Temple Tuesday: RIP, Tyltyl

Thanks to Melissa (aka “The Colonel”), I recently learned of the passing of Johnny Russell, who costarred in “The Blue Bird” (1940) with Shirley Temple. The Hollywood Reporter did a short little write-up about Russell, who was born John R. Countryman. Sounds very patriotic! The article contained the usual semi-correct info as well as the outright `myths:

In the biggest role of his brief acting career, Russell portrayed Tyltyl, the younger brother of Temple’s Mytyl, in the fantasy film The Blue Bird (1940), which was Fox’s answer to MGM’s The Wizard of Oz, released a year earlier. In a dream, the two kids set out on on a series of adventures.

While not completely false, Producer Darryl Zanuck’s choice of “The Blue Bird” for Shirley had more to do with Disney’s financially successful “Snow White” than it did with the still unreleased “Wizard of Oz.” Zanuck attempted to buy “Oz” for Shirley but was outbid by MGM. He began negotiations for “The Blue Bird” in February 1939, a good six months before the release of “Oz.” In a touch of irony, the rights to film “The Blue Bird” cost Zanuck $25,000 more than MGM’s winning bid for “Oz.” As Shirley recounted in her autobiography Child Star:

Some thought our film was conceived as a retaliation to MGM’s Wizard of Oz. Zanuck staunchly resisted such innuendo. “Oz is a musical comedy without any drama or sentiment,” he declared. “The Blue Bird is strictly a dramatic fantasy. MGM made extravagant blunders and underwent financial tortures. We do not intend to copy Oz as to theme, or the mistakes that were made.”

During the initial story conference on April 24, 1939, Zanuck continued to weigh in “against ever getting into the type of spectacle of ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ or ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ all of which are flops. This is the human, simple adventure of two little children,” he said. Since “The Wizard of Oz” hadn’t been released yet, he was most likely referring to the 1925 silent film version with Oliver Hardy.



Another tidbit from the Hollywood Reporter obituary:

Temple’s mother, Gertrude, was reportedly unhappy that her daughter was sharing so much screen time with the adorable Russell and sought to have him replaced, but producer Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that the youngster remain.



Mrs. Temple had concerns about the script, the size and characterization of Shirley’s role, and her costar, Johnny Russell. As Shirley recounted:

She was critical of Johnny Russell, a boy co-starring in some of my scenes. Although only six years old, he was an extroverted kid with a gift of mimicry…The mimicry annoyed Mother, but I suspect she disliked his casting because Russell was younger and could potentially upstage me on that basis. What I needed was someone my own age she urged Zanuck, again through attorney Wright. “Ridiculous,” responded Zanuck. Two contemporary children meant I could not be the leader, as the story required. “If the boy were the same age, we would have to assume he was mentally incompetent or otherwise deformed if Shirley took the leadership away from him,” Zanuck said in a burst of chauvinism. “A younger brother can cling to her for protection and guidance during the great adventure.”



In the play, the brother was older than the sister. It was Zanuck’s decision to flip the ages to benefit Shirley. Zanuck’s original choice for Tyltyl was Bobs Watson (“Boys Town,” 1938), but in the end, Russell was cast, most likely because he was three years younger than Watson.



Zanuck also dropped some of the characters in the original story so that the story focused more on Shirley, in an attempt to appease the Temple family, who had become increasingly more vocal about their fears about Shirley’s future at Twentieth Century-Fox. Mrs. Temple had begun to consider other options since Zanuck avoided any direct contact with her, which made her feel that Zanuck’s interest in Shirley was waning and more focused on others in the Fox stables, such as Alice Faye and Sonja Henie. Just in case the project did not meet expectations, Gertrude had checked out the Westlake School for Girls considering it as a possible non-studio school for Shirley. Attending Westlake would enable her daughter to establish friendships with girls from upper-class homes and obtain a well-rounded education. In the detailed shot below, you can see the ever-present Mrs. Temple on the set during filming, with Shirley’s bodyguard, Griff (John Griffiths), standing next to her.



For the Screen Guild Theatre radio broadcast of “The Blue Bird,” which aired December 24, 1939, Russell’s role was replaced. Sorry, Johnny!



Back to the Hollywood Reporter:

Countryman came on active duty in the U.S. Foreign Service in February 1962 and reported to the diplomatic mission in Istanbul about a year later. He would have postings in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Gabon before serving from 1976-78 as deputy director and acting director of Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the U.S. State Department, when he dealt with the Iran hostage crisis. In the mid-1970s, he and Temple reconnected when he was stationed in Gabon and she was the U.S. ambassador to Ghana.



Shirley would later comment proudly about how she continued to “upstage” Russell, even into adulthood: 

Our issue of precedence was not in doubt then nor thirty-five years later in West Africa. By then I was a ranking U.S. ambassador, while Russell was a deputy chief of mission in a nearby national, still my junior by one step.

See more “The Blue Bird” photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley for Halloween!

