Temple Tuesday: Jane Darwell

Today’s post pays tribute to character actress Jane Darwell (1879-1967). She was born Patti Woodard in Palmyra, Missouri. Edited from the Find a Grave website:

Her father was a railroad executive who disapproved of her interest in theatre. Despite the disapproval, she continued working in theatre and made her film debut in 1912. It would be the first of over 200 film performances. Her first notable performances in talking pictures came in 1930 and 1931 when she played the part of the Widow Douglas in the films “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn.”

She was a frequent Shirley Temple costar, beginning with the film “Change of Heart” (1934) starring Janet Gaynor, Ginger Rogers, James Dunn, and Charles Farrell. Both Darwell and Temple have bit parts in the film, but no scenes together. Darwell played the mother of Dunn’s character (screenshot below) in a short scene at the beginning of the film:



…and Shirley had a cameo with Charles Farrell (seen above) as he makes her a paper airplane aboard a real airplane. In “Bright Eyes” (1934), Shirley and Jane had a number of scenes together. Darwell played the feisty cook, Mrs. Higgins, who adores Shirley but hates the bratty little child (portrayed by Jane Withers) of her snooty employer.


 
In the film, Shirley’s character (also named Shirley!) borrows one of the large stockings from the plus-sized Mrs. Higgins so that Santa will have more room to give her all the gifts she’d like to have!


 
Next up was “Curly Top” (1935) with Darwell as Mrs. Denham, the kindly matron of the orphanage where Shirley’s character lives with her sister. Mrs. Denham is key in getting the wealthy Edward Morgan (John Boles, seen below with Darwell) to adopt the two girls.



Two screenshots below from the film, showing Mrs. Denham and Mrs. Higgins (Rafaela Ottiano) crying as the two sisters leave the orphanage.



Above, Mrs. Denham attends the benefit where little Shirley performs “When I Grow Up” so that the orphans can get some new equipment for the playground.

In “Captain January” (1936) Darwell portrayed the widow Eliza Croft, who has the hots for Shirley’s guardian, played by Guy Kibbee.



A few brief scenes between the two in “Poor Little Rich Girl (1936), with Darwell playing yet another housekeeper.



Darwell’s final silver screen pairing with Temple was “Little Miss Broadway” (1938). This time, she actually runs the orphanage that Shirley is adopted from. Finally, a career move up!



Darwell was a busy gal, playing bit parts in several other movies over the years. In “Gone with the Wind” (1939), she memorably portrayed the neighborhood gossip, Mrs. Merriwether.



More from Find a Grave:

Her career took a new path when she landed the role of the James Brothers' mother in the 1939 Tyrone Power/Henry Fonda film "Jesse James." It would be the first of several times she would play the mother of Henry Fonda on film. One of those times came in 1940 when she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Ma Joad in the classic film "The Grapes Of Wrath."

Below, you can see a clip showing multiple takes of Darwell accepting the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Grapes.” The 13th Academy Awards was held at the Biltmore Bowl of the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on February 27, 1941. She had stiff competition, beating out Judith Anderson (“Rebecca”), Ruth Hussey (“The Philadelphia Story”), Barbara O’Neil (“All This and Heaven Too”), and Marjorie Rambeau (“Primrose Path”).



Shirley hired Darwell for her television anthology series, “The Shirley Temple Show,” specifically the episode titled “The Fawn,” which first aired on February 5, 1961. Shirley was the narrator and Darwell played Grandma in the story that also featured Robert Crawford, Jr. (seen below).



Her final role in “Mary Poppins” (1964) was brief but extremely touching. From the Walt Disney Family Museum website:

Walt [Disney] took special care to ensure that the “Feed the Birds” sequence in Mary Poppins would be memorable. As Robert Sherman would explain, “One of the more beautiful moments in the history of movie making occurred as we were casting and filming the ‘Feed the Birds’ sequence. It’s one of those rare instances where life and art became one in the same thing.” During production of the Disney film in the summer of 1963, actor Jane Darwell was 83 years old. With a film career that stretched back to as early as 1913, she was among the most respected actors in the industry, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance of Ma Joad in 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath. She was living at the Motion Picture Country Home, a noted residence for retired film actors and artists. “Walt offered her the part of the Bird Woman, but in doing so, he also treated her as the star she had once been,” Robert Sherman recalled. “He sent her a script and a letter via special messenger (as opposed to US Mail) and had a limousine and driver pick her up once for a meeting and then again on the day of the shoot. Miss Darwell was tremendously excited to be a part of Mary Poppins and must have felt gratified to have been remembered after so many years away from the limelight. I think it was a particularly poetic thing of Walt to have done this. After all, as Walt said referring to ‘Feed the Birds,’ ‘That’s what it’s all about,’ doing just a little extra and going just a little bit out of your way to make someone feel special. Sometimes it can make all the difference in the world to a person.”



