Temple Tuesday: Dimples and Romance

Actress Astrid Allwyn had supporting roles in two back-to-back Shirley Temple films, starting with “Dimples” (released October 16, 1936) and followed by “Stowaway” (released December 25, 1936). Allwyn was born Astrid Christofferson on November 27, 1905 in South Manchester, Connecticut. At age 13, she was offered a scholarship to the Boston Conservatory of Music for her singing, but declined rather than move away from home. After high school graduation, she moved to New York, hoping for a career as a concert singer, but ended up taking classes at a business college and becoming a typist on Wall Street. She studied dancing and dramatics while in New York and later gathered experience by joining a stock company. Allwyn made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Elmer Rice’s “Street Scene,” and on the strength of her second play, “Once in a Lifetime,” was brought to Hollywood in 1932. Her first husband was actor Robert Kent, who also starred in “Dimples.” Although she played the gold-digging “other woman” in “Dimples” (Delma Byron, seen below with Robert Kent and Shirley, played the romantic lead) Allwyn ended up winning the leading man in real life. Ain’t that grand?



Allwyn told the story of how she and Kent fell in love in the November 1937 issue of Hollywood Magazine:

Astrid up and got herself married about six months ago to Robert Kent, 20th Century-Fox star, and a mighty good actor in his own right and a chap who is going places in the picture business before he is through. “Frank Morgan can take credit for the start of our romance,” Astrid reveals. “We were shooting a scene in the Shirley Temple picture “Dimples” where Robert was supposed to kiss me. Whether it was because he was shy or because he scarcely knew me,  he suggested to Bill Seiter, the director, that he merely kiss my hand. Bill had some suggestions of his own—and Robert was told to kiss me the way a boy should kiss a girl. Well, the cameras began to grind and we began to kiss. Frank Morgan was supposed to interrupt the embrace with a bit of dialogue but as he said later ‘I didn’t have the heart’ so we kept it up until Bill finally yelled out. From that time on—thanks to Frank Morgan—we began a friendship that ended where we are now—happily married and deeply in love.”

The marriage took place shortly after “Stowaway” wrapped up production, when the two headed south to Tijuana for the ceremony. They married on January 10, 1937, as announced in the Hanover Evening Sun on January 18, 1937:

Astrid Allwyn and Robert Kent, film players, have disclosed they were married Sunday, January 10 in Tijuana, Mexico. The only attendant was J. Edward Bromberg, screen actor. The couple obtained their marriage licenses under their true names of Astrid Christofferson and Douglas Blackley. Their romance began last spring.



Bromberg also costarred in “Stowaway,” seen at left below with Alice Faye, Temple, and Robert Young.



Below are Allwyn and Eugene Pallette in a scene that was ultimately deleted from the final film. Once again, she played a woman with less than desirable morals, about to blackmail Robert Young for some moolah.



The scene below was also deleted from “Stowaway.” Allwyn is barely visible in the final film, hardly earning her onscreen credit.



Despite being “happily married,” Astrid and Robert were divorced in 1941. Allwyn had the distinction of appearing in three Best Picture Oscar nominated films: “The White Parade” (1934), “Love Affair” (1939), and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939). She married a second time in 1941 to businessman Charles O. Fee. After filming Hit Parade of 1943 (1943), Astrid made a decision to retire so she could focus on family and raising her children. One of her daughters, Melinda Fee, had a modestly successful career in movies and television. Astrid remained married to Charles until her death in Los Angeles on March 31, 1978 from cancer, at age 72. She is buried in Forest Lawn in Glendale, Court of Freedom, #955.



Above is a publicity shot for Fox, shot by Gene Kornman in 1936. The accompanying blurb:

Hollywood continues to smile upon the small hat and triumphantly demonstrates that size imposes no limits in either beauty or variety. Turbans are strong in the mode and imbued with exceptional charm — as witness this black velvet model by William Lambert, 20th Century-Fox stylist, and worn by lovely Astrid Allwyn, featured player of the same studio. The round crown is effectively trimmed with a black cellophane novelty. The ring worn by Miss Allwyn is one of her heirlooms from Sweden — a floral design in mosaic is set in jet and mounted in antique gold.

