Temple Tuesday: Back to the Commissary

In November 1948, Shirley Temple returned to 20th Century-Fox to make the movie, “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College.” Unsatisfied with the films that Darryl Zanuck was picking for their daughter, Shirley’s parents bought out the rest of her Fox contract in 1940 and left the studio. A “Welcome Back” party was held at the Fox Commissary for Shirley where many of her former coworkers popped up to celebrate. In the first photo on the far left is Frances Klamt, Shirley’s teacher. You can see her much better in this next shot, which also features Shirley’s stand-in, Mary Lou Isleib:



How Shirley and Frances looked in 1938 as they left her Fox Bungalow to commence filming on “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” Where do the years go?



In ten years, Shirley’s career had seen a few changes. “Belvedere” was all about Clifton Webb’s character, Lynn Belvedere, and Shirley was the supporting character this time around. In this photo from the party, Clifton fiddles while director Elliott Nugent looks somewhat bored smoking his cigarette.



Note the mural behind Nugent:



Still there!



This publicity still for “Belvedere” sums up the situation: Clifton in the lead, Shirley in the background.



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley Returns to Fox

In November 1948, Darryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century Fox had a little “Welcome Home, Shirley” party at the Commissary, in honor of Shirley returning to the lot after an eight-year absence. She was about to begin filming “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College.” Here, Zanuck pins an orchid on Shirley, and then welcomes her co-star Clifton Webb:



Jane Withers, who played Shirley’s bratty nemesis in “Bright Eyes” showed up with husband William Moss:



...and how the two girls looked fourteen years earlier. My how they have grown!



In her autobiography Child Star, Shirley wrote that her mother elected to skip the party for a visit to the doctor, but as you can see from this photo, both her parents attended, despite the differences they had with Zanuck towards the end of Shirley’s contract at Fox.



No idea who these folks are, and from the look on Shirley’s face, she probably ducked away soon after this photo was shot.



Shirley examines a box of roses with former co-star George Murphy; not sure who the other young lady is, but it doesn’t appear to be the woman he was married to at the time.



George and Shirley a decade beforehand (note Claude Gillingwater, who played the judge) in “Little Miss Broadway”:



Former costars Charlotte Greenwood and C. Aubrey Smith gave Shirley a warm welcome:



Jack Oakie, Shirley, and Charlotte Greenwood from eight years before in “Young People”:



Shirley and Smith in 1937’s “Wee Willie Winkie”:



Shirley and her stand-in, Mary Lou Isleib, surround their former schoolteacher, Frances Klamt:



Shirley and Mary Lou back in 1938 on the set of “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm”:



The uncomfortable shot of the evening goes to…Richard Widmark and Shirley!



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: The Boy Next Door

We often hear about how Shirley Temple came THIS CLOSE to having the role of Dorothy that made Judy Garland a legend. What you probably don’t hear about is something else they actually DID share: the boy next door. Surely you remember him. He’s the guy who lived at 5133 Kensington Avenue that inspired Judy to sing “The Boy Next Door” in 1944’s “Meet Me In St. Louis.” He was played by Tom Drake, who had a moderately successful career but definitely not one that would pop to the top of most memorable. He was born Alfred Sinclair Alderdice; I can see why he changed his name. That’s a mouthful for a billboard. Once was not enough for Judy though; she also made “Words and Music” with him in 1948. They only had a few seconds of screen time together though, as she was only on board for two musical numbers. That’s Janet Leigh (of “Psycho” fame) on the right.



In 1949, Shirley won Drake away from Judy, as she was the one who ended up with him in “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College,” also starring Clifton Webb.



It’s a mildly amusing film with Shirley as a war widow with a son; Drake plays a college student job coordinator. Of course they fall in love, but not without a few little roadblocks along the way.



It may have all been a moot point, as it appears based on a few sources that Tom actually preferred “the boy next door.”

See more Shirley photos at my main website.

Screen Gem Saturdays: Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney was one of the classic beauties of 20th Century Fox during the 1940's. Her most famous film is the 1944 film noir classic, "Laura." Who else but Tierney could have made a man fall in love with her, simply by gazing at him from a painting? Here are two shots of Tierney from "Laura" with her co-star Clifton Webb, back when smoking was glamorous and lung cancer wasn't even a blip on people's radars. Supposedly Tierney began smoking to make her voice more husky.



My favorite Tierney movie is "The Ghost And Mrs. Muir," which had a distinctly different tone from the situation comedy that followed it some twenty years later. Here is Gene with Rex Harrison, who was also perfectly cast as the gruff Captain Gregg.



See more Golden Age of Hollywood photos on my Classic Movies & TV web page.