Kathleen

One of the other reviews called this picture a weak vehicle for Shirley Temple. It's definitely not her best, but it's not terrible either. This said, I think she was wrong for the part-- which was given to her after her mother objected to Shirley being cast in a Wallace Beery film called BARNACLE BILL. Virginia Weidler, who had originally been cast as KATHLEEN, was pulled off this movie and paired her with Beery instead. Shirley then took over to do what her mother felt was material better suited for her. But it's really not a good vehicle for her, for a variety of reasons.

I think the main problem is that Shirley looks too old. Virginia would have been more believable (with the braids, which were becoming a cliché by this point in her career). However, it certainly would have worked best with a young Margaret O'Brien. It really had to be someone very tiny and fragile looking, who desperately needed a new mommy to look after her. Laraine Day is fine in her role, Nella Walker as a battle-axe is very good, and I find Felix Bressart to be as charming as ever. However, as much as I enjoy Herbert Marshall, he is wrong for his part as daddy. It should have been someone like Walter Pidgeon.

Overall I don't think the story is the issue-- it's the casting and how these roles were directed. By the way, when Shirley was signed by MGM, the first project the studio announced for her was an Andy Hardy picture. But probably Mama Temple vetoed that in a hurry-- no B films for her daughter, and no second fiddle to Mickey Rooney. Can you imagine her conversations with Mayer about that!

'Kathleen' is a rather pedestrian take on Shirley's previous childhood vehicles. Once again, she has no mother, only a distant father (Herbert Marshall) engaged to a woman Shirley despises. When her behavior causes no end of trouble for her nanny, her father hires a young woman psychiatrist (Laraine Day) to counsel the girl. Naturally, he and Day fall in love and Shirley's problems end on a happy note. But none too soon.

While Shirley herself is charming and poised as the unhappy girl, the script is a dreary thing with no one able to overcome the inadequacies of the slim story. Laraine Day is her usual charming self, Marshall is stuffy and aloof as Shirley's father and Gail Patrick has a totally unsympathetic role as "the other woman" eager to get her clutches on a rich husband.

A musical sequence showing Shirley lending her voice to a dismal song is clearly dubbed and seems to belong to another picture, it's so out of whack with the rest of the film.

Clearly disappointing and only interesting to see Temple as a maturing 12-year old and given some nice glossy MGM close-ups. Some good moments, but not enough and apparently MGM decided not to release this one to video, at least not as of this writing.

By the time Shirley Temple makes Kathleen in 1941 she had been cut loose from 20th Century Fox by Darryl Zanuck as the budding teen Shirley was no longer box office. Imagine being a has been at 12.

Still MGM grabbed her for Kathleen where she's a girl entering puberty and quite frankly in this film a bit spoiled. She's a rich kid, daughter of Herbert Marshall who is all about business. She misses her late mom and Shirley also cannot stand the housekeeper/governess Nella Walker. And the one she really can't stand is Gail Patrick, the woman who Marshall wants to marry.

These films are usually so loaded in the sense we watch and can't believe that Marshall is such a blockhead that he can't see that Patrick is a bad woman and the lady psychologist that is there to treat Temple, Laraine Day is the woman for both of them.

Kathleen is not in a league with some of Shirley's best work at 20th Century Fox, but it is reasonably entertaining.

Shirley Temple plays Kathleen, a 12-year-old with a rich imagination who lives with her emotionally absent father, a household of servants, and a governess who is a cross between the worst prison guard and Miss Gulch from "The Wizard of Oz". When Kathleen lashes out in rebellion, a doctor is called in to diagnose the girl. This film starts as a drama, but it does not remain all darkness and demons.

All child actors must eventually face uncertainty when they outgrow the young roles that made them successful. Shirley Temple was beyond successful as a child actress, capturing the hearts of moviegoers for years. When she became too old for the "Good Ship Lollipop", would she be able to transition successfully into teen roles and adult roles?

In 'Kathleen", Shirley is 13 years old. The drama of this film is similar to dramatic scenes she had previously played as a child, but viewers expect more from older performers. In "Kathleen" she portrays angst and outrage, but her performance is too childlike, which impacts the early scenes especially. In a few years, she would be better equipped to emote with greater depth. In 1947's "That Hagen Girl", for example, she adeptly portrays a troubled teen beset with a haunting past who is the target of an entire town. 1949's "A Kiss for Corliss" (A comedy with David Niven) is effectively the end of her film career, so she used her newfound skills only sparingly.

Watch for Laraine Day and Gail Patrick, who face off over Kathleen's well-being and the girl's father, played by Herbert Marshall. All of them acquit themselves well. Day, remarkably, is only 8 years old than Shirley, but convincingly plays a professional woman who possesses authority and confidence.

One final note: this film was released soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I can only wonder what effect that had on attendance and the public's willingness to be entertained. The nation was in shock and dealing with important matters that completely altered its way of life. A determined response to aggression, and fears about worldwide aggression, were paramount. Still, the nation would learn to use cinema to channel its patriotic fervor and, conversely, to escape harsh realities.

I first saw this film when I was about 13 and loved it then. It's a good film for the right age group. I was fascinated with the tricks Kathleen plays on her nurse, the strict household she lived in and how she gets away. It was also interesting to see the difference in the manners of the 40's. For example, Kathleen politely says "how do you do" to an adult she hates. She accepts a decision her father makes which she feels is unfair. I can see how this film might not be very interesting to an adult seeing it for the first time. But is good classic entertainment for the right audience. It's also great seeing Shirley in a role where she's not a sweet little tyke!