Temple Tuesday: Jane Darwell

Today’s post pays tribute to character actress Jane Darwell (1879-1967). She was born Patti Woodard in Palmyra, Missouri. Edited from the Find a Grave website:

Her father was a railroad executive who disapproved of her interest in theatre. Despite the disapproval, she continued working in theatre and made her film debut in 1912. It would be the first of over 200 film performances. Her first notable performances in talking pictures came in 1930 and 1931 when she played the part of the Widow Douglas in the films “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn.”

She was a frequent Shirley Temple costar, beginning with the film “Change of Heart” (1934) starring Janet Gaynor, Ginger Rogers, James Dunn, and Charles Farrell. Both Darwell and Temple have bit parts in the film, but no scenes together. Darwell played the mother of Dunn’s character (screenshot below) in a short scene at the beginning of the film:



…and Shirley had a cameo with Charles Farrell (seen above) as he makes her a paper airplane aboard a real airplane. In “Bright Eyes” (1934), Shirley and Jane had a number of scenes together. Darwell played the feisty cook, Mrs. Higgins, who adores Shirley but hates the bratty little child (portrayed by Jane Withers) of her snooty employer.


 
In the film, Shirley’s character (also named Shirley!) borrows one of the large stockings from the plus-sized Mrs. Higgins so that Santa will have more room to give her all the gifts she’d like to have!


 
Next up was “Curly Top” (1935) with Darwell as Mrs. Denham, the kindly matron of the orphanage where Shirley’s character lives with her sister. Mrs. Denham is key in getting the wealthy Edward Morgan (John Boles, seen below with Darwell) to adopt the two girls.



Two screenshots below from the film, showing Mrs. Denham and Mrs. Higgins (Rafaela Ottiano) crying as the two sisters leave the orphanage.



Above, Mrs. Denham attends the benefit where little Shirley performs “When I Grow Up” so that the orphans can get some new equipment for the playground.

In “Captain January” (1936) Darwell portrayed the widow Eliza Croft, who has the hots for Shirley’s guardian, played by Guy Kibbee.



A few brief scenes between the two in “Poor Little Rich Girl (1936), with Darwell playing yet another housekeeper.



Darwell’s final silver screen pairing with Temple was “Little Miss Broadway” (1938). This time, she actually runs the orphanage that Shirley is adopted from. Finally, a career move up!



Darwell was a busy gal, playing bit parts in several other movies over the years. In “Gone with the Wind” (1939), she memorably portrayed the neighborhood gossip, Mrs. Merriwether.



More from Find a Grave:

Her career took a new path when she landed the role of the James Brothers' mother in the 1939 Tyrone Power/Henry Fonda film "Jesse James." It would be the first of several times she would play the mother of Henry Fonda on film. One of those times came in 1940 when she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Ma Joad in the classic film "The Grapes Of Wrath."

Below, you can see a clip showing multiple takes of Darwell accepting the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Grapes.” The 13th Academy Awards was held at the Biltmore Bowl of the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on February 27, 1941. She had stiff competition, beating out Judith Anderson (“Rebecca”), Ruth Hussey (“The Philadelphia Story”), Barbara O’Neil (“All This and Heaven Too”), and Marjorie Rambeau (“Primrose Path”).



In late 1948, Shirley returned to her home studio of 20th Century-Fox. Zanuck through a welcome back party and many of her former costars showed up. Below is Darwell and director Henry Hathaway:



Shirley hired Darwell for her television anthology series, “The Shirley Temple Show,” specifically the episode titled “The Fawn,” which first aired on February 5, 1961. Shirley was the narrator and Darwell played Grandma in the story that also featured Robert Crawford, Jr. (seen below).



