Temple Tuesday: The Art of Storytelling

Depending upon how it is told, a story can be riveting when delivered artfully or an absolute snoozer if presented as a series of dry facts. Darryl Zanuck realized due to box office returns that the public was getting tired of the standard Shirley Temple film, and if the aging child was to continue her career on a positive trajectory, more care would have to be taken with future films. “The Little Princess” is still one of Shirley’s most beloved films, thanks to its lavish (and well-spent) budget and the extra care that was taken in telling the story. Within the first ten minutes, all of the important plot points have been introduced. The main driver of the story is that little Sara Crewe (Shirley Temple) and her father have a very close bond and have rarely spent time apart, yet are about to be separated because of the Boer War. We are also introduced to the villainess, Miss Minchin (Mary Nash), who immediately shows herself to be two-faced, with an unhealthy regard for financial gain and social status. Her brother (Arthur Treacher) proves to be a jovial sort who is bullied by his snobbish sister.

Within the next few minutes, the romantic subplot between Miss Rose (Anita Louise) and the dashing Mr. Geoffrey (Richard Greene) appears, along with the knowledge that Miss Minchin does not approve of their alliance.

Additional supporting characters who will assist Sara in her journey include Ram Dass (Cesar Romero), the kindly servant of Mr. Geoffrey’s grandfather who keeps tabs on the little girl:

and Becky (Sybil Jason), the young scullery maid, who is Sara’s closest confidante:

Zanuck was known for moving his stories along quickly, removing any scenes that would be extraneous to the plot, thus holding the interest of the audience. Everything that occurs after the first portion of the film relates back to these characters and plot points.

All of these initial scenes build up the emotions of the audience to the first jolt of the film: Sarah’s father is in danger because of the war and won’t be able to make it back for her birthday party. This heightens our anxiety, brings up a number of questions (will Captain Crewe survive the war?), and also sets up future complications (he tells her to spend as much as she wants on her birthday party).

Just as we are teetering on the brink of sadness for Sara’s uncertain future, we breathe a sigh of relief when it is announced that the soldiers at Mafeking have been relieved:

…and the joyous birthday celebration is able to unfold exactly as planned, albeit without Sara’s father.

Don’t let your guard down too quickly, though. As it is with most riveting films, a moment of intense happiness is followed by one of utter despair.

It would be easy to make a chart of the peaks and valleys of emotions that this well-told story provides, slowly building to the exciting final crescendo. To see the fate of little Sarah you’ll have to watch “The Little Princess” for yourself.

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: WAMPAS!

The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the U.S. Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which annually honored 13 young actresses (15 in 1932) picked by a group of publicists whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. The campaign ran from 1922 to 1934 (except for 1930 and 1933 due to objections from independent film studios - boo hoo!). Awardees were honored at a party called the “WAMPAS Frolic” and were given a ton-o-publicity. When the campaign returned in 1934, freelance actresses AND studio contract players were included. The campaign bit the dust in 1935. Some of Shirley’s female costars were WAMPAS Baby Stars: Anita Louise (1931), Karen Morley (1931), Rochelle Hudson (1931), Ginger Rogers (1932), and Gloria Stuart (1932).



In this 1933 photo, Shirley is shown with some of those WAMPAS gals. The accompanying publicity blurb:

A BEAUTIFUL BRIDAL PARTY - FOR A BENEFIT. Toshi Mori, Patricia Ellis, Gloria Stuart, and Anita Louise, as bridesmaids and bride, and baby Shirley Jane Temple as the flower girl, present this beautiful party – at the fashion show staged by the Assistance League in which motion picture actresses take a very active part. June 26, 1933.



Doesn’t she look adorable in that dress?





That very same dress was kept all those years after by Shirley’s mother Gertrude, and then auctioned off in 2015 in the “Love, Shirley Temple” Theriault’s auction. It still looked to be in great shape!



The description from the catalog:

The full-length party dress, of sheer chiffon over ivory taffeta has high Empire bodice with detachable ruffled wrap trimmed with coral silk ribbon ties which cascade to the floor. The double rows of pleated ruffles on the wrap are repeated in three rows at the hemline which is of graduated length around the circumference. Excellent condition. The dress was designed for Shirley Temple for her 4th birthday party, and, a special favorite of the young child, appeared in many publicity and family photographs, one of which, a hand-colored photograph in which Shirley holds up the edges of her gown, is included here. In addition to wearing this costume at her 4th birthday party, Shirley Temple also wore the gown in 1933 at the WAMPAS awards for promising new talents. Realized Price: $4,500

If the dress was truly created in 1932 for Shirley’s 4th birthday, that would mean that the bride and bridesmaid dresses for the 1933 WAMPAS awards were made to match Shirley’s dress. Even as a 4 year old, Shirley had a lot of pull in the industry!

The Danbury Mint released a doll in the 1990’s expertly recreating Shirley as a flower girl and titled it by the same name:



Here is a still (courtesy of Melissa aka “The Colonel”) showing WAMPAS Baby Star Anita Louise in 1939 with Arthur Treacher and Shirley in “The Little Princess”:



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Happy 89th!

For what would have been Shirley Temple's 89th birthday last Sunday, April 23, I am posting this shot from "The Little Princess." Released in 1939, this movie is often viewed as the pinnacle of her childhood career, and the last one to make a really decent profit. Shirley is shown blowing out the candles on her birthday cake...right before she gets kicked to the curb by Miss Minchin (Mary Nash) when it's discovered that her father is penniless. Actress Anita Louise is on the left-hand side of the photo. The two girls peering over Anita's shoulder are Marcia Mae Jones and Deidre Gale.



Here's a previously posted shot of Shirley with Deidre and Marcia, right before she dumps a bucket of ashes over the two horrid girls.



Well, they were horrid in the movie. I'm sure they were much nicer in real life.

More 1930s Shirley at my main website.