. She becomes fast friends with Clara Sesseman, rich guy's daughter, and she gets to hang out with Arthur Treacher, who plays Andrews the butler. Who would't want to do that? However, she must also deal with Fraulein Rottenmeir (ROTTENmeir? Subtle!), who is, I don't know, the caretaker for the house and Clara, I guess, whilst her father is out of town. Yeah, she's a "B" alright, but there always has to be one person who is blind to the charms of Shirley Temple. Anyway, though she does enjoy herself, Heidi still longs to go home to her grandfather and Clara promises that she can, once her father, Herr Sesseman, returns. Still, Herr Sesseman had heard untrue things about the Grandfather and thinks Heidi would be better with them.
It's at this point where it really hits the fan. No lie! There's more kidnapping, cops, snow globes and porcelain dolls going kablooey! It's amazing, albeit, done very quickly. Like in the last five or ten minutes, a ton of things happen, and then it just ends. Because we got wrap this up and give everybody a happy ending where the last thing we see is Shirley smiling into the camera. Roll credits.
So Heidi came out at a time when Shirley's career was flagging a bit, because she was getting older. A whole nine-years-old. Still, she remained a box office success, and that's all that matters in Hollywood, am I right? For real, I do like Heidi. It's good for some laughs, especially when it comes to Arthur Treacher, and I like the "In Our Little Wooden Shoes" song. Though I have no idea why it was in there, other than Shirley wanted that dream sequence and we wanted to make Shirley happy. But it's well made and it has a good cast. It's one you should see.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
Monday, April 21, 2014
Bright Eyes - Movie Review
Greetings,
I think, if there is one word that could describe Shirley Temple throughout her life, it would be adorable. And it is in this 1934 film, Bright Eyes, that I believe she is at her most adorable. It helps that she was barely six-years-old, as it does with most of us. I suppose I could say that this was one of her first films, but according to my info, big part or small part, credited or uncredited, this was the thirteenth film in which she appeared and the tenth in 1934 alone. Wow! Her name is Shirley, and she works hard for the money. Although, I think it was this, along with Stand Up and Cheer and Baby, Take a Bow, that really got her noticed. Why? Well, let's get to the story. And their may be a few spoilers.
In Bright Eyes, Shirley plays a little girl named Shirley. Why not? Shirley lives with her mother, Mary, who is a live-in maid. And where is her father, you may ask? Well, he's dead, of course, because Shirley is never allowed to have two parents in her movies. Okay, sometimes she does, but it is rare. Here, he was an aviator who died in a plane crash, and his best friend and godfather to Shirley is a guy named Loop, played by James Dunn. Most of the movie is about the relationship between these two, and it is really sweet. Shirley is also close with the rest of the aviators who were all friends of her father's and have almost adopted her in a way. But not everyone loves Shirley that much. I know, right?
The people for whom Mary works as a maid are the Smythes. We have the husband and wife, J. Wellington (of course, that's his name) and Anita, as well as their lovely, sunshine of a little daughter named Joy, who is just about Shirley's age. And when I say lovely and sunshine, I mean she is kind of evil. Jane Withers played her, and I'm going to talk more about her later, because she's worth it.
Now not everyone in the family dislikes Shirley and her mother. Uncle Ned, played Charles Sellon, is quite fond of both of them, even giving Shirley the titular nickname of Bright Eyes. Still, Uncle Ned is not fond of much else, least of all his own family. He is quite aware that they are keeping him around in order to also keep around his bank account. There is also Mr. and Mrs. Higgins, the butler and cook, and they adore Shirley and her mother as well.
The story begins just before Christmas, and we get to see that little Shirley is so excited. She knows she won't get much, but she's grateful for everything. Yeah, she's basically a teeny, tiny, perfect angel. What she is truly excited about, though, is a party she will be having with Loop and all the aviators in a airplane. And she loves airplanes. It's during this party that she sings her iconic song "On the Good Ship Lollipop"...to a bunch of grown men. And, no, it's not creepy. I don't care what anyone says, it's not. It's sweet as all heck, if your mind is proper. However, things take a sad turn when, on the way to said party, Mary is hit by a car and dies.
