Temple Tuesday: From Riches to Rags and Back Again!

In the 1939 Shirley Temple Technicolor classic, “The Little Princess,” when Sara Crewe’s father (and fortune) is lost during the Boer War, evil schoolmistress Miss Minchin (Mary Nash) removes the child from her luxurious suite of rooms and sends her up to the attic. Besides dust, dirt, and cobwebs, the little girl only has her doll, Emily, to keep her company.



Don’t feel bad for Shirley; she still had the use of a plush limo to take her to the set every day!



Below is a still from a deleted scene, showing Sara cleaning Miss Minchin’s office while the old bag watches.



Once jealous of Sara’s former coveted position with Miss Minchin, rich bitch Lavinia (Marcia Mae Jones) delights in bossing around the poor little girl who is now forced to work off her debt as a scullery maid.



After one of her many failed hospital searches and a fight with the old bag, Sara goes to sleep in tears. We are treated to a dream sequence where she becomes a princess.



AND a ballerina!



In this still, we see both Shirley as the princess AND Shirley as the ballerina. How can this be?



If you look closer, you can see that it’s Mary Lou Isleib, Shirley’s stand-in, on the throne.



When Sara wakes up from her fantasy, her room has become a den of luxury! Since it’s a Shirley movie, there is no explanation of how her benefactor was able to lift the bed, put a fur rug, change the linens, and redecorate the entire room without little Sara waking up. Don’t be a curmudgeon, it’s a Shirley Temple movie!



Once she rubs the surprise from her eyes, little Sara invites her friend and next door neighbor Becky (Sybil Jason) to enjoy a delicious breakfast.



Renewed and refreshed, Sara delivers some much needed revenge in the form of an ash bucket dumped on Lavinia.



One take was enough for Marcia Mae Jones!

See more Shirley Temple “Little Princess” photos at my main website.