She may not have had a huge career, but in Shirley-world, Astrid Allwyn was the perfect villainess for “Dimples.”



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley & Seiter

Today’s post starts with Shirley and then goes off into some very interesting tangents, thanks to the generosity of one of my readers. Director William Seiter is credited with being at the helm of three Shirley Temple movies, starting with “Dimples” (1936). Costar Frank Morgan is on the left, and Seiter is on the right, watching the proceedings from the comfort of his chair.



In her autobiography Child Star, Shirley tells how Seiter prevented Morgan from taking the attention away from her during a sad ballad:

William Seiter posed me to sing over Morgan’s shoulder. Anchoring Morgan in a chair with the back of his head to the camera was the only way to thwart that wizard. He couldn’t wiggle his ears.

Still, the sight of Morgan’s thick white wavy hair does cause a bit of an odd distraction as Shirley emotes and sings “Picture Me Without You.”



The publicity caption for this “Dimples” shot reads:

SHIRLEY TEMPLE CONQUERS ANOTHER TASK MASTER — like all directors who have preceded him, William Seiter, assigned by Darryl F. Zanuck to direct “Dimples” and “Stowaway” for 20th Century-Fox, has fallen in love with “Shirley Temple the artist” and “Shirley Temple, the unspoiled seven year old kid who gets so much fun out of her work.”



Fun is right. This shot captures the little prankster putting cuffs around Seiter’s ankles while songwriter Ted Koehler pretends to nap. Seiter must have been a good sport.



Below, Seiter gives direction for a scene between Shirley and Helen Westley.



Seiter directed Shirley’s very next film, “Stowaway.”



Shirley gets ready for the shuffleboard scene:



Seiter is once again wearing his customary fedora.



When Walter Lang had to leave for a “medical furlough,” it was Seiter who took over directorial duties on “The Little Princess” (1939), but was uncredited for his troubles. From Shirley’s autobiography Child Star:

For several days cameraman Artie Miller complained in graphic detail about the pain he suffered from a cyst in his cheek.  “There must be a lot of trouble in the world,” I remarked to Mother. “Everyone else has problems. When do I get to have some?”



Seen from the back in this publicity still for “Susannah of the Mounties” (1939), Seiter turned out to be an unfortunate choice for this uninspiring movie that only served to speed up Shirley’s departure from Fox.



In a typical twist of serendipity, it turns out that one of my faithful Temple Tuesday readers has a Seiter connection. As Jackie M. informed me:

My cousin’s name was Jill Woodward, and she has a small entry on imdb.com. She was in a number of silent movies (imdb lists only 4, which is better than TCM, which only lists 2!) and married Bill Seiter in 1919.

From the imdb bio:

Jill Woodward was born on January 18, 1897 in Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for My Country First (1916), Lightning Bryce (1919) and The Kentucky Colonel (1920). She was previously married to Paul Lill and William A. Seiter. She died on June 17, 1985 in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA.

Jackie was kind enough to share some photos from the family scrapbook. Other than a few captions written on the back, these great photos don’t have a lot of corresponding information. Here’s Bill with a golf club, circa 1919. He was quite the dashing man in his younger days, beginning as a bit player for Mack Sennett, doubling a cowboy.



Here comes a bit of a mystery; according to Wikipedia (I know, I know…not always the most factual!), Seiter was married to Laura La Planted from 1926 to 1934 (ending in divorce). She is “credited” as being his first wife, followed by Marian Nixon from 1934 to 1964, when he died. According to Variety, March 1915, Jill was married to Paul Lill in 1915 with an annulment following only two days later. From the June 12, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World under the “Clip and Paste” column:

Jill Woodward, wife of Director Wiliam A. Seiter, of the National Film Corporation, will be assistant director to her husband in his next production for National.

That’s as much as I could find out about that relationship.

