Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Temple Tuesday: Heidi Set Design



In my collection I have a number of photos documenting the sets for Shirley Temple’s 1937 classic film, “Heidi.” Directed by Allan Dwan, the art direction was by Hans Peters and set decorations were by Thomas Little. The first photo shows Delmar Watson, Marcia Mae Jones, Shirley, and frequent Temple co-star Helen Westley. In this movie her role was Blinda Anna. Set #11 was her home:



Zooming in you can see the shadow of a worker:



…and the set lights:



Set #26 was the interior of Anna’s home:



Only one scene made it into the final film showing this interior. Here, Blind Anna explains to the new Pastor (Thomas Beck) why Heidi’s Grandfather became a recluse.



Set #99 shows the train station at Mayenfeld:



A lot of time and money went into the planning and creation of these sets, and yet many were only viewed for a few seconds. This is about all that we see of the station as Heidi’s wicked Aunt hustles her off to Frankfurt:





Set #112 shows the village of Frankfurt:



Two detail shots:





Set #113 also shows Frankfurt, but mainly the Marionette Theater that Heidi and Klara attend on Christmas evening:



A closeup of the entrance:



Because of the long exposure we have a blurred worker in this detailed view. Note the unidentified woman and what appears to be at least two other pairs of legs adorned in stylish shoes.



Heidi’s Grandfather (Jean Hersholt) waits outside the theater for her to exit after the show:



Unfortunately, she is too short to see him.



Set #128 is the interior of the theater; MANY thanks to Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) for sharing this still with me!



...which is only visible for a few seconds as the children are leaving the show.



On a side-note; all three of the costumes Shirley wears that are shown here still exist!







I hope you enjoyed this brief behind-the-scenes post!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

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