Temple Tuesday: Guy Goes Dress Shopping

In the 1936 movie “Captain January,” Guy Kibbee’s character takes Shirley shopping for a new dress so that she can look her best for her school examination. However, the poor guy has no money and has to borrow it from the local widow to pay for it.



How’d he do? Obviously not too bad, as you can see in this publicity still where Shirley is wearing the dress. FYI: of course she passed the exam with flying colors, too!



The dress was also copied by the Ideal Toy Company and sold with the ever popular 1930’s Shirley Temple dolls.



Six years later in “Miss Annie Rooney,” Kibbee plays Shirley’s grandfather. It’s like déjà vu all over again. Shirley needs a dress for her society debut at her boyfriend’s birthday party, and poor Guy...hardly any money. He has to pay for the dress with money from his pension fund. Was it worth it?



Of course! Shirley is a hit and lands herself a rich boyfriend who probably put Guy up in a rich folk’s retirement community!



Another six years go by and Shirley and Guy costar in a third film together: John Ford’s “Fort Apache.” I’ll just bet you there was a deleted scene where Guy took Shirley shopping for this blue striped number!



Thumbs up for Guy Kibbee; his characters may have been poor, but they were certainly rich in fashion taste!

See more Shirley photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley, Dickie, and Disney

At the time this August 1933 photo was taken, Dickie Moore was a much bigger child star than Shirley. He’d already made movies with some of the greats: Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich, and Barbara Stanwyck. He did a one year stint with “Our Gang” in 1933 and then portrayed the title role in “Oliver Twist.” The publicity blurb on this charming still says:

“Dickie Moore, cunning child motion picture actor, and adorable Shirley Temple, child actress, are, respectively, manager and director of the Mickey Mouse Puppet show now playing to capacity crowds in the Hollywood Assistance League nursery. The crew is pictured playing Mickey and Minnie with cookies and tea back-stage between acts of the show. Photo shows Dickie Moore and little Shirley Temple, serving tea to Mickey and Minnie Mouse back-stage at the puppet show the youngsters are giving at the Hollywood Assistance League, leading charitable organization.”

The Assistance League was established in 1919 by Anne Banning and Ada Edwards Laughlin. Recognize the Laughlin name? She was the daughter-in-law of Homer Laughlin, whose art deco dishes fill my cabinets! But that’s another story. The first Assistance League raised money for Day Nursery, Girl’s Club, and other philanthropic programs. Many Hollywood celebrities participated in the league’s charitable events, including Jean Harlow. Shirley’s own involvement ran much longer than just this publicity shot opportunity; according to a San Diego Union-Tribune article published shortly after Shirley’s death:

“She was delightful,” recalled Marilyn Knowlden. That was 80 years ago when both had been cast in the 1934 film, “As the Earth Turns.” In the end, a schedule conflict prevented Temple from doing the movie, but they acted together four years later in the film, “Just Around the Corner.” She admired and respected her fellow actress. “Shirley was very intelligent and very committed to acting,” Knowlden recalled. “She worked hard. She always knew her lines. Plus, she was a very skilled dancer and always sang on pitch.” The last time Knowlden ran into Temple, she had transformed into Mrs. Charles Black and was working behind the sales counter in an Assistance League gift shop in the couple’s hometown of Atherton as a volunteer — another of Shirley’s passions.

Back to Dickie, Minnie, and Minnie! As fate would have it, I found one of the Mickey Mouse marionettes pictured with Shirley and Dickie online.





The torn paper tag on the bottom of Mickey’s foot says: “Manufactured for Bullocks Wilshire by license arrangement with Walter E. Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse.” Bullocks was a luxury department store located on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and was the flagship of the Bullock’s store chain. In 1933, Bullock's commissioned the Hestwood Marionette Studio of Glendale, California and Henri Gordon to create marionettes featuring Disney characters, such as the Mickey & Minnie pictured above. They were made of composition, wood, and cloth: the ears felt and Minnie’s hat was velvet. They were approximately 12" tall.



Nine years later, the careers of both Dickie and Shirley were on the skids. They were teamed together for “Miss Annie Rooney,” where Shirley received her first screen kiss.



Barely a chaste peck on the cheek, it received worldwide press attention.

See more Shirley photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley Gets Schooled!

By 1942, Shirley Temple had blossomed into a very pretty teenager. Despite her maturity, she still had to be tutored while filming “Miss Annie Rooney” in order to meet the state educational requirements. How about those roses in the background? I wonder who the admirer was...or what the occasion could be?

In this second shot, Shirley’s veteran stand-in, Mary Lou Isleib, also appears to be hitting the books as well. Do you see Shirley’s coat flung over the chair on the right?