Here are Jill and Bill accompanied by the caption, “Cherokee Court, about 1918.” There is a Cherokee Avenue in Hollywood; whether this building still stands or not is another mystery.



A lovely shot of the two, captioned: “Jill and Bill, ‘Hollywood.’” If you noticed the common credit on these photos for the photographer, it reads C. Heighton Monroe. I assume he had a decent biz in Hollywood, as I found some photos online that he shot of contemporary movie stars of the day, such as Louise Fazenda, and studio head Sam Warner.



Below the couple pose with Douglas MacLean (1890-1967), a stage and film actor who later became a producer and screenwriter, working with W.C. Fields (“Tillie and Gus”) and Cary Grant (“Ladies Should Listen”).



MacLean lived in a bungalow in the Alvarado Court complex next to the famous movie director, William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner). On February 2, 1922, Taylor was found dead, murdered inside his bungalow. MacLean’s then wife, Faith, was a key witness in the still unsolved murder, as she had witnessed an unknown person leaving Taylor’s apartment the night of the murder. Below is Taylor’s crypt at Hollywood Forever Cemetery:



The caption for the photo below reads, “Jill at the Oxford Street home, L.A., 1922.”



Hollywood does indeed have an Oxford AVENUE. I sure would love to see this beautiful home if it still exists!



Below is an interior view of the property, labeled “Oxford Street. Jill & Bill Seiter rented furnished, 1922.”



You just never know where the topic of Shirley Temple will lead. If anyone has any additional info on the Jill Woodward/William Seiter relationship or the historic properties listed here, please let me know!

THANKS, JACKIE!!
 
UPDATE!

Thanks to Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) and her newspapers.com subscription, a few questions about Jill and her husbands can be answered!

On the two-day marriage, the Oakland Tribune reported this on March 7, 1915:

One day of wedded bliss, following a whirlwind wooing of a brief two weeks, was the lot of Paul R. Lill, aged 20, son of a wealthy Pasadena family, who married Miss Verness Woodward, motion picture actress. Their shattered romance became known yesterday when Mrs. George H. Lill, mother of the youth, declared Paul was not legally married to Miss Woodward. So far as the public records go the couple are legally married, but Paul Lill says he falsified when he swore he was 22 years old. He added that he was led to give a wrong age because Miss Woodward wanted him to marry her and he thought they would be happy together. How the romance turned out is best explained by the youthful bridegroom in an interview he gave out last night at Santa Barbara, where he and his bride went on their honeymoon. He said: “We were married in Los Angeles February 18 by the Rev. James I. Myers of the Broadway Christian church. The following day we came to Santa Barbara and on the 20th my wife left me without giving any explanation. We have both come to the conclusion that it was best for us to part and remain apart forever. We are convinced our marriage was a most unwise move. I have heard from my folks and they are going to have our marriage annulled.” Lill then told of meeting his wife just two weeks before they were wed, and he asserted that it was she who proposed that they get married. “It’s true that I am not of age and that I gave a wrong age when securing a marriage license,” he continued. “We both regret it exceedingly. My wife never made the slightest explanation for leaving me. She simply disappeared. I ran across her later, but she would not say why she left me. Verness declared we had made a botch of our lives and said we’d better quit.” The young woman has not given the slightest inkling to any of her relatives here regarding the break that has come between her and young Lill. Her brother, Frank Woodward, of 1705 Burlington Street, had not heard of the separation. Mrs. Frank Woodward said yesterday. “We have had several messages from Verness since she went on her honeymoon. She said she had been engaged by a motion picture company at Santa Barbara and the manager had made her leading woman. So far as we know she and her husband were happy. We were greatly surprised to learn of the wedding. Verness brought her husband to our home the day they were married and she seemed very happy.” Mr. and Mrs. Lill, parents of the young bridegroom, live at 180 South Lake street, Pasadena. Mr. Lill has an office on Colorado street there. Before the interview was had with her son Mrs. Lill was positive in her statement that the marriage ceremony had not been performed. “I knew of the affair,” she said, “but after the license was taken out my son and the young woman decided they did not care for each other and that ended it. My son is only 20 years old, so he could not get married without our consent.” Rev. James I. Myers said last night he remembered marrying Lill and Miss Woodward. They came to his home in Rose Lawn drive with a young man to act as witness, he said, and he performed the ceremony.