From the DVD commentary track one learns that Robert Sherman provided the speaking voice of Jane because Darwell’s voice was too soft to be heard on the soundtrack. He is heard saying her only line: “Feed the birds, tuppence a bag.”



It’s one of those magical moments where Andrews’ singing and Darwell’s performance together help bring on the waterworks. Watch the scene in the clip below:



Darwell died on August 13, 1967, after suffering a heart attack at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. Her obituary stated that she “had been residing at the hospital for the past two months, according to Maudie Hiser, her companion for 24 years.…The actress leaves a nephew, Winston Ogden, North Hollywood.” Reflecting on her career, Darwell stated, “I played either a grandmother or a housekeeper in every Shirley Temple film ever made.…I’ve played Henry Fonda’s mother so often that he calls me ma, and I call him son.” Darwell was married once in the 1920s, but was divorced within a year, according to her friends.

In other Shirley news, last month Deadline Hollywood broke this story:

EXCLUSIVE: Marty Tudor has been working with the family estate of Shirley Temple and will have access to the rights of the child actress-turned Ghana and Czechoslovakia ambassador across streaming, film, stage and more. There are also two unpublished autobiographies by Temple which Tudor is helping the estate get published. The life of Temple, who was discovered dancing in a theater lobby by Fox Film songwriter Jay Gorney, is largely an untapped IP; one prolific adaptation of her life was the 2001 Disney Channel movie, “Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story.” That was based on Temple’s autobiography of the same name and it starred Connie Britton. Tudor is an industry vet, who managed the careers of Paula Abdul and Jon Cryer, and of late has been behind a series of Hologram concert shows starting in 2018 with performances by the late Maria Callas, Roy Orbison, and Whitney Houston.…Temple began her film career in 1931. The 1934 movie Bright Eyes put her on the map as a singing child star with her signature ditty “On the Good Ship Lollipop”. In 1935, she received a miniature Juvenile Oscar. She did segue to roles as a teenager, notably starring opposite Cary Grant in 1947’s The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer which won an Oscar for Sidney Sheldon’s adapted screenplay.…Temple’s last movie was the 1949 comedy “A Kiss for Corliss” opposite David Niven. She hosted “Shirley Temple’s Storybook” from 1958-1961 before beginning her diplomatic career in 1969. Her friends included former FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover who gifted her a tear gas pen at the age of 20 to help protect her against any death threats. She also befriended Amelia Earhart; the duo reportedly known for their discussions about feminism, Hamlet and chewing gum. Temple as a child learned geography by tracing Earhart’s flights.“There’s so much more to American icon Shirley Temple’s life that people aren’t aware of. She was the U.S. delegate in the United Nations, a female Ambassador to Ghana and Czechslovakia, she was a breast cancer survivor, she fought sexism as the first female U.S. Chief of Protocol. What appeals to me, as a father of a daughter, is that Shirley continues to be an amazing inspiration and role model for young girls. We see a lot of kid actors who go the wrong way, she did not. There’s an amazing human being here with a big story who gave back as opposed to a pop star in it for the glory,” Tudor tells Deadline. The Temple Black family tells Deadline in a statement: “As the 100th anniversary of our Mom’s birthday approaches, we are so pleased at the idea of sharing with the world the lesser-known second half of her incredible life story. She often observed that ‘the Little Girl opened the door’, but then our Mom stepped through it, confident, courageous, authentic – all grown up.”

It would be amazing to have the rest of Shirley’s autobiography released!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Gems from Gold Gulch

Since I first posted about Gold Gulch, the short-lived western town in Balboa Park, I have acquired a few more beauties showing what a cool place it was…and why it should be revived again! This “Natural Color Post Card” gives an overall view of the fun that awaited guests once they traveled down the path to Gold Gulch. It is hard to believe that something this vibrant only existed less than a year.



Below is a candid of three gents hamming it up for the cameras:



A closeup of the posters that extolled the “virtues” and shows featured at Gold Gulch:



This second shot shows the three gents posed in front of Ma’s Dishpan Candy. No wonder this place didn’t stay after the Exposition. Not a very appetizing name!



Another vintage image of Gold Gulch:



Zooming in, you can see the coach that transported guests down the rural path to Gold Gulch:



Balboa Park would certainly benefit from an interesting little spot like this; it might even justify the loss of free parking, which is an entirely different topic that I will (slightly) refrain from grousing about here.
 
