Curly Top

CURLY TOP is indebted to SHIRLEY TEMPLE for whatever charm it has as a vehicle for the talented tot--and she gets to strut her stuff often enough to keep an audience happy. It's the kind of Temple film where you start getting restless when the spotlight goes to the romantic leads (John Boles and Rochelle Hudson), bland and poorly scripted as the leads usually are in a Temple film.

But with the spotlight on Temple--as when Shirley does her tap dancing atop a white piano or sings "Animal Crackers in my Soup" with cheerful confidence and a bit of mugging at an orphanage, you can see why she was America's box-office sweetheart during a four-year period.

Clearly ranks among the best early Temple vehicles with all of her charisma and dimpled charm on full display. Nice to see her sharing some good scenes with Arthur Treacher.

Shirley was cute, but if you are a woman, and honest, you will admit to yourself that while you are enjoying Shirley as the little orphan charmer, that it is John Boles and Rochelle Hudson who keep your interest perked in this film. John Boles was drop dead gorgeous, probably THE best looking leading man EVER to come out of Hollywood. I have to admit that he is the reason I enjoy watching this film over and over again. They don't make leading men like him anymore in Hollywood. Men who looked like real men, distinguished, wearing real suits and ties: not models, porn stars, hippies, or gay stereotypes.

John Bowles plays the too good to be true Edward Morgan who sees our curly top Shirley Temple at an orphanage and falls instantly in love, taking both her and her older sister Mary home for the summer to spoil them rotten under the disguise of a mystery benefactor.

This is a wonderful vehicle for Shirley Temple and allowed for some wonderful musical numbers including the adorable "Animal Crackers in my Soup".

Aunt Genevieve, played exceptionally by Esther Dale, plays a pivotal role when the lovely Mary has a competitor for her affections in the shape of a young wealthy pilot named Jimmy (played by the handsome Maurice Murphy).

Super sweet and a must see if you are a Shirley Temple fan.

I must have been blind to hardly remember a thing about this film when I was a preteen! That's quite unusual because since that time, and this is a quintessential Shirley Temple film, very fun with a wonderful cast all around.

This was the first remake Shirley did of a Mary Pickford film (Daddy Long Legs). (Shirley) and her young adult sister Mary (Rochelle Hudson) are orphans adopted by wealthy orphanage trustee Edward Morgan (John Boles). The day he meets both of them, he is captivated by them both, but really has his eyes set on Shirley.

Shirley is quite the most charismatic and adorable youngster at the orphanage, but always seems to get into trouble, especially by some of the stuffy trustees and one of the matrons. Of everyone she sees besides the children, her sister, Mrs. Denham (the matron winningly played by Jane Darwell), and Edward Morgan are the only ones who stand by her. When the director orders the matrons to take her to a public institution, Edward flatly tells him he will completely withdraw his support (which is needed, as he is very wealthy). Then he talks to Shirley and asks if whether or not they can be friends. She refuses because she has to has to use "Ma'am, Sir", and smile all the time around grownup visitors. She further captivates him more, and then he asks if a "friend" of his could adopt her. She goes to ask Mary, who tells Edwards that she promised their parents to never leave Shirley. Out of sympathy, he accepts.

Edward keeps up the deception that he is not their true guardian, but that they are loaned to him for the summer. It's quite obvious why. First, he is lonely for companionship, to be loved just for himself, not his great wealth. Wealth can't buy everything, obviously. Next, he is caring enough to allow Shirley not to continue the excessive display of gratitude she's had to give.

Arthur Treacher has some wonderful scenes as the butler, completely outdoing himself when he disgustedly grabs Shirley's duck by the neck!

Rochelle Hudson, as the older sister, gets to sing "The Simple Things in Life" (and does it well), but her characterization is somewhat weak in places. She is a touch too gentle, vulnerable, and mature, but is also very sincere and sometimes light-hearted. She captivates a very young man named Jimmy Rogers, who proposes to her. She refuses him at first, but the night all this happened, Edward Morgan has already become jealous of him, not knowing he's in love with Mary. His Aunt Genevieve (excellently played by Esther Dale) tells him she thinks (actually, knows) he's very fond of her, and suspects that Jimmy will propose to Mary before the summer ends. This only makes Edward more disgusted, and Mary overhears him angrily say to his aunt that he cares nothing for Mary. She immediately takes the remark the wrong way and accepts Jimmy's proposal. But Edward cools down and wises up, finds Mary to talk to her alone, only to learn they're engaged. It's obvious that he's sad, which breaks Mary's heart. But he generously asks to add to their happiness in any way he can, little knowing what is really in store for him. Shirley learns of the engagement and says that she wants him to wed Mary. But despite Shirley simply being like she always was, John Boles really adds to the film immensely, my second favorite, and the actual reason I watch this film. He has the most rounded-out character and is utterly convincing as a very kind-hearted, generous, loving, and refreshingly human gentleman. He gives the most realistic characterization in the film, mostly because Shirley is just her normal movie persona. He beats out Jane Darwell, a wonderful character actress and Shirley's frequent co-star. He is GORGEOUS and despite being at least 38 when he did the film, looks exactly the right age to be Shirley's father and Rochelle Hudson's love interest (at 19, she looks older). He sings two songs (the same as Shirley), but with a brilliant voice that is "almost operatic" but very easy on the ears. "It's All So New To Me" is his daydream song right after he decides to adopt her, and the more upbeat "Curly Top" is a surprise for her. Discovering him for the wonderful actor and singer he is really is all so new to me.

This is another solid Shirley Temple film with some wonderful, sweet scenes and lines you certainly wouldn't hear in movies today. For instance: "It's Sunday. Would you like to go to Sunday School? Ohh, I love Sunday School!"

In addition to the innocence, truly nice characters, decent humor and music, what I appreciated was the lack of screen time of the villain. Many movies have some nasty person giving Shirley a hard time. To me, that's uncomfortable, but in this film the villain gets little screen time. Thus, much of the film features nothing but good, likable people.

That list is headed by pretty Rochelle Hudson as "Mary Blair" and charming singer/good guy John Boles as "Edward Morgan" and, finally, good old Arthur Treacher as the butler (what else?!), "Reynolds.".

To be fair, I didn't think the songs were that super, except for Shirley's "Animal Crackers In My Soup," which is a great song. If I recall, at least half the songs in this film were by the adults (two by Boles and one by Rochelle) and, frankly, I'd rather hear little Miss Temple. Boles' numbers and voice are too outdated for today. He has that Rudy Vallee-type 'early 30s voice.

Do not watch this on a colorized VHS version as I did. Shirley's teeth are green and it's distracting. Stick to the black-and-white, especially now that it is available with a good DVD transfer.

Overall, a nice story with lots of nice people give you a warm feeling when viewing this.