Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Hattie

“The Little Colonel” (1935) was the first pairing of Hattie McDaniel and Shirley Temple. In the post-Civil War drama, McDaniel played the cook for Shirley and her mother (Evelyn Venable). There wasn’t much for the actress to do with the role, and it was a definite waste of her talents. Four years later, she would deservedly win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role of Mammy in “Gone with the Wind.” The scenes between her and Vivien Leigh (Scarlett) are some of my favorites, as McDaniel practically steals the spotlight from her.



In 1944, Shirley was paired for the second time with McDaniel in another David O. Selznick war drama, “Since You Went Away.” She played Fidelia, the housekeeper for the Hilton family. It doesn’t take long to see that Fidelia is as much a mother figure for the two Hilton girls (Jennifer Jones and Shirley) as their own mother (Claudette Colbert). This photo shows a scene not found in the final film.



From the vintage publicity caption:

SHE KNOWS HOW TO COOK…Shirley Temple prepares some candy that she is planning to send to her father overseas while Hattie McDaniel looks on a bit dubiously at the amount of butter that she is using in a scene from David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away.” Included in the stellar cast are Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore, and Robert Walker with John Cromwell directing.

Apparently, McDaniel’s dying wish was to be buried in the Hollywood Cemetery (now called Hollywood Forever) on Hollywood Boulevard. Due to segregation at the time (1952), she was buried at her second choice, Rosedale (now known as Angelus-Rosedale), southwest of downtown Los Angeles. In 1999 the new owner of Hollywood Forever offered to have McDaniel re-interred there. Her family did not wish to disturb her remains and declined. Instead, Hollywood Forever Cemetery built a large cenotaph on the lawn overlooking its lake:



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.