After this, the dilemma is what is going to happen to Shirley. Not because nobody wants her, but because a ton of people want her. Uncle Ned wants to adopt her and the Smythes are going along with it to keep the money. Loop wants her, but, despite being her godfather, the odds seem against him because he's a single guy with NO money. The Higgins would take her, but they don't have the means. Even Loop's ex-fiance, Adele, who happens to be in town and happens to be a cousin of Mrs. Smythe (what a twist), has taken a liking to her. Shirley loves them all and would be happy with any of them. She would actually prefer all of them. Does she get what she wants? Does everybody? Well, you'll have to see the movie. Warning, though, it is a pretty major tear jerker. That's right, people. Shirley cries; you cry. It's a rule.
Okay, I'm going take this opportunity, as I promised, to go back and discuss one of Shirley's co-stars. Now, I have to say, everyone was great in this movie and played their roles perfectly, but if anyone nearly stole the show from little Miss Temple herself, it would be Jane Withers as Joy. HOLY CRAP! This girl was fantastic! She was basically the polar opposite of Shirley. Joy was a loud, spoiled, ungrateful brat, and she was so mean. In fact, even as a child, Jane Withers wasn't sure if she wanted the part, because she knew she would have to be mean to Shirley and that might cause audiences to hate her. A plausible concern, indeed, and that might have actually happened. However, they were smart enough to have her play it from a highly comedic place. Yes, Joy was super-mean, but she did it such an incredibly hilarious way that you just enjoy the performance and move on. Hmmm? So we love our little protagonist, but we get a bigger kick out of the villain. In other words, Shirley and Jane are basically Thor and Loki, but even cuter...maybe.
Bright Eyes has always been one of my favorite Shirley Temple movies. Sure, it's one of the sadder ones, but, as I mentioned, it is very iconic, if for no other reason than the "Lollipop" song. That aside, there is a strong cast supporting her and the story is great. And it was just the beginning for Shirley, and a good one at that.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
I think, if there is one word that could describe Shirley Temple throughout her life, it would be adorable. And it is in this 1934 film, Bright Eyes, that I believe she is at her most adorable. It helps that she was barely six-years-old, as it does with most of us. I suppose I could say that this was one of her first films, but according to my info, big part or small part, credited or uncredited, this was the thirteenth film in which she appeared and the tenth in 1934 alone. Wow! Her name is Shirley, and she works hard for the money. Although, I think it was this, along with Stand Up and Cheer and Baby, Take a Bow, that really got her noticed. Why? Well, let's get to the story. And their may be a few spoilers.
In Bright Eyes, Shirley plays a little girl named Shirley. Why not? Shirley lives with her mother, Mary, who is a live-in maid. And where is her father, you may ask? Well, he's dead, of course, because Shirley is never allowed to have two parents in her movies. Okay, sometimes she does, but it is rare. Here, he was an aviator who died in a plane crash, and his best friend and godfather to Shirley is a guy named Loop, played by James Dunn. Most of the movie is about the relationship between these two, and it is really sweet. Shirley is also close with the rest of the aviators who were all friends of her father's and have almost adopted her in a way. But not everyone loves Shirley that much. I know, right?
The people for whom Mary works as a maid are the Smythes. We have the husband and wife, J. Wellington (of course, that's his name) and Anita, as well as their lovely, sunshine of a little daughter named Joy, who is just about Shirley's age. And when I say lovely and sunshine, I mean she is kind of evil. Jane Withers played her, and I'm going to talk more about her later, because she's worth it.
Now not everyone in the family dislikes Shirley and her mother. Uncle Ned, played Charles Sellon, is quite fond of both of them, even giving Shirley the titular nickname of Bright Eyes. Still, Uncle Ned is not fond of much else, least of all his own family. He is quite aware that they are keeping him around in order to also keep around his bank account. There is also Mr. and Mrs. Higgins, the butler and cook, and they adore Shirley and her mother as well.
