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The Little Princess-1939

The Little Princess-1939

Director Walter Lang

Starring Shirley Temple, Ian Hunter

Scott’s Review #827

Reviewed November 6, 2018

Grade: B+

The Little Princess (1939) is a latter-day Shirley Temple film released when the child star’s popularity was clearly on the decline.

The film is also the first Temple production to be filmed in Technicolor and the last of her major successes. The picture is very good though not the first I would choose as a starting point in her collection: saccharin, wholesome, and predictable are adjectives to describe the film, but also just what audiences adore about the star’s cinematic projects.

Loosely based on a novel entitled A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the film was criticized at the time of release for straying too far from the original novel.

The time is the turn of the century in England and the backdrop is the Boer war. The setting of the film is a highlight for American audiences who were amidst the First World War and on the cusp of World War II allowing for a timely and relevant quality of the film.

In the story, Temple plays Sara, the wealthy daughter of a military Captain (Ian Hunter) who is left to reside in a well-to-do girl’s school when her father is called away to serve in the war. When he unexpectedly dies in battle Sara is left penniless and forced to work as a servant in the school she once attended.

At first, treated like royalty by the staff her treatment gradually harbors resentment among the principals, especially the dastardly headmistress (Mary Nash). Sara keeps her chin up insisting that her father is not dead at all as she becomes determined to find him in a local hospital.

In the year 2018, Shirley Temple films mainly serve as a source of nostalgia versus any critical acclaim or cinematic dissection- what is the point?

Her films are a wholesome trip down memory lane back to a simpler time for many. Ironic that the film is the first color picture in the collection, this detracts from the enjoyment and adds too much of a modern element foreign to Temple fans.

My preference is for the black-and-white productions of the early and mid-1930s.

The supporting characters spice up The Little Princess quite a bit.

Most notable is Cesar Romero as neighbor Ram Dass, a man who fills the void that Sara needs due to the loss of her father. The chemistry between Romero and Temple is wonderful as the kindly Dass leaves warm blankets for Sara in a tender scene.

As the main villainous, common in Temple films, Mary Nash as Miss Minchin does her job flawlessly. Serving as the main foil, Nash provides the perfect blend of rigid mannerisms and the brunt of Sara’s tension.

The overall tone of The Little Princess (1939), hence the title, contains a riches to rags, Cinderella in reverse, type of story. The film is above average, but not the best in the bunch.

Venturing to say that the film is a forgotten work save for fans of the Shirley Temple series, it does what it sets out to do and entertains.

With drama, musical numbers, and a happy ending, the result is a similar experience to her many other films.

Heidi-1937

Heidi-1937

Director Allan Dwan

Starring Shirley Temple, Jean Hersholt

Scott’s Review #826

Reviewed November 2, 2018

Grade: A-

During the 1930s and the 1940s, Shirley Temple was the most prominent and profitable child star around starring in dozens of films deemed “wholesome” and “cute”.

Heidi (1937) is one of her most popular and best-regarded, a treasure of earnest and sentimental riches.

The film is forever known in pop culture as the ruination of the 1968 Super Bowl when the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets game was interrupted at a crucial moment due to the scheduled airing of the film.

An interesting side note is that amazingly Temple relinquished her Hollywood title with dignity and without scars. She left the scene entirely and became a successful world diplomat.

During a time in American cinema when child stars were treated as property and sometimes like cattle, her relatively healthy exit was a remarkable feat.

The story of Heidi is based on the 1880 Swiss story of the same name. Temple, in the title role, plays an orphan living in the cold mountains with her grizzled grandfather, Adolf (Jean Hersholt). At first bitter for being saddled with raising a child, Adolf finally accepts the girl and he and Heidi become fast friends, exhibiting a warm and tender bond.

Heidi’s self-absorbed aunt ruins the dynamic and instead whisks the child away to live with a wealthy family. The little girl will serve as a companion for their crippled daughter, Klara, as Heidi and Adolf are determined to find each other.

Adding drama to the story is Klara’s evil housekeeper and her jealousy of Heidi, leading to attempts to sell Heidi off to gypsies for profit.

By 1937 Temple was beginning to be deemed “too old” for cute roles, but Heidi is one of her best-remembered films and the actress is in top form.

As one might expect from any Shirley Temple film musical numbers are included- a dream sequence in Holland culminates with Temple belting out the charming “In My Little Wooden Shoes”.

As there are mountains of Shirley Temple fans worldwide there are also her detractors. Some feel her films are completely dated and that the young star was not as talented as some thought she was.

Admittedly, watching her films approaching the one-hundred-year mark can be a peculiarity and, on the surface seem a bit hammy and overly sentimental, but my personal experience elicits a return to childhood days.

Despite being decades before my existence, Shirley Temple films were commonplace in my household as a child.

Heidi is not a groundbreaking cinematic experience or all that deep at all. What the film does provide though is comfort. The audience assuredly must know a film like Heidi has a happy ending as the child provides warmth and spirit to every person she meets, making their lives better.

Even during peril, the girl has an “awe-shucks” manner of being and makes the best of any lousy situation she faces.

The strongest appeal of Heidi comes in the friendship she makes with Klara the cripple. Klara is kind and naive, unaware of her servant’s jealousy and rage. Helpless, she comes to depend on Heidi and we root for Heidi to rescue Klara and bring her to a better life.

The film has sappily written all over it but somehow works all the same.

Films such as Heidi, the best of all the Temple films, in my opinion, can be watched and enjoyed as an ode to days gone by or a tribute to someone’s grandmother’s favorite film.

Despite perhaps being irrelevant and too sappy in today’s modern world, they undoubtedly provide comfort and support to some and that cannot be such a bad thing.

Heidi (1937) can easily be enjoyed for the popularity that the film achieved and the warm message the film exudes.