See more San Diego Balboa Park photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Turkey in the Desert

In 1936, actress Shirley Temple and her family enjoyed turkey in Palm Springs. From the accompanying caption:

Shirley Temple, spending a brief vacation on the desert here (at Desert Inn) is shown whetting a knife to carve a Thanksgiving turkey. While here the child actress is learning new dance routines, is swimming and getting a sun tan for her next picture. Associated Press Photo 11/24/1936

If you want to know what the Desert Inn looked like in 1936, check out the post card below, stamped December 3, 1936. Perhaps this person crossed paths with Shirley!



Below is an ad from 1936 for the Desert Inn. Sun-lazing sounds faaaaaaaabulous!



Local papers were abuzz reporting about Shirley’s visit. From The Desert Sun, November 27, 1936:

Shirley Temple has been resting at the Desert Inn for a few days, accompanied by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Temple. After a few days in the sun Shirley was abloe to start work on several new songs for. her latest picture “Stowaway” which will be released around Christmas time. Gordon and Revel, famous song writers were here to help with the music.



“Stowaway” was filmed from late September 1936 to early December. Most likely, Shirley was working on the “That’s What I Want for Christmas” number which was tacked onto the end of the film at the last minute to coincide with its Christmas day released.



Elsewhere in the paper:

An informal tea was held at the Desert Inn Sunday afternoon [November 22]. Among those in the lounge for the occasion were Mrs. Wm. Warren Card of Paris, France, with her niece, Miss Martha Ann Henderson of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Bert Clark and daughter of Altadena; Mr. and Mrs. Marcus L. Lawrence of Rimrock, Arizona, and Washington, D.C.; Mrs. Albert Allaton, New York City, R. C. Sherriff, author of “Journey’s End,” and his mother from Esher Surrey, England; Mr. Jack Tidball, prominent tennis player; and Shirley Temple with her parents and a party of friends.

The Palo Verde Valley Times reported that Shirley and her mother also attended the 35th annual convention of the Southern Districts’ federation of women’s clubs, held in the Desert Inn. Mrs. Nellie Coffman, proprietor of the Inn, and Palm Springs pioneer, was signally honored at the convention. The paper also carried this ad for the popular Shirley Temple doll, also just in time for the Christmas holiday!



Below is all that’s left to remind Palm Springs tourists of what the Desert Inn once was:



See more Shirley Temple holiday photos at my main website.

The Art of Kapralik

For years, I have been obsessed by the art of Jacques Kapralik. Who? Yes, sadly, this genius is virtually unknown by name, but any film buff of the Golden Age of Hollywood has seen his brilliant work. At top is the promo art he did for “Girl Crazy” (1943), featuring stars Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. His caricatures are brilliant, and perfectly capture the subject with the most simple of lines. On top of that, he made brilliant use of mixed media to create 3D sculptures of sorts that added an extra dimension to the flat art used on posters, flyers, and even on-screen in title credits. Below is the back of the flyer that MGM sent out to promote the Garland-Rooney musical:



Here is his edited bio from the American Heritage Center website:

Kapralik was a commercial artist and caricaturist whose art was used in the promotion of motion pictures throughout Hollywood’s Golden Era of the 1930s-1950s. Born in Romania in 1906, Kapralik first worked for various European newspapers, drawing cartoons and caricatures of famous Europeans and important events. In 1936, Kapralik immigrated to the United States. He first provided celebrity caricatures for various newspaper columns focusing on Hollywood gossip and events. Kapralik was fortunate to work during a time considered the Golden Age of Hollywood and a zenith for celebrity caricatures. Movie studios were putting increased focus and publicity on their stars, attempting to make them household names. Kapralik’s output of celebrity caricatures increased as he left the newspaper world and began working for movie studios such as RKO, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Universal, and MGM, creating likenesses of Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, and Lucille Ball, among many others. He developed a distinctive and highly recognizable style for his studio publicity work, much of which was shown primarily in press kits and trade magazines such MGM’s Lion’s Roar Magazine, as well as the weekly Pictorial Review newspaper insert.



While heralded as a master of Hollywood caricature by industry insiders of the time, due to the nature of his work, today he remains relatively unknown to the general public. The caricature style Kapralik became most well-known for involved the creation of miniature models from paper and balsa wood. The models were then photographed and used as promotional posters for motion pictures, predominantly MGM films. These 3-D caricature scenes were incredibly elaborate and detailed, taking up to six weeks complete. Kapralik also created title sequences for films in the 1930s-1950s, an early innovator at a time when title sequences were just starting to evolve from simple text. His title sequence work included 20th Century Fox’s The Three Musketeers (1939) with the Ritz Brothers and MGM’S Presenting Lily Mars (1943) with Judy Garland. Aside from movie publicity, Kapralik also did advertising work for companies such as Nutrilite, S&W, and Squirt.