Sounds like the two youngsters were hot and heavy for each other and the groom’s mother stepped in, attempting to whitewash the little affair. Want to see what Frank’s place on 1705 Burlington looks like today? Of course you do. Built in 1919, it still looks to be in great shape!



As for the Pasadena address, it appears that only a 180 South Lake Avenue exists, and a modern office building resides there. Moving onto wedding #2, the L.A. Times from June 12, 1924 reported this:

Bill and Jill Seiter are both in pictures now, which is by way of being a family quorum. Williams is the well-known director and Jill is his wife. Mrs. Seiter is playing the role of the Princess Sonia Zaiskine in “His Hour,” the production which King Vidor is directing, and Elinor Glyn is supervising for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Mrs. Seiter is using the name Jill Reties, which is Seiter spelled backward, and indeed one name sounds just as reasonable as the other. Before marrying William Seiter Mrs. Seiter was known to picturedom as Jill Woodward, leading woman. She retired from professional life when she married, more than seven years ago, and is only just now returning to the screen.

Take that, Wikipedia! Yes, William and Jill were married. As for the Paul and Jill wedding, I’d believe the Reverend, not the mother-in-law! I am still hoping to find out more about Cherokee Court and the house on Oxford Street. Anyone?

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley’s Peers

Shirley Temple’s films often featured other child hopefuls of the day, including the Kibrick brothers. Sidney Henry Kibrick (born July 2, 1928) made his first film appearance with Shirley in the feature “Out All Night” (1933), followed by “Kid’s Last Fight” (1933), part of the Baby Burlesk series. The freckled young boy can be seen above center, just before he and his cohort attempt to kidnap Shirley so that her boyfriend will lose the big fight. Film producer Hal Roach saw Kibrick performing with Shirley and cast him as one of the kids in the “Our Gang” series (also known as “The Little Rascals” for TV syndication). Kibrick is one of the last surviving members of the classic comedies. He performed in them from 1933 to 1943. He played a thug again (uncredited) in Shirley’s 1938 film, “Just Around the Corner.” In the photo below, he stands with his arms outstretched, fourth from the right. This was a deleted musical number from the end of the film. Kibrick remembered this about working with Shirley: “She tried her best to teach me how to dance, but I couldn’t do it!”



In an interview last summer, Kibrick shared his memories of working on the “Our Gang” comedies:

Myself and Butch [Tommy Bond] were the two tough kids who picked on Alfalfa [Carl Switzer] and Darla [Darla Hood]. My character’s name was Woim or “The Woim.” That was pretty much the basis of the show.…[Alfalfa] was a difficult kid. I didn’t bond with him. I don’t think a lot of the kids did. He created problems for everybody on set. He often wouldn’t do the job the way he was supposed to. It got to a point where he only wanted to do things the way he wanted to do them. He wouldn’t listen to the director Gordon Douglas all that much. Nobody really got along with him. Spanky was very popular with the kids. He was really friendly. And Darla was a gem. She was terrific. But Alfalfa really had a chip on his shoulder. He created problems for the rest of the kids. He treated me the same way he treated a lot of the other kids. He tried not to get along and ignored me. He picked on me. Now, I’m talking about him as a kid, you know?