The story begins just before Christmas, and we get to see that little Shirley is so excited. She knows she won't get much, but she's grateful for everything. Yeah, she's basically a teeny, tiny, perfect angel. What she is truly excited about, though, is a party she will be having with Loop and all the aviators in a airplane. And she loves airplanes. It's during this party that she sings her iconic song "On the Good Ship Lollipop"...to a bunch of grown men. And, no, it's not creepy. I don't care what anyone says, it's not. It's sweet as all heck, if your mind is proper. However, things take a sad turn when, on the way to said party, Mary is hit by a car and dies.
After this, the dilemma is what is going to happen to Shirley. Not because nobody wants her, but because a ton of people want her. Uncle Ned wants to adopt her and the Smythes are going along with it to keep the money. Loop wants her, but, despite being her godfather, the odds seem against him because he's a single guy with NO money. The Higgins would take her, but they don't have the means. Even Loop's ex-fiance, Adele, who happens to be in town and happens to be a cousin of Mrs. Smythe (what a twist), has taken a liking to her. Shirley loves them all and would be happy with any of them. She would actually prefer all of them. Does she get what she wants? Does everybody? Well, you'll have to see the movie. Warning, though, it is a pretty major tear jerker. That's right, people. Shirley cries; you cry. It's a rule.
Okay, I'm going take this opportunity, as I promised, to go back and discuss one of Shirley's co-stars. Now, I have to say, everyone was great in this movie and played their roles perfectly, but if anyone nearly stole the show from little Miss Temple herself, it would be Jane Withers as Joy. HOLY CRAP! This girl was fantastic! She was basically the polar opposite of Shirley. Joy was a loud, spoiled, ungrateful brat, and she was so mean. In fact, even as a child, Jane Withers wasn't sure if she wanted the part, because she knew she would have to be mean to Shirley and that might cause audiences to hate her. A plausible concern, indeed, and that might have actually happened. However, they were smart enough to have her play it from a highly comedic place. Yes, Joy was super-mean, but she did it such an incredibly hilarious way that you just enjoy the performance and move on. Hmmm? So we love our little protagonist, but we get a bigger kick out of the villain. In other words, Shirley and Jane are basically Thor and Loki, but even cuter...maybe.
Bright Eyes has always been one of my favorite Shirley Temple movies. Sure, it's one of the sadder ones, but, as I mentioned, it is very iconic, if for no other reason than the "Lollipop" song. That aside, there is a strong cast supporting her and the story is great. And it was just the beginning for Shirley, and a good one at that.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
Sunday, April 20, 2014
My Tribute To Shirley Temple
Greetings,
As everyone knows, a couple of months ago we lost a national treasure. That being Shirley Temple Black, or just Shirley Temple, or, heck, just Shirley. Honestly, for pretty much my entire life, if someone said the name Shirley, hers is the face that would pop into my head. And with good reason. I've been a fan of hers forever, and I will be one forever. I admired her as a performer and as a person, and that's not always something I say about many celebrities. I could always say it about her though.
Now when she passed away, of course, I made mention of it here, and I said that I had been planning to do a week long tribute to her, by way of some reviews. Well, this week is when her birthday is, so I'm taking the opportunity to do it now. It's the least I can do to show how much I appreciated everything she did. And I hope everyone enjoys it.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
As everyone knows, a couple of months ago we lost a national treasure. That being Shirley Temple Black, or just Shirley Temple, or, heck, just Shirley. Honestly, for pretty much my entire life, if someone said the name Shirley, hers is the face that would pop into my head. And with good reason. I've been a fan of hers forever, and I will be one forever. I admired her as a performer and as a person, and that's not always something I say about many celebrities. I could always say it about her though.
Now when she passed away, of course, I made mention of it here, and I said that I had been planning to do a week long tribute to her, by way of some reviews. Well, this week is when her birthday is, so I'm taking the opportunity to do it now. It's the least I can do to show how much I appreciated everything she did. And I hope everyone enjoys it.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
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