While this vintage shot of Shirley Temple during the filming of “Heidi” (1937) had a date stamp on the back (June 16, 1937), there was no corresponding info about who the visitors to the Fox lot were. As I usually do when I reach an impasse, I contact the great Rita D, storehouse of all Shirley Temple facts. IMMEDIATELY I had a response along with a newspaper clipping from her scrapbook which she dated as June 21, 1937:
SHIRLEY TEMPLE yesterday won two new residents for Southern California—Seth G. C. Motwane, India electrical tycoon, and his 17-year-old daughter, Savitribai Motwane, heiress to one of the largest personal fortunes in the world. Motwane and his daughter traveled 8000 miles from Bombay, India, just to see Shirley. They were so charmed by this country that they decided to buy a winter home here at Bel-Air. Motwane is considered the “General Electric of India.” He began his career with a borrowed $100 and now has a fortune estimated at 19 million dollars. Savitribai, his daughter, wore native robes and the distinguished caste mark of the upper-class Indian lady when she visited Shirley at the Twentieth Century-Fox lot. “That dress is just like the costumes of ‘Wee Willie Winkie,’” said Shirley. “We’ve just finished a picture laid in India and it had lots of ladies in it dressed like that.” “Wee Willie Winkie,” which costars Shirley and Victor McLaglen, has its world premiere Friday evening at Carthay Circle Theater.
The stylishly dressed woman on the left is unidentified; I assumed it was G. C.’s wife, but all accounts only mention him traveling with his daughter. I did find a newspaper blurb from June 21 that stated, “Savitri’s mother died a year ago and this world trip is to help her to forget her grief. When her father asked her where she would like to go best of any place in the world, she replied: ‘To see them make American movies.’” Rita surmised the lady on the left could have been a Hollywood scribe. From the Motwane website I learned that Gianchand Motwane (pictured below) founded the Motwane Manufacturing Company in 1909 in Mumbai.
Ghandi (pictured below with G. C.’s son, Nanik) was quoted in 1931 as saying: “The cheers that punctuated my remarks on some of the most important amendments showed that the listeners were following my exposition with the utmost attention. All this was possible because of the perfect Chicago Radio loudspeaker arrangements that were made for the Subjects Committee as well as for the Open Sessions.” G. C. died on June 16, 1943 in Mumbai at age 65, “leaving behind a remarkable legacy for his sons to carry forward.”
Spurred on by the info and clippings supplied by Rita, I went to Newspapers.com (a great resource!) and found some more info on the pair’s visit to the U.S.
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Edited from the accompanying article:
Representative of the new order of society in the teeming land of the Ganges is G. C. Motwane, Bombay industrialist and Indian business tycoon, who is in Hollywood on his first visit to the United States. Here to study the filim and radio equipment market, he pointed out that Indian motion pictures were progressing from the era of mythological tales and rudimentary methods to portrayals of real people and social problems done with modern production technique. He is accompanied by his 17 year old daughter, Savitri, who was presented in flowing native dress and sandals, but who has the 1937 girl’s interest in Robert Taylor.…Under the guidance of Bill Deming, executive producer for General Productions, who has made pictures in India, Motwane and his daughter are inspecting Hollywood’s film plants. After Hollywood he plans to see New York. “Then I may buy an automobile, tour across America and come back to your Hollywood to stay for six months or so,” Business Man Motwane smiled.
Another article from September 26, 1937 featured this information:
…one of the most interesting visitors in this city during the last week was eighteen-year-old Savitri “Kiki” Motwane, who is taking movies and snapshots of us and writing a diary that will refresh her memory when she tells friends back in Bombay, India, about those amusingly queer Americans.…Because she cannot write in Sindhi, the province language of her household, this visitor from Bombay keeps her diary in English. Many pages are already filled, for she has been touring with her father for the last seven months, having been in China and in Japan, before coming to the United States. Of course the diary includes accounts of Hollywood experiences. There an excited Kiki met, and was photographed with Shirley Temple, screen idol of her younger sisters. There she was also offered a film contract. “Father wouldn’t let me go into pictures,” she said. “But I danced in India once for a picture made by one of our producers.”
The only other info I could find about Savitri was an obituary from the South Floria Sun Sentinel, October 5, 2003, listing her death as October 2. I “assume” it was the same person, but don’t quote me on that!
Back to Shirley, who has been seriously hijacked on this post! A detailed view of her, wearing one of her “Heidi” costumes.
I saw this jacket on display at the Theriault’s exhibit in Santa Monica, back in 2015, along with Shirley’s other carefully preserved film costumes and memorabilia.
Look at the detailed buttons!
The shoes and jacket can be seen in the vintage black and white costume…
but the skirt that we see is different from the ensemble Theriault’s chose to put together. Note on auction item #160 (“Country Costume”) that the trim has the little curlicues missing from the ensemble I saw in Santa Monica:
The costume comprises a white blouse, black vest with floral pattern and green velvet lacing, dark blue skirt with braid trim, and a striped cotton apron. Generally excellent. The vest and skirt have original studio label "10004". Heidi (Shirley Temple), wears the costume in the opening scenes of the 1937 film as she arrives in the village where she will be left in the care of her grandfather, and then again as she arrives at grandfather's cottage in the mountains and proceeds to win his heart despite his crusty manner, and during the famous milking the goat scene.
Note the jacket paired with the curlicued skirt in the previously mentioned opening scene above and in the still below:
Auction item #164 (the one I saw in Santa Monica) pairs the jacket with the plain horizontal trim (no curlicues!):
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The classic Tyrolean-style costume includes a woolen laced vest embroidered with Edelweiss, a blue wool serge skirt with soutache braid banding, a cotton blouse and a red woolen jacket with patterned floral lining, black velvet collar, and trim, and with silver buttons with raised profile design of Napoleon. The skirt and blouse have original studio labels "Shirley Temple 10006" and the jacket "10003". Included are heavy laced boots. Shirley Temple, in her lead role in the 1937 film "Heidi", wore this costume in numerous scenes of her life in the Alps and nearby village.
The still below shows Shirley wearing #164, but paired with a different vest.
THAT vest was part of #165 (shown in the catalog photo below):
Comprising a white cotton puffed sleeve blouse under a black velvet vest with double lacing, brown woolen skirt, red apron with cross-stitch embroidery, along with an extra apron of linen-like brown cotton with brown ribbon banding, and with very worn heavy leather shoes designed for mountain climbing. The blouse, skirt and vest have original studio label "10005 Shirley Temple", and the shoes have the original label of Emidio Spezza, shoemaker to the stars. The costume was worn by Shirley Temple (Heidi) as she greeted the minister and teacher who were coming to inspect the grandfather's home, and again in the "prodigal son" scene of the 1937 film "Heidi".
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From Shirley Temple to business tycoons from India to mismatched costumes, this blog covers it all!
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