Below is Kapralik at work:



The 1940 MGM film “Go West” starred the zany Marx Brothers.



Kapralik’s innovative style matched perfectly with the Marx Trio:



Thanks to Shirley Temple expert supreme, Rita Dubas, I learned that the cute caricature of Shirley Temple in the title sequence of “Just Around the Corner” (1938) was done by Kapralik:



I did my best to recreate it in color digitally. Yes. I was obsessed with his work.



His work in the title sequence was significant because it captured Shirley’s new hairdo, with her curls pulled to the side of her head.



A few more pieces of Kapralik’s work, including the 1942 Hepburn-Tracy vehicle, “Woman of the Year”, which captures Hepburn’s haughty profile perfectly:



…and 1941’s “Honky Tonk” with Clark Gable and Lana Turner. This is one of the few misses for Kapralik, as this caricature looks nothing like Turner.



Below is a collage of four Judy Garland movies that Kapralik did the art for. Going clockwise from top left: “Andy Hardy Meets Debutante,” “Babes on Broadway,” “Little Nellie Kelly,” and “Presenting Lily Mars.”


Below is a screenshot of the title sequence from “Presenting Lily Mars” side by side with the original art, which I found at the Raphael Geroni website.



Want to see more of Kapralik’s work? Browse his collection at the American Heritage Center website.

See more photos and pop culture at my main website.

Fantasyland Friday: Storybook Land Changes

Storybook Land, like other attractions at Disneyland, has seen a number of changes over the years since it first opened in 1956. One such change included the move of Toad Hall so that Agrabah could be added to the attraction. This 1950s image shows the original location of Toad Hall:



Look at all that movement! Casey Jr. circles Storybook Land while the Canal Boats journey through the water. Two different views of the same attraction; a photographer’s dream!



Flash forward to the addition of the Aladdin tableau where Toad Hall once lived, showing the bustling city of Agrabah. In Storybook Land, you will not see any bustle, as it is purely architecture and landscaping; no people or characters. You have to use your imagination!



Fortunately, Toad Hall was spared and put in another area of the attraction. See the Windmill in the lower portion of the frame? Keep that in your brain for a second.



Ratty’s house was also moved:



In October, the Disney Parks Blog excitedly announced the addition of a “Tangled” tableau to Storybook Land;

One of Disneyland’s original rides has reopened after an extended closure for refurbishment and the addition of a modern movie setting: Rapunzel’s tower from the 2010 film “Tangled.” The Storybook Land Canal Boats reopened on Friday, once again taking guests on a journey past the miniature villages of Disney classics like “Pinocchio,” “Alice in Wonderland” and “Cinderella.”

When making a change to Walt’s original Park, Disney Corporation typically tries to justify it by trotting out his famous quote, “Disneyland will never be completed…as long as there is imagination in the world.” If only true imagination was used in some of those changes! Some of the historic info the blog gives about the attraction includes these tidbits:

Walt long had a fascination with miniatures, which he collected for many years. His love of these petite creations was an inspiration for the creation of the attraction that would become the Storybook Land Canal Boats. The attraction reopened as Storybook Land Canal Boats in June 1956, inviting guests to tour a tiny wonderland of fantastical realms. Residences from some favorite stories were painstakingly recreated at 1:12 scale and surrounded by impressive works of horticulture. Today, tours through the peaceful waters are narrated by expert cast member guides who point out landmarks from some favorite Disney stories, like the castle from Cinderella perched high on the hill and the humble workshop where Geppetto carves his wooden masterpieces. Over the years, the attraction has evolved to introduce iconic scenes and sounds from Disney Animation stories such as Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Frozen. On the opening day of Disneyland 70 years ago in 1955, Canal Boats of the World debuted as a serene boat ride. The attraction underwent a transformation months later to bring beloved, small-scale fairytales to life along the banks.

What they failed to mention is that in order to make room for “Tangled,” they removed the Windmills from “The Old Mill” (1937). If you want to honor the history of Disney, why would you rip out that significant scene?!? “The Old Mill” was one of the Silly Symphonies animated shorts produced by Walt Disney, and was the first use of his multiplane camera, which was instrumental in the look of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”(1937), released a month later. Below is a shot of said camera on display at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco:





In 2015, The Old Mill joined the Three Little Pigs as a Silly Symphonies short selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Below are a poster for the short as well as concept art by Gustav Tenggren:



This May 2007 image shows a good overall view of the area where Toad Hall exists, along with Gepetto’s Village and the Three Windmills. Hopefully, you were able to enjoy them before they were removed!



Faded closeups of two of the windmills from 1969:





Was there not enough imagination to figure out how to keep this historically significant scene?
 
See more Disneyland Storybook Land photos at my main website.