Leonard Kibrick (photo above, center, wearing a hat) was four years older than his brother Sidney, and was in three Shirley Temple movies: “Poor Little Rich Girl” (1936, as Freckles, uncredited, in a deleted scene shot in Pasadena for the opening sequence of the film), “Dimples” (1936, children’s band member #1, seen below, on Shirley’s right):



…and “Just Around the Corner” (1938, gang member, uncredited, seen below, putting the coin in Shirley’s collection box for the Benefit for Uncle Sam):



Leonard also appeared in the “Our Gang” comedies (1934 to 1936), usually portraying a bully. Tommy Bond replaced Kibrick as the villain in the series (as “Butch”) in 1937, and Leonard's younger brother Sidney Kibrick portrayed Butch’s sidekick, “The Woim” (aka “The Worm”). A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Leonard Kibrick died of cancer on January 4, 1993 in Rancho Mirage, where he is buried. His tombstone reads: “Beloved Husband, Father, and Poppy.”

Another frequent young costar of Shirley’s was Diane Fisher, seen here in a bit part from “The Blue Bird” (1940). Afraid she won’t get called to join the other children on the silver ship that would reunite them with their earthbound parents, Fisher’s character sheds a tear. Of course, her name is called at the last minute!



Born in Gilmer, Texas on July 16, 1932, the adorable little girl lived with her mother in Hollywood, garnering bit parts in a number of big budget pictures, including “Gone with the Wind” (1939). This photo of Diane with Vivien Leigh shows that the little girl was involved in the production and dressed for the barbecue scene. Whether or not she can be seen in the finished film is doubtful. Anyone out there with a sharp eye?



Diane was so popular in “The Blue Bird” that she was cast again with Shirley in “Young People” (1940), as Susie.



You can see Diane patiently waiting for a piece of Shirley’s birthday cake below, distributed in between takes of “Young People.”





Fisher made one more film after “Young People,” and retired in 1940 at the ripe old age of eight, moving back to Texas. You can read her obituary here.

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Greek War Relief

Look at this star-studded photo from 1941! In the back row: Frank Morgan, Melvyn Douglas, Dick Powell, and Reginald Owen. Front row: Madeleine Carroll, Sam Goldwyn, Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, Carole Lombard, Shirley, and Myrna Loy. What was the occasion that brought them all together? From pappaspost.com:

As a result of the Nazi occupation and subsequent naval blockade, famine and despair would overcome Greece both in Athens and throughout the countryside. In response to the turmoil in Greece, Americans began countrywide efforts to provide humanitarian relief for the Greek people. Railroad magnate Harold Vanderbilt and film industry executive Spyros Skouras launched an effort called the Greek War Relief Association no less than 10 days after the October 1940 Italian invasion of Greece to provide food and other forms of aid to Greece.… In Hollywood, countless stars, celebrities, studio heads and industry heavyweights got behind the Greek War Relief movement, making it the single largest humanitarian fundraising campaign in American entertainment industry history, including a single organized fundraising campaign by the Motion Picture Association of America involving 8,000 cinemas. Films like Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” and “Gone With the Wind” held gala premieres and opening nights in cities across the nation with ticket proceeds benefiting the Greek War Relief campaign.… At Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles on February 8, 1941…a massive radio telethon, “America Calling,” was broadcast on CBS, NBC, numerous independent stations, and throughout Europe. Jack Benny and Bob Hope were the “co-masters of ceremonies” of the variety show that featured some the biggest names of the time including Shirley Temple,  Groucho Marx, and Clark Gable. The Greek War Relief Association raised $30 million — approximately $500 million today — to provide massive shipments of grain, equipment, livestock and other forms of material support for the Greek people.



Shirley worked with many of the people who were on the broadcast. Carole Lombard (and Gary Cooper) in “Now and Forever” (1934):



Publicity photos with Clark Gable (and Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland) heralded Shirley signing on with MGM, also in 1941:



Shirley competed with Frank Morgan for scene-stealer of the year in “Dimples” (1936):



Myrna Loy worked with Shirley six years later in “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer” (1947):



Get a huge dose of 1940’s patriotism and hear the original broadcast on thisdaybenny. Shirley appears at 30:59, introduced as “the new and lovely Shirley Temple.” She participates in some comic banter with Jack Benny and Bob Hope. Not surprisingly, Shirley holds her own with the two hams, and then goes on to give a short plea to the audience to donate to the fund.

