Part 3 of the Shirley Temple on location series takes us to Pasadena, where a mansion was used in a deleted scene from 1936’s “Poor Little Rich Girl.” And for those who don't like to read or won't make it to the end, I want to say up front HUGE thanks to author and Shirley Temple expert supreme Rita Dubas for supplying much of the vintage material used in today's post. If Rita doesn't know it, NOBODY does!! Big thanks to Melissa, aka “The Colonel,” who did much of the research about the estate that was used here.
From an early draft of the script dated January 13, 1936, accompanied with a few surviving publicity stills and behind-the-scenes shots:
FADE IN — DAY
Behind the titles are flashes of the Barry estate in Westchester - - the great house on the hill - - fish pools - - fountains - - terraces and all the other things that go with a moderately wealthy estate.
1 MED. LONG SHOT - LODGE
The lodge is built about a heavy, ornate, grilled gate. A large delivery truck of the Rolls-Royce type drives up. A caretaker opens the iron gates and the delivery truck drives through.
8 MED. SHOT - POOL
Barbara (Shirley Temple) is on a small pony, riding around a pool a couple of hundred yards from the iron fence. Stebbins, a stiff English butler, is walking beside her.
9 MED. CLOSE MOVING SHOT - BARBARA
Barbara is dressed in correct riding costume, but is bouncing up and down in the saddle.
The January 17 draft had Barbara riding in a horse cart, pulled by Stebbins the butler, who now plays the horse. A cost-saving measure, perhaps? Regardless, this is what the publicity stills show.
For whatever reason these scenes were cut (and I'll assume it was a matter of time and lack of necessary support to the story), the Mansion and property itself was also completely cut out of the movie. The estate shown in a brief clip at the opening of the film is a completely different home.
Today’s post pays tribute to the home that ALMOST made it into a Shirley Temple movie. Designed in 1929 by architect Paul Revere Williams (the first African American to belong to the American Institute of Architects), the tudor style mansion was the home of thoroughbred horse breeder Jack Pease Atkin. The 12,000-square-foot mansion overlooked the Arroyo, the Colorado Street Bridge, and the snow-capped San Gabriel mountains. We are talking multi-million dollar view. Before his death in 1938, Atkin rented his estate to Hollywood film crews to fund soup kitchens for the Depression-era poor of Los Angeles. Some of the films included “Topper” and “The Bells of St. Mary’s.” Here are two vintage 1933 shots of the main house:
Not surprisingly, it has often been confused with Wayne Manor from the 1966 “Batman” series. Different house, but apparently in the same neighborhood.
How it looked in the 1991 Kathleen Turner movie “V.I. Warshawski”:
Sadly, this gorgeous home was burned in a massive fire in October of 2005, just as it was being restored by Michael Hammer, the grandson of the late industrialist Armand Hammer. $15 million worth of damage and the family was about a month away from moving in. Ouch. Another fire in 2013 scorched much of the property, as you can see from this Google earth view:
From the street, everything looks fairly normal. Here’s the gate that was to be used in the opening scene of “Poor Little Rich Girl”:
Perhaps Shirley peered out from this very fence:
The gatehouse still stands to the left of the entrance:
A vintage light along the driveway has definitely seen better days:
The fountain/waterfall where Shirley once sat for a publicity still is now nothing but a pile of rubble:
There are still some remnants of the grandeur that once existed here, including this double staircase with a fountain in the center:
Note the lion detail from this fountain:
Not to be confused with the fish that can be seen in the still of Shirley sitting by the fountain/waterfall:
The back wall of that fish fountain still exists; the same one that Shirley rode by in her pony cart:
The remnants of the original mansion have long since been removed and currently a foundation has been poured:
The multi-million dollar view is still there; note the Colorado Street Bridge!
Here’s a vintage article from the day, talking about Shirley filming here:
And what about this outfit?
In the 2015 Love, Shirley Temple auction, it surfaced with this photo:
...and catalog description:
Comprising yellow knit short-sleeved sweater with pocket, along with twill jodhpurs with constructed pockets, and cuffs, with belt loops (belt missing), and with black leather ankle boots. Generally excellent. The sweater is marked Made in Austria for J.W. Robinson Co. and the pants are marked Bullock's Wilshire Sportswear. A particular favorite costume of Shirley Temple, especially given her love of horses, the costume was used in a number of publicity photographs of the 1936/37 era.
It is now treasured by a member of Shirley’s Army, the group that tirelessly fights to keep Shirley’s memory alive.
Could there be another installment? You bet your sweet bippy there is!
See more Shirley photos at my main website.