Today’s Temple Tuesday celebrates the upcoming “holiday” of Halloween. Although Shirley is typically associated with all things sugar and spice, nobody liked a good scare better than Miss Temple! While there are no specific Halloween sequences in any of Shirley’s films (that I can recall, at least), she does have a few that could qualify for today’s post. In her early Fox film, “The Little Colonel” (1935), Shirley’s character must reach her grandfather at night to enlist his aid in saving her parents. To get to him, she has a terrifying run through a forest and encounters an owl with glowing eyes. Keep in mind this sequence pre-dated similar ones found in Disney’s “Snow White” (1937) and “The Wizard of Oz” (1939). Shirley was always a trailblazer!



In “The Blue Bird” (1940), siblings Tyltyl and Mytyl (Johnny Russell and Shirley) take a frightening journey through the graveyard with their evil cat, Tylette (Gale Sondergaard), just before the stroke of midnight.



Not wanting to return to her feline form, Tylette attempts to trap the little children in the cemetery… FOREVER!



Later in the same movie, Tylette tries to have the children scared off by arranging to have the trees in the forest attack them…



AND THEN BURN THEM! Instead, karma bites Tylette in the ass and she’s the one who gets incinerated. As I often say, don’t mess with Shirley!



In her private life, Shirley also loved to dress up, such as this costume party at Ciro’s nightclub on Sunset Boulevard, with then husband John Agar. Shirley came as Alice in Wonderland.



For this 1948 party, Shirley recycled a movie costume from seven years before (“Kathleen”), but added a period wig for some Marie Antoinette flair.



Agar most likely borrowed his wardrobe from “Fort Apache.” 



In her 1950’s Fairy Tale Anthology series, “Shirley Temple’s Storybook,” there were plenty of witches, but typically they were portrayed by other actresses. The Halloween episode of “Rapunzel” was first broadcast on October 27, 1958. Carol Lynley played the title role and Agnes Moorehead was the witch. This pre-dated her role of Endora in “Bewitched.”



“The Shirley Temple Show” 1960 episode of “Babes in Toyland” allowed Shirley to gleefully play the role of Floretta, the gypsy witch. Shirley relished the opportunity to be almost unrecognizable in her makeup and costume!



I hope you all have a fun Halloween this week!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: My Little Pony

In the 1935 Shirley Temple film “Curly Top,” our curly-haired girl leaves the orphanage and strikes it rich with her adopted father...who ends up marrying her sister (that’s an entirely separate post topic, folks!). One of the many items he buys for her is a Pony Cart. The above still shows Shirley, her sister (played by Rochelle Hudson), and her ultra-rich adopted father, Edward (John Boles) cavorting around the beach house in the $167.50 Pony Cart. Of course the film shows the bill of sale; how else would the Depression-era audiences know that a fortune was being spent?!?

And to think Shirley started the film rescuing her poor little pony from the rain, sneaking him into the dormitory to dry off.

20th Century-Fox attempted to show some economy in Shirley’s 1935 film, “The Littlest Rebel.” The very same pony cart was featured in an alternate ending scene that wound up on the cutting room floor. The photo below shows Shirley on her way to celebrate the release of her father from the Yankee jail, thanks to President Lincoln. In the finished film, the pony cart is not seen; so much for economy.

Five years later, Shirley and Johnny Russell were arguing over who would get the better pony in “The Blue Bird”:

I’m surprised the Cart wasn’t brought out of the mothballs for another appearance!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Behind the Blue Bird

Readers of my blog have suffered through my obsession with the 1940 Shirley Temple movie "The Blue Bird." Today is just one more chapter documenting how nutz I am for this film. I was excited to recently acquire a vintage behind-the-the-scenes still from the movie. On the back is this publicity blurb:

Here is Shirley Temple's crew getting ready for a "dolly shot." Shirley and Johnny Russell (as Mytyl and Tyltyl) can be seen walking, while Director Walter Lang, who also directed "The Little Princess," wearing a white, short-sleeve shirt, is walking toward the camera tracks. Note soundman directly back of Lang, with microphone on bamboo pole. In the shot, the soundman will follow Shirley and Johnny as they walk down the village street, catching their dialogue, but he will be out of range of the camera's eye.

In this detailed view, you can see Shirley's mother Gertrude looking stylish in her hat. Standing next to her in a suit is Shirley's bodyguard, John Griffiths, best known as "Griff."



A closeup of Shirley with costar Johnny Russell:



Here are two publicity stills taken from the same scene:





See more Shirley Temple "The Blue Bird" photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Follow the Light

I am still woefully behind on life, but starting to see the "Light" at the end of the tunnel. Thus, today's post featuring the first "new" vintage still I have acquire from the Shirley Temple movie "The Blue Bird" in over a year. Tipped off by Shirley's #1 fan (Thanks, Colonel!), this shot is one I had never seen before. At this point in the movie, Shirley and her gang are just beginning their journey to find the Bluebird of Happiness.



