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Shirley Temple Revisited, Part 12 — 6 Comments

  1. Jean: I can't be sure in the sense of "know for a fact", of course, but in the sense of "firmly convinced" — yes, I'm sure. I think Shirley's reaction — her physical reaction, that is, as opposed to her pre-recorded giggle, which comes two seconds later — is genuinely spontaneous, as if she expects a "Cut!" and retake. Guess we'll never know…

  2. Hey, Jim…catching up with your Shirley posts. So much fun! However, are you sure that Joan and Shirley were actually out of step? I rewatched several times and am of the opinion that their going opposite ways after that turn around was intentional – in keeping with the supposed spontaneous spirit of the number. Note Shirley's amused reaction as Joan blithely goes the "wrong" way.

  3. Elisabeth: Curiously enough, it was rather the opposite for me as a kid; Rebecca was a favorite, while the other two made less of an impression. I do remember being amused at the Just Around the Corner Shirley confusing Uncle Sam with "Uncle Sam" (I mean, I was the same age and I knew the difference). And of course, who can quarrel with either Donald Meek or Franklin Pangborn? They're always welcome. Kids especially respond to them, maybe because they're so childlike (or childish) themselves.

  4. Ironically, Little Miss Broadway and Just Around the Corner were among my favorites when I was little. Now that you mention it, they are a lot more set-bound than the earlier pictures, but things like production values didn't mean anything to me at that age (although I did notice that in the colorized version, that ritzy apartment building seemed to be made entirely of mint-green glass and plastic). I loved the things like Donald Meek and the off-key barbershop quartet in Little Miss Broadway and the ever-hilarious Franklin Pangborn going down the laundry chute in Just Around the Corner.

    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm failed to impress, however. I'd read the book.

  5. Welcome, Sandra! I believe yours is a new face here at Cinedrome. Thanks for the good word, and I hope you'll check out earlier posts; my retrospective on Shirley Temple goes all the way back to March. Two more posts to follow. Thanks again for stopping by!

  6. Shirley Temple has always been one of my favorite and this was some interesting history. My father used to listen to old radio shows and enjoyed curating history about radio and the early days of Hollywood.