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: More Deleted Shirley

Last week’s Temple Tuesday post covered a deleted scene of Shirley’s from “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” (1938). That only covered a fraction of what was left on the cutting room floor from Shirley’s movies! Hang on as we cover a few other ones that never made it into the final film.

In “Dimples” (1936), Shirley acted out scenes from the play “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” for her friends in the Bowery (photo above). Most likely this little showcase for Shirley’s talents did nothing to move the plot along and was eliminated as a result. A second deleted scene had actress Cleo Marsh (Astrid Allwyn) getting mad at Dimples (Shirley) during a rehearsal, feeling that the little girl’s song would steal the show from her. “Stop it, you little brat!” Cleo yells at the child. “You’ve got too much in this play as it is! This play was put on for my sake! People will come to the theater to see me. They’re not coming to see the antics of a dirty little urchin!” CUT! DELETE! NOBODY talks to Shirley like that and gets away with it!



Below is a shot of a deleted scene from the “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” play that Shirley’s character is performing in. Probably another instance of the story moving too slowly for Producer Darryl Zanuck’s taste.



In “Stowaway” (1936), there is the dramatic scene where Ching Ching (Shirley) is about to be sent to an orphanage, but wealthy playboy Tommy Randall (Robert Young) and already engaged Susan (Alice Faye) decide to marry each other so that they can adopt the little girl themselves...and then get a divorce so that Susan can marry her fiancé and Tommy can keep Ching Ching. Phew…there’s a lot going on there.



In this deleted scene, socialite Kay (Astrid Allwyn again!) agrees to marry Tommy so he can adopt Ching Ching, but then finds out from Tommy’s friend The Colonel (Eugene Pallette) that the wedding must happen immediately. Oops…good thing she didn’t cash that check yet…she had to get her own divorce finalized first! Too messy for a Shirley film…



In “Little Miss Broadway” (1938), Betsy’s (Shirley) adopted father, Pop Shea (Edward Ellis) is looking for her to make sure she’s doing her studies. What we don’t get to see was this filmed bit of business showing Betsy with a ventriloquist, which explains why he couldn’t find her at the time. In the finished film, a few lines remain that refer to the deleted scene. Pop’s daughter Barbara (Phyllis Brooks) asks Betsy who helped her with the arithmetic problems, as they are all incorrect. “Mr. Berdini, the magician!” “Six goes into eighteen five times…, seven goes into twenty-one four times!” Barbara replies sarcastically. “He’s a magician alright!”



Later in the film, Betsy escapes the orphanage and tries to get home to help save Pop Shea who is fighting a court battle that could mean the loss of his Hotel. There was originally a sequence between a taxi driver and a policeman over Betsy being unable to pay the fare. CUT! And don’t print that, please!



In “Just Around the Corner” (1938), if you look at the “Programme” for the benefit for Uncle Sam, you’ll see a number listed that did not make it into the final film, “Penny and Her Gang.”



The photo below is about all that remains of this deleted musical number.



This photograph of Shirley handing Arthur Treacher a playing card in “The Little Princess” (1939) is all that remains from an extended sequence of her arrival at Miss Minchin’s Boarding School. Most likely, it has something to do with Shirley’s character finding out about Treacher’s character’s past as a music hall entertainer.



“The Blue Bird” was Shirley’s second movie filmed entirely in Technicolor, other than the opening segment which was in black and white.



One of the publicity stills from the black and white portion shows Shirley praying to the Virgin Mary.



Was this from a deleted scene or Shirley praying for a hit, which she badly needed at this point in her career!



This deleted scene shows Mytyl (Shirley) playing with all of her newly acquired dolls in the Land of Luxury. Astute at the tender age of 11, Shirley rented out dolls from her personal collection to be used in the film.



Another deleted segment from the same scene showed Mr. Luxury (Nigel Bruce) cavorting around with Tyltyl (Johnny Russell). CUT!



I wonder if Shirley had to refund her doll earnings to Zanuck when this scene was removed?!?

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.