Captain January

A vindictive truant officer attempts to wrest little Star from CAPTAIN JANUARY, the old lighthouse keeper who saved her from a watery grave.

Shirley Temple captivates her audience once again in this, one of her most popular films. Aided by fine production values courtesy of Fox, the Tiny Tyke does not disappoint. Singing & dancing, laughing or crying, she once again exhibits all the talents which for years made her top of the Hollywood box office heap.

It's difficult to imagine anyone other than cuddly Guy Kibbee in the title role. He's excellent, but he's also given firm support from old pros Slim Summerville & Jane Darwell. Sara Haden makes a nasty villainess, while OUR GANG bad boy Jerry Tucker is her obnoxious nephew. Pretty June Lang plays the sweet village schoolteacher.

Amiable hoofer Buddy Ebsen joins Shirley in a wonderful song & dance number, ‘The Cod Fish Ball.' Tall & pliable, with plenty of goofy facial expressions, Buddy's performance gives a little idea as to how much he might have contributed to THE WIZARD OF OZ three years later over at Metro, had not health reasons forced him to withdrawal.

Shirley also sings ‘Early Bird' and, in a delightful nursery fantasy, ‘The Right Somebody To Love.'

Here's another "cute" Shirley Temple movie with interesting characters and a decent share of good song-and-dance numbers. The story is similar to a few other Temple films in which a nasty person takes Shirley away from the good people but the good guys prevail in the end. It was a tried-and-true formula in the Temple movies.

Here, the "villain" is truant officer (Sara Haden) who wants to take Shirley away from good guy "Captain January" (Guy Kibbe). Kibbe and Slim Summerville are fun to watch as peers and friends who squabble all the time. Haden is effective in her role because you just want to slap that woman!

Shirley and Buddy Ebsen team up for a very entertaining song-and-dance routine to "The Codfish Ball," the best song in the movie.

The film gets a bit uncomfortable when Shirley gets taken away but ends in the normal tearfully-happy Shirley, as always, back with her loved ones and the people who really care about her. Those include the "widow" played by Jane Darwell and the school teacher, acted by June Lang.

All in all, it's the normal Temple movie that provides good feelings, something we viewers always need.

This is the kind of film to make anyone a SHIRLEY TEMPLE fan. Here the little miss is once again an orphan but this time a kind-hearted lighthouse keeper (Guy Kibbe) is raising her as his own. Troubles come when the local schoolmarm decides Shirley needs a better education and upbringing.

Shirley not only sings a couple of bright tunes, but has a big dance scene on the wharf with Buddy Ebsen--complete with intricate taps and all kinds of whirls as they dance to "At the Codfish Ball". This and her opening number "Early Bird" are among the film's most charming routines.

Shirley gets emotional during the final tug of war where she is being torn away from the Cap, a crying scene that reveals just how deeply felt some of her performances were.

Highly recommended.

Once again, Shirley Temple steals the show, and warms the heart with her curls and dimples. This is a great movie for the kids and the whole family, along with all of Temple's other family features. Guest star Buddy Ebsen puts on an entertaining show in the beginning of the movie with little Shirley Temple. 7 out of 10.

Captain January (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Remake of the 1924 film has Shirley Temple taking over the role originally played by Baby Peggy. In the film she plays the feisty six-year-old Star who has been raised by Captain January (Guy Kibbee) ever since he found her after a shipwreck killed her parents. Their lives are perfect until a truancy officer (Sara Haden) shows up and tries to start trouble. CAPTAIN January is a step up from the original silent version thanks in large part to the terrific cast. With such an irresistible cast it's nearly impossible not to be entertained by this film no matter how predictable it gets. In regards to the predictability, there's certainly nothing here that's going to shock the viewer because it follows the original film fairly closely, although the truancy officer is something new here. In the original it was the girl's original family showing up that caused the problems. There's no way anyone won't see the ending here coming but it was quite good. The performances are really what makes this one worth watching with Temple and Kibbee doing a wonderful job together. There's no question that their chemistry is off the chart as the two really do come across as being very close and loving. Slim Summerville adds terrific support as the best friend and we get a young Buddy Ebsen in a small role and Jane Darwell is also great in her part. Most people remember Haden from the Andy Hardy series but she's downright perfect as the villain here and I'd say she's one of the most hated villains from any film during this era. You'll be wishing a painful torture to her character! CAPTAIN January, as I said, isn't original and it contains no big twists but it's sweet enough and features such a cast that it's pretty much irresistible.