Little Miss Broadway

Being this the very first Shirley Temple movie I've ever seen, I must say it's my favorite. Shirley gives a great performance singing and dancing in all her numbers! And that one we can really call "musical". On the other ones we can see only one or two scenes with singing and dancing, but at this one you can see singing and dancing almost all the time.

Shirley's an optimistic orphan who is adopted by a Vaudeville hotel "owner" and his daughter. She meets a guy (George Murphy, who is FABULOUS dancing with Shirley on the number "We Should be Together") trying to convince his aunt (Edna May Oliver, the real owner) to not close the hotel.

Shirley looks so sweet in that movie, in all her numbers -- especially in "If the world was a paper", "We should be together" and "Little Miss Broadway".

Anyway, this is a very enjoyable movie. Anyone who watches it can enjoy not just Shirley's performances but almost everything in the movie: the story, the characters, the songs, the dancing and so on. A heartwarming movie starring one of the sweetest Child-Stars of all the time with fabulous co-stars. A family movie that can be watched by children, adults and even teenagers and old people.

Darryl F. Zanuck gave Shirley Temple a really great supporting cast for Little Miss Broadway. You can't go wrong with a cast that includes Donald Meek, Claude Gillingwater, Edna Mae Oliver, El Brendel, and the great Jimmy Durante.

Shirley is adopted from Jane Darwell's orphanage by Edward Ellis a friend of her deceased parents and his daughter Phyllis Brooks who run a hotel for theatrical types. Ellis is a guy who gives easy credit so when the imperious dowager landlady of the hotel wants what is due he's caught in a bad cash flow situation.

It's more than that, Oliver hates theatrical folks and is determined to close the hotel even going against her brother Donald Meek and their dancing nephew George Murphy who likes Ellis, Temple, and especially Brooks.

The finale is a courtroom scene where Shirley pleads the case of the performers who have to prove how good they are to the satisfaction of Judge Gillingwater. Shirley is a persuasive advocate.

For fans of Fox's eternal moppet and fans to be.

Mean old Edna May Oliver wants to take Shirley Temple from Edward Ellis and send her back to the orphanage. Ellis lives at the old actors' hotel next to her mansion, and since its owned by the estate she controls.

It makes considerably less dramatic sense than most of Miss Temple's vehicles, and the songs by Harold Spina and Walter Bullock are not up to standard. This means that director Irving Cummings must through a lot of talent at the the audience and see what sticks: George Murphy, Jimmy Durante, George Barbier, Jane Darwell, El Brendel, and Donald Meek, each take a few minutes to charm us before judge Claude Gillingwater orders them all to appear in a vaudeville show in his court room for the big finale.

This might be the best of all the Shirley Temple movies of the 1930s because its so interesting start-to-finish.

The only annoying person is Edna May Oliver, who plays the standard mean old lady who is out to ruin things for the ""good guys" Fortunately, she's not in a lot of scenes and eventually even changes her thoughts for the better.

The rest of the film is nothing but nice people who are a lot of fun to watch. George Murphy and Phyllis Brooks are the typical (for Temple movies) super nice, handsome young couple which gets together in the end.

Edward Ellis plays a nice old man and Donald Meek nearly steals the show with some funny lines and funny faces. I thought James Durante would be funny, but he had more of a straight than comedic role.

Other features which make this movie stand out from normal Temple fare were unique characters (midgets, twins, penguins and more) and a tremendous amount of songs and dances (much more than normally heard).

All the elements that made Shirley Temple's films so successful are rolled up into this movie. Great stuff!

20th Century Fox was having a hard time coming up with original story material for Shirley Temple and this is one of their least inspired efforts. Yet, despite a weak script and the obvious fact that Shirley herself was getting a little too plump for her diminutive figure, there is a generous sprinkling of song routines to keep Shirley's fans satisfied. The added bonus is George Murphy as her dancing partner, no slouch in the tap-dance department.

Edna May Oliver comes on strong as a cantankerous old woman who wants to close a theatrical hotel for boarders. Jimmy Durante has a few fun moments but one of his routines with Temple was cut from the final print.

The courtroom finale has everyone doing a musical revue in court--something that could happen only in a Temple film! Shirley has a few pleasant ditties to sing: "Be Optimistic" and a song-and-dance routine with Murphy to "We Should Be Together".

Not one of Shirley's best. Recommended only for Temple fans.