Here we have a vintage postcard showing Francis Carpenter (thanks Melissa, aka “The Colonel”), who was a child star for Fox Studio during the silent era. His short career lasted from 1915-1923 and included roles in “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp” (1917), “Jack and the Beanstalk” (1917), “Treasure Island” (1918), and “Rip Van Winkle” (1921). Below, you can see him posing with another famous Fox child star, Shirley Temple in 1934.
Here’s the accompanying caption:
A ONE-TIME CHILD STAR VISITS THE NEWEST FIND. Francis Carpenter, child star of silent days under the Fox Film banner, made a visit to his old home “lot” during filming of “Baby Take A Bow” to visit Shirley Temple, blonde and be-dimpled starlet featured in the film with James Dunn and Claire Trevor.
Francis was 24 at the time this photo was taken and Shirley was 6. How do I know?
Because the magazine rolled up in Francis’ hand is the May 19, 1934 issue of Liberty; Francis’ birthday was May 10, and Shirley’s was April 23. They had both recently celebrated at the time the photo was taken on the set of “Baby Take a Bow.”
I found little else about Carpenter other than he died in 1973 shortly after turning 63. However, I did find this interesting article about his 1917 “Aladdin” film, and how Disney has quietly dumped the older Fox films into the figurative vault, making them inaccessible to future audiences. The article is part of a series titled “Forgotten By Fox” that ended in December 2020.
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
2 comments:
Unreal how you can track down that magazine by just that one slice of it in the image.
I knew the year was 1934; I knew by the typeface and letters showing that it was Liberty and not Life...the rest was just sorting through old ebay listings!
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