Kathleen

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.

Kathleen (Shirley Temple) is a lonely young lady. Her mother is deceased and her father is never home. Because of this, she has a governess--a woman who is just plain nasty. As for Kathleen, she's a bit of a brat--mostly because she's so emotionally neglected and lonely. However, her clueless father (Herbert Marshall) takes her to see a psychotherapist instead of giving her what she needs--his time and attention. Fortunately, the therapist quickly realizes the situation and tells the father that the governess is evil. Instead, the therapist recommends a child psychologist (Laraine Day) becomes the child's governess--at least temporarily. Almost immediately, Kathleen decides that this woman would make a perfect mother for her. Unfortunately, the manipulative girl has a problem with her plan--Dad already has a woman picked out to be his new wife. And, this wife-to-be is a superficial and annoying woman indeed (Gail Patrick). What's Kathleen to do?!

"Kathleen" is an odd film. It isn't bad, but along with other films like "The Blue Bird", it managed to alienate the public from Temple because the films were such a departure from the sweet Temple films of the 1930s. Part of this, of course, is because Shirley was older and the old style films wouldn't have worked as well with a child about to become a teen. Part of it, however, is that the studios didn't really seem to know what to do with her.

I liked the Kathleen character. Her manipulative personality was pretty funny and I liked some of her bratty moments. However, what I didn't like about her were the fantasy scenes. These involved musical interludes that just weren't necessary and really slowed down the film. In fact, had they cut them all out, the movie would have worked much better--especially since music seemed inappropriate to this style of film. Plus, while Shirley was great singing as a child, here she seems a bit out of her element in these production numbers.

So is it worth seeing? Sure. The negatives about this one are far outweighed by the good. Shirley's performance is very nice and the story quite clever. And, although the ending was a bit sticky, I did like it. A very different sort of film for the actress, that's for sure--but a nice one. But also it's so different that I could easily see folks disliking it.

Kathleen Davis (Shirley Temple) is a smart 12-year-old living in a large mansion with her servants. With her beloved mother dead, she is in a constant battle with her nanny. Her father John Davis (Herbert Marshall) is always away at work. Her father brings home girlfriend Lorraine Bennett who suggests bringing in Dr. Foster to examine her. Foster suggests hiring psychiatrist Dr. Angela Kent (Laraine Day) to look after her for the summer before she goes off to boarding school. Kathleen takes a liking to Dr. Kent especially for her father to replace Lorraine.

Shirley Temple is having trouble growing into her terrible teens. It's a tough thing to have an icon change in front of your eyes. That's the difficulty faced by an audience of her era. She's also stuck using the same acting tricks that had worked so well as a child actor. While it looks cute as a child, it looks like sentimental cloying as she gets older. I do have an issue with the dream dance sequence with full grown men. It has different meaning as she grows into a young woman. The other big issue is the lack of chemistry between the father and Dr. Kent. It's not enough for Lorraine to be a sneaky gold-digger. This has all the ingredients but the mixture is barely passable.

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!