Here’s an onset publicity still from “Miss Annie Rooney” showing Shirley wearing that same coat:



This previously posted shot is of Shirley learning choreography from the legendary Nick Castle (avec cigarette!). Her costar, Dickie Moore, is at right (sans cigarette!). Even though he had a dance double later in the movie, he attempted a few steps in the scene where the two meet.



See more teenage Shirley photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: All in the Details

Shirley’s second attempt at a “comeback” after her childhood career ended was 1942’s “Miss Annie Rooney.” While it was a bomb at the box office, today it holds up as a cute glimpse into teen life of the 1940s, and of course Shirley is nothing less than charming. The movie was touted for Shirley’s first on-screen kiss; it wasn’t on the lips though. This is as close as Dickie Moore gets:



When wrong-side-of-the-tracks Annie (Shirley) goes to Marty’s (Dickie) high society birthday bash, she is snubbed by the other teenage girls in the powder room.



Recognize the gal on the left?



It’s none other than June Lockhart of “Lost in Space” fame. She also attended school with Shirley at Westlake.



The other trio of girls snubs Shirley, too. Recognize the gal at the center of the trio?



Noel Neill, best known as Lois Lane in the “Superman” TV show, shown with George Reeves (aka Superman).



The girl at the right of the trio is Mary Lou Isleib, Shirley’s good friend and stand-in, in a rare on-screen (but uncredited) appearance with Shirley.



Apparently Dickie Moore was not capable of dancing the jitterbug with Shirley. The solution for the shoestring budget production was to have a dance double who wore a very obvious rubber mask. Look at the edges!



Another shot of Mary Lou on the left; you can still see some of those Shirley-curls that she had to sport for years!



The last shot of the movie shows Shirley holding Dickie Moore’s hands. See her bracelet?



Shirley either snuck this in or the production company didn’t care that it spelled out “Shirley” and her character was named Annie. Here’s how the bracelet looked when it was auctioned off from Shirley’s personal collection a few years ago:



She also wore it in the glamorous publicity stills shot by George Hurrell:









See more teen Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Comeback Shirley

For Temple Tuesday I have a medley of photos related to not one but TWO comebacks Shirley experienced in the early 1940s. The first photo shows Shirley at age three and was re-published to coincide with her first "comeback" in 1941. Here's the accompanying publicity blurb:

THE QUEEN RETURNS!…After an absence of a year and a half from the screen, Shirley Temple is returning to the scenes of her former triumphs. The little golden-haired girl who danced her way into the hearts of millions is now older and taller. Her golden curls have turned brunette; her voice is stinger and more precise than before. Her first picture is "The Girl on the Hill" which she is making for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. With her in the picture are Herbert Marshall, Laraine Day, Gail Patrick, and Felix Bressart. Harold S. Bucket directed, George Haight, produced.

3. WHEN SHIRLEY WAS THREE her mother started giving her dancing lessons. After three lessons she was offered a screen test by a film talent scout.

This photo shows Shirley as "Kathleen" (which is what "The Girl on the Hill" was retitled for release) in a dream sequence.



Shirley was able to keep all of her outfits (part of her contract at Fox, too). This particular outfit got re-used at a 1948 costume party she attended with first husband John Agar.



Almost 70 years later the very same outfit hit the auction block, looking minty fresh. Shirley knew how to take care of her clothes!



The auction also included the shoes and fan. What a deal!



A shot of the auction itself before it landed in the hands of Nick The Vintage Costume Collector:



After "Kathleen" did tepid box office, Shirley took some more time off before returning to the screen in "Miss Annie Rooney." Here she is on set with choreographer Nick Castle and costar Dickie Moore. Castle was a very popular choreographer, with a number of well known films to his credit: Judy Garland's "Summer Stock," Fred Astaire's "Royal Wedding," and "State Fair" with Ann-Margret.



The scene Shirley was rehearsing for is shown here in this vintage 1942 lobby card:



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.<

Temple Tuesday: Almost a Kiss

Shirley Temple officially entered the teen years in Hollywood with the release of "Miss Annie Rooney" in 1942. Hailed as the movie where Shirley gets her first on-screen romantic kiss, this low-budget Edward Small production flopped at the box office. Here's Shirley on-set between takes.



Today, it's the first Shirley Temple film to make it to Bluray; here's a screen cap of that extremely chaste peck...in which Dickie Moore and Shirley don't even connect lips!



Movie posters warned Glamour Girls to beware...Shirley was entering their territory. A photo session with famous Hollywood photographer George Hurrell was further proof of this:



You can read a review of the recently released Blu Ray version of "Miss Annie Rooney" on Blu-ray.com

More 1940's Shirley at my main website.