Dora's Dunking Doughnuts

This enjoyable short feature has a little bit of almost everything, from slapstick to romance, from light comedy to musical variety acts, and more. Although Shirley Temple's winning presence is probably the main reason why it is now remembered, Andy Clyde is really the star, in a well-chosen role as a good-natured but rather disorientated schoolteacher.

The simple but amusing story has Clyde's character organizing his musically talented students to make a radio commercial, on behalf of his friend Dora and her delicious donuts. It features the kinds of pleasantly illogical plot turns that are fun to watch when they are handled properly. The wide variety of material does not always fit together seamlessly, but overall it works pretty well.

Although Temple is the best-known of the cast members now, she really only appears for occasional moments, though when she does, of course, she usually steals the scene. Clyde gives a consistent performance that helps to hold everything together, and Bud Jamison and the rest of the supporting cast help out as well. There's nothing fancy here, just good light entertainment that is easy to watch.

A doughnut shop in money trouble is saved when the school music class appear on radio to promote the doughnuts. Shirley looks beautiful in this film. Shirley hasn't really got a big part in this, but when she does, she is brilliant!!!

The thing that really struck me about this short comedy is that it is all about a guy who makes a radio commercial for a local donut shop because he actually cares about the well-being of its owner, a woman named Dora with whom he is clearly romantically interested (and who is clearly romantically interested in him as well). In a time when we are bombarded with obnoxious advertisements and endless streams of commercials, it is indeed interesting to look back to a time when it would be acceptable to make a movie about making a commercial.

Today, commercials have become so widespread that they're like a cancer on society, you can't go anywhere anymore without being advertised at, they even show commercials before the previews start at the movie theaters now. And I thought I spent $10 to get in so I could get AWAY from the commercials.

Shirley Temple is not the star of this short film, although it's easy to see why she is so good at coming to the forefront, because as is to be expected, she steals every scene that she's in, even though she is the only person who doesn't fit in at all. The film concerns a school band taught by a charming teacher named Andy, although all of the students appear to be about junior high school age, except for 5 year old Shirley.

Unfortunately, the movie loses its way completely in the second half, with the thin script being abandoned completely at about the time that people start fighting. An improvised one-man performance of Little Red Riding Hood is thrown in out of nowhere, and then we are treated to a couple of pie throwing sight gags (which are not entirely without effect) before the movie makes short work of solving the crisis that it introduced about Dora's struggling bakery, as well as the budding romance between her and Andy. It wastes a lot of time in the last act and is hardly up to par with the short comedies of the time, but is still a charming little film.

I find it strange that Shirley's character was in a class with mostly "children" who were a lot older. She looked barely school age, and some looked like they were about to finish !

To me it seems they put Shirley in the movie as she was popular at the time - and seemed more a case of "where can we put her" "we could slot her in, in this scene".

Perhaps not brilliantly written, but I guess for the time period, and the short length the movie is ok ! Also sound and video quality as you would expect for 1933.

There are funny bits, like the (very plain looking) lady singing like a chicken !

Honestly I don't think Shirley was a great addition to the movie and certainly not good enough for top billing. I found her character a bit annoying and forced at times.

Andy Clyde (Andy) and Ethel Sykes (Dora) were a good pairing, and funny together !

A SHIRLEY TEMPLE Short Subject.

Taking his musical students with him, a school teacher goes on live radio to promote DORA'S DUNKING DOUGHNUTS - a specialty snack invented by his sweetheart.

This is an amusing little film, with lots of slapstick worked into the plot. Miss Shirley is sweet & adorable, but really has not much to do. The real star is Scottish comic actor Andy Clyde, who played slightly befuddled or cantankerous gentlemen for years in films and later on television. Appearing all too briefly is English actress Florence Gill, playing herself in her film debut; this lady, who had the odd talent of being able to sing like a chicken, voiced the formidable Clara Cluck for a handful of Walt Disney cartoons in the 1930's & '40's.

Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.