Temple Tuesday: Shirley for Halloween!

Today’s Temple Tuesday celebrates the upcoming “holiday” of Halloween. Although Shirley is typically associated with all things sugar and spice, nobody liked a good scare better than Miss Temple! While there are no specific Halloween sequences in any of Shirley’s films (that I can recall, at least), she does have a few that could qualify for today’s post. In her early Fox film, “The Little Colonel” (1935), Shirley’s character must reach her grandfather at night to enlist his aid in saving her parents. To get to him, she has a terrifying run through a forest and encounters an owl with glowing eyes. Keep in mind this sequence pre-dated similar ones found in Disney’s “Snow White” (1937) and “The Wizard of Oz” (1939). Shirley was always a trailblazer!



In “The Blue Bird” (1940), siblings Tyltyl and Mytyl (Johnny Russell and Shirley) take a frightening journey through the graveyard with their evil cat, Tylette (Gale Sondergaard), just before the stroke of midnight.



Not wanting to return to her feline form, Tylette attempts to trap the little children in the cemetery… FOREVER!



Later in the same movie, Tylette tries to have the children scared off by arranging to have the trees in the forest attack them…



AND THEN BURN THEM! Instead, karma bites Tylette in the ass and she’s the one who gets incinerated. As I often say, don’t mess with Shirley!



In her private life, Shirley also loved to dress up, such as this costume party at Ciro’s nightclub on Sunset Boulevard, with then husband John Agar. Shirley came as Alice in Wonderland.



For this 1948 party, Shirley recycled a movie costume from seven years before (“Kathleen”), but added a period wig for some Marie Antoinette flair.



Agar most likely borrowed his wardrobe from “Fort Apache.” 



In her 1950’s Fairy Tale Anthology series, “Shirley Temple’s Storybook,” there were plenty of witches, but typically they were portrayed by other actresses. The Halloween episode of “Rapunzel” was first broadcast on October 27, 1958. Carol Lynley played the title role and Agnes Moorehead was the witch. This pre-dated her role of Endora in “Bewitched.”



“The Shirley Temple Show” 1960 episode of “Babes in Toyland” allowed Shirley to gleefully play the role of Floretta, the gypsy witch. Shirley relished the opportunity to be almost unrecognizable in her makeup and costume!



I hope you all have a fun Halloween this week!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Babes in Town Square

Walt Disney was into sustainability years before it became a buzz word. Once the 1960 Disney feature, “Babes in Toyland” was wrapped, the soundstages had to be cleared for the making of the next studio film. Rather than discard or waste storage space for the elaborate sets and props from “Toyland,” Walt had them moved over to his Anaheim Park and converted into an attraction for his Main Street Opera House.



From December 1961 through September 1963, the sets on display included Mother Goose Square, The Toy Factory, and Forest of No Return. These two December 1961 images show the signage in front of the Opera House beckoning guests to come inside.



From May 1962:



This August 1962 image is the best shot in my collection of the signage in front.



From 1963-1964 the Opera House became the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters, as seen in this September 1963 image: 





The next two shots from February 1964 show that the little guard booths in front of the Opera House from “Babes in Toyland” remained.





May 1964:



…and November 1964:



In 1965, the Opera House finally got a real attraction of its own, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, seen in this August 1965 shot:



Below is a screenshot from the 1960 film, showing the sets from Mother Goose Village:



Side-by-side comparison shots from the Devlin family, who visited the inside of the Opera House and posed by the sets from the film:







See more Disneyland Opera House photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Winters for Winter

For the December 25, 1960 Christmas episode of “The Shirley Temple” TV show on NBC, Shirley chose to present Victor Herbert’s “Babes in Toyland.” In the introduction, Shirley’s three children joined her: Charles, Lori, and Linda Susan.