I remember the first time I saw this movie that I was fascinated how the "light" followed the character of "Light," played by Helen Ericson, as she traveled up the steps here. With her diaphanous gown, Ericsson gave the movie a bit of sex appeal for the adults.



See more "The Blue Bird" photos at my main website.

Behind The Scenes on The Blue Bird

This publicity shot from October 1939 shows filming of "The Blue Bird" with Shirley Temple. Here's the accompanying text from the back of the photo:

ROYAL SLIDE - For Shirley Temple and Johnny Russell (behind are light, center) one of the high spots of "The Blue Bird", now under production in Technicolor at 20th Century-Fox, came when they got to slide down the impressive balustrades of a baroque palace. Behind Gale Sondergaard (at foot of balustrade) is one of the big satin pillows into which Shirley and Johnny plumped. Even Laura Hope Crews (left of camera) as well as Nigel Bruce (not shown) got the rare privilege of sliding down the banister. The scene is from "The Palace of Luxury", which occupied an entire sound stage at the Westwood studio.



In this still, you can see the aforementioned bannister. However, I am guessing that stunt doubles were used for most (if not all) the actors!



More Shirley Temple in "The Blue Bird" photos at my main website.

Shirley Temple and The Blue Bird Diamond

The 1940 Shirley Temple movie "The Blue Bird" may have been a box office dud, but the 9.54 carat blue diamond ring that Shirley's dad bought for her at the time of the film's premiere definitely wasn't. Recently up on the auction block at Sotheby's, the ring was valued between $25-35 million. Not bad for her dad's original purchase price of $7,210! The ring went unsold at the auction, but Sotheby's had this to say: “Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t its night in the salesroom, but we remain fully confident that it will find a buyer.”



Here's a shot of Shirley and husband Charles Black from the 1980s.



Not sure if the rock on her hands here is the same one, but she continued to wear the 1940 ring throughout her life.



More Shirley photos at my main website.

Trees Can Be Scary!

Walt Disney sure had a knack for scaring the crap out of little kids. 77 years later, the scene from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" where Snow White flees for her life through a forest of trees that have come to life still packs a punch that is guaranteed to give the little ones nightmares.

What's so scary about a few branches? Typically, not much, unless you're running from danger and you get stuck on a few. The limbs of the tree literally come to life, holding her back, causing her the worst case of paranoia possible.



Old logs in a creek come to life as alligators, scaring the poor little lass even more.



When Disneyland was being built and an attraction created that would allow guests to actually ride through scenes from the movie, naturally the Dark Forest scene had to be included! Although I don't have any shots of what the original attraction was like, this art from the Mickey Mouse Club Magazine gives you an idea of what the intent was:



Kenneth "Ken" Anderson, one of the art directors of the 1937 movie, adapted the script for the ride and led the original design team that included Bill Martin (in charge of the track layout), Herbert Ryman (created several interior backgrounds), and Claude Coats. This is about as close as you can get to the movie's roots.



In 1981, the Snow White attraction closed down and went under the knife with the rest of Fantasyland. The Dark Forest returned, but by all accounts, the scariness of the attraction was toned down. Here are two concept model shots of what the trees would look like in the newly revised attraction.





A few shots from the actual attraction, taken by me about 4 cameras ago! Please excuse their amateurish appearance.



This section of the attraction is so dark and the vehicle moves so quickly that it is difficult to absorb all of the not-so-scary details that are meant to be somewhat scary, like the alligator logs from the movie shown here:



The look of the trees is a bit disturbing, but typically, kids are more scared about this being a dark ride than the actual elements within.



Word on the street is that all of the dark rides will be closing and undergoing a revamp (Alice has already been completed).

My recommendation: Imagineers should go FULL TILT with a totally scary-ass version of Snow White (and the rest of the dark rides) using projections and moving figures. For the bulk of the Park's operating hours, these effects could be turned off, allowing little kids to experience a less scary attraction. For late night, Halloween, or other special adult-only occasions, these scarier effects could be turned on, creating a special event overlay similar to the Haunted Mansion Nightmare Before Xmas and small world Holiday overlays.



Disney was not alone in seeing the scary potential of a forest. "The Wizard of Oz" also contains sequence guaranteed to make the little ones cringe in their seats. On the way to the Wicked Witch's Castle to capture her broom, our heroic quartet must make their way through the Haunted Forest.



Even the owls in this sequence look demonic!



A year later, "The Blue Bird" showed a terrifying sequence of Shirley Temple and friends running for their lives through a burning forest. Tylette (Gale Sondergaard) wants to stay human forever and she elicits the help of Royal Oak, convincing him and the other trees to scare the hell out of the kids.





The plan goes awry when the trees decide they must kill the children instead. Oops.



One of the group does actually perish, but you'll have to see the movie to find out which one it is.



What scared the hell out of you as a little kid?

See more Daveland Snow White's Scary Adventure photos at my main website.