La p'tite Shirley

Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) made a big mistake and ending up serving time in Sing Sing. However, his lovely fiancé, Kay (Claire Trevor) waits for him and even takes him to Niagara Falls to get married on the day he leaves prison. Now, six years later, they live in New York City with their little girl, Shirley (Shirley Temple). Eddie presently works as a chauffeur and even got his good buddy a job with the same company. But, a crooked insurance investigator is certain that Eddie will break the law again and he watches the home constantly. On the day of Shirley's birthday, Eddie and Shirley entertain guests with their jokes, songs, and dances. But, things get complicated when an old, thieving friend of Eddie's gives Shirley a "hot" pearl necklace. He does this to bring Eddie back into the criminal fold but Shirley thinks it is a birthday gift. A ton of confusion reigns soon after as Eddie tries to hide the necklace from the insurance man and Shirley believes it is all an elaborate game of hide and seek. Will Eddie get fingered? This is a fun movie with a few dark elements, surprising in a Temple film. Shirley is adorable, young and talented, displaying her amazing talents for comedy, song, and dance. Dunn, too, is a stitch as her joking father, who is trying his best to go straight, while Trevor is very beautiful and touching as the faithful wife and mother. All of the lesser actors fulfill their roles quite nicely, too. The colorized version I watched had nice sets, costumes, songs, plot elements, and direction. If you like light comedy and vaudeville-type song-and-stomp, this is a good choice for you. Although there is a touch of violence, the sunny nature of the main players and their antics make it almost a second cousin to a Marx Brothers flick. My recommendation is to take a dose of Shirley on a day without sunshine, you'll feel like new.

This was my first attempt at watching a Shirley Temple movie, though this film was made before she really hit it big and therefore her screen time isn't as much as it would quickly become. The story instead centers on a likable ex-convict Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) who has harmless fun playing practical jokes on his friends and comes out of jail to marry a loyal woman (Claire Trevor). Six years later, the couple have young Shirley as their daughter and Eddie tries to hold a job. But a bitter and nasty private investigator (Alan Dinehart) is determined to do whatever it takes to ruin Ellison and send him back to the slammer again and tries to nail him for a theft he wasn't involved in. Here is where daddy's little girl helps her father out by trying to foil the real crook.

It's easy to sense the potential which shines off Shirley Temple during her scenes with Dunn and Trevor, and the precocious little charmer does delight with some mild dancing and her cutesy antics, but this film is reportedly not one of her best. It's lightweight stuff, though probably a feature that wouldn't be remembered at all today if not for the participation of Miss Temple. ** out of ****

With a similar story to Now and Forever, little Shirley Temple plays an adorable bright light named 'Shirley' to lighten an otherwise dark story about a thief trying to go straight. James Dunn and Shirley sing the duet "On Account-a I Love You" during a performance, but that's really the only fluffy part of the movie. James plays an ex-con who marries Claire Trevor and hopes for a second chance. He has an honest job now and a sweet little girl, but there's a dark cloud looming overhead. There's a local robbery, and the police suspect him because of his record. Will everything turn out alright?

You might get this one confused with Stand Up and Cheer because the song "Baby Take a Bow" was in that other 1934 Shirley Temple and James Dunn flick. Obviously, the studio wanted to remind folks of how much they loved Stand Up and Cheer by creating this title, which has absolutely nothing to do with the story. But, it couldn't really be titled On Account-a I Love You, which is the one and only song in the film. It's understandable, but sometimes it's tough to tell Shirley's movies apart. When in doubt, just watch them all!

This is one of three pairings of Shirley Temple with James Dunn in 1934. Dunn spends five years in Sing Sing, then comes out to marry Claire Trevor and go straight. Five years later, they have a daughter in Miss Temple, and Dunne and reformed buddy Ray Walker are working for Richard Tucker and trying to maintain an honest life, despite old underworld pals like Ralf Harolde, and cop Alan Dinehart, who thinks that once a crook always a crook. When Harolde steals a pearl necklace from Tucker, Dunn and Walker are suspected and fired.

Dunn and Miss Temple sing "On Account-a I Love You" and there's a long sequence in which Dinehart is searching for the pearls in the family apartment; I thought it went on way too long, but would play well in a theater. I don't think it as good as the other Temple vehicles that year, but it's still charming.

Baby Take A Bow is based on a Broadway play called Square Crooks and ran a respectable 150 performances in 1926 and also was a silent film in 1928. But noting in the credits of both the Broadway cast and the silent film I noted all the names save for an equivalent of Shirley Temple.

Fox films showed some good judgment in grafting Shirley Temple's child character into this version. A couple of guys played by James Dunn and Ray Walker are trying to go straight and are succeeding. Both are employed by a wealthy family as chauffeurs. Dunn and Walker are married to Claire Trevor and Dorothy Libaire respectively. But Dunn and Trevor have that little bundle from heaven named Shirley Temple.

Both these guys face a pair of menaces. A recently released con played by Ralf Harolde who tries to get them back in the life. And Alan Dinehart who is a private detective who would like to become a real cop, but they won't have him. His role model in law enforcement is Inspector Javert and he hounds Dunn and Walker especially after a jewel heist is pulled on their employer.

Of course it's Shirley who in her innocent way gets Dunn and Walker out of a potential jackpot. Dunn and Trevor both have trouble keeping up with her.

Fans of the eternal moppet will be pleased.