Shirley herself played Floretta, the gypsy:



Almost unrecognizable under all the makeup, it’s a crack-up to see Shirley hamming it up in this unexpected part. The episode also featured comedian Jonathan Winters as the evil Barnaby and Angela Cartwright (“Lost in Space” and “The Sound of Music”) as Jane:



Most enjoyable are the comic scenes between Winters and Temple:



Here’s a publicity still for the episode, showing Shirley with Floretta’s tamborine:



From the accompanying blurb:

12/5/60-HOLLYWOOD: Comedian Jonathan Winters, in Hollywood to appear on Shirley Temple’s Christmas show on NBC-TV, says he has given up the nightclub appearances which caused a bundle of personal problems by keeping him away from home. He says “I had to make a decision, either go on the road or stay home with the kids.” Jonathan plans to work in TV and do some concert dates. He is shown with Shirley as they cut-up during rehearsals.



You might also recognize Joe Besser (one of the later Three Stooges), Carl Ballantine (“McHale’s Navy”), and Jerry Colonna, who had costarred with Shirley in “Little Miss Broadway” (1938). The boom microphone visible at the top of the still also makes a few unfortunate appearances in the episode itself! A few more production shots:





Winters had also starred in the September 18, 1960 episode, “The Land of Oz,” this time as Lord General Nikidik.



Once again, Winters played a villain, although it was hard not to like this comic genius even when he was playing evil!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Mickey at the Opera

Today’s post is a mixed bag of new and previously published shots showing Mickey Mouse in front of the Disneyland Main Street Opera House. These were taken during the period when the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters resided inside the grand structure. Guarded by Toy Soldiers from the Babes in Toyland movie, it was a great temporary attraction while Walt figured out what to do with the building. First shot is from September 1963.



Two from February 1964:





Ah, my birth month and year! May 1964. What kind of partnership is Mickey forming with this mysterious lady in sunglasses?



Love the little girl with the pink purse; she already knows how to pose like a super model, circa November 1964.



Notice the people in line inside in this detail shot...and the poor little ginger boy who did not make the photo. Probably plotting his revenge at the very moment this photo was taken.



By July 1965, Walt put “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” inside the Opera House and Disneyland attraction history was made. Here are two Genuine FauxD© images from August 28, 1965:





See more Disneyland Opera House photos at my main website.

Mickey at the Opera

To make up for my snafu in a previous post, here are some actual vintage shots of Mickey Mouse in front of the Opera House back when it was the headquarters for the Mickey Mouse Club. This one is circa September 1963.

Anybody care to have this sign in their home?



This slide was stamped February 1964, but since the Babes in Toyland wooden soldier is still in front, I am sure the photo was taken much earlier. Note how the opening time has 9:30 instead of 9am in the previous image.



More Disneyland Opera House at my main website.

Babes in Toyland at Disneyland

Here we have the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland, circa May 1962. Nothing really remarkable seems to be going on until we zoom in. On the right, the Dapper Dans are split into two, with each duo sharing a bicycle-built-for-two. At the Opera House entrance area itself, there are red letters that say, "Babes in Toyland Village."



The 1961 Disney movie "Babes In Toyland" starred Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands.



It was a colorful live-action film that turned a very modest profit, never really having the following of some of the other live-action classics that came out of the studio at the time.

In a definite case of recycling, Walt took the fanciful sets that seemed more stage-like and had them put into the Main Street Opera House.



Longtime readers of Daveland have seen this 1962 portrait of the Devlin family who were frequent visitors of the park. What makes this shot so remarkable is that it gives a rare view of the "Babes in Toyland" sets:



For the first time here is a comparison shot:



A 1963 Devlin family portrait:



followed by the comparison shot:



From all that I have read, the "Babes in Toyland" sets only stayed at the Opera House from December 1961 through September 1963, yet this September 1964 Devlin family photo clearly shows a staircase that was used in the film.



Perhaps the staircase stayed behind when the Opera House was being used as the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters.



Are you wanting more? Of course you are; you're only human…at least I hope you are. March on over to my main website and see more photos (vintage AND current) of the Disneyland Opera House.