Her final role in “Mary Poppins” (1964) was brief but extremely touching. From the Walt Disney Family Museum website:

Walt [Disney] took special care to ensure that the “Feed the Birds” sequence in Mary Poppins would be memorable. As Robert Sherman would explain, “One of the more beautiful moments in the history of movie making occurred as we were casting and filming the ‘Feed the Birds’ sequence. It’s one of those rare instances where life and art became one in the same thing.” During production of the Disney film in the summer of 1963, actor Jane Darwell was 83 years old. With a film career that stretched back to as early as 1913, she was among the most respected actors in the industry, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance of Ma Joad in 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath. She was living at the Motion Picture Country Home, a noted residence for retired film actors and artists. “Walt offered her the part of the Bird Woman, but in doing so, he also treated her as the star she had once been,” Robert Sherman recalled. “He sent her a script and a letter via special messenger (as opposed to US Mail) and had a limousine and driver pick her up once for a meeting and then again on the day of the shoot. Miss Darwell was tremendously excited to be a part of Mary Poppins and must have felt gratified to have been remembered after so many years away from the limelight. I think it was a particularly poetic thing of Walt to have done this. After all, as Walt said referring to ‘Feed the Birds,’ ‘That’s what it’s all about,’ doing just a little extra and going just a little bit out of your way to make someone feel special. Sometimes it can make all the difference in the world to a person.”



From the DVD commentary track one learns that Robert Sherman provided the speaking voice of Jane because Darwell’s voice was too soft to be heard on the soundtrack. He is heard saying her only line: “Feed the birds, tuppence a bag.”



It’s one of those magical moments where Andrews’ singing and Darwell’s performance together help bring on the waterworks. Watch the scene in the clip below:



Darwell died on August 13, 1967, after suffering a heart attack at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. Her obituary stated that she “had been residing at the hospital for the past two months, according to Maudie Hiser, her companion for 24 years.…The actress leaves a nephew, Winston Ogden, North Hollywood.” Reflecting on her career, Darwell stated, “I played either a grandmother or a housekeeper in every Shirley Temple film ever made.…I’ve played Henry Fonda’s mother so often that he calls me ma, and I call him son.” Darwell was married once in the 1920s, but was divorced within a year, according to her friends.

In other Shirley news, last month Deadline Hollywood broke this story:

EXCLUSIVE: Marty Tudor has been working with the family estate of Shirley Temple and will have access to the rights of the child actress-turned Ghana and Czechoslovakia ambassador across streaming, film, stage and more. There are also two unpublished autobiographies by Temple which Tudor is helping the estate get published. The life of Temple, who was discovered dancing in a theater lobby by Fox Film songwriter Jay Gorney, is largely an untapped IP; one prolific adaptation of her life was the 2001 Disney Channel movie, “Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story.” That was based on Temple’s autobiography of the same name and it starred Connie Britton. Tudor is an industry vet, who managed the careers of Paula Abdul and Jon Cryer, and of late has been behind a series of Hologram concert shows starting in 2018 with performances by the late Maria Callas, Roy Orbison, and Whitney Houston.…Temple began her film career in 1931. The 1934 movie Bright Eyes put her on the map as a singing child star with her signature ditty “On the Good Ship Lollipop”. In 1935, she received a miniature Juvenile Oscar. She did segue to roles as a teenager, notably starring opposite Cary Grant in 1947’s The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer which won an Oscar for Sidney Sheldon’s adapted screenplay.…Temple’s last movie was the 1949 comedy “A Kiss for Corliss” opposite David Niven. She hosted “Shirley Temple’s Storybook” from 1958-1961 before beginning her diplomatic career in 1969. Her friends included former FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover who gifted her a tear gas pen at the age of 20 to help protect her against any death threats. She also befriended Amelia Earhart; the duo reportedly known for their discussions about feminism, Hamlet and chewing gum. Temple as a child learned geography by tracing Earhart’s flights.“There’s so much more to American icon Shirley Temple’s life that people aren’t aware of. She was the U.S. delegate in the United Nations, a female Ambassador to Ghana and Czechslovakia, she was a breast cancer survivor, she fought sexism as the first female U.S. Chief of Protocol. What appeals to me, as a father of a daughter, is that Shirley continues to be an amazing inspiration and role model for young girls. We see a lot of kid actors who go the wrong way, she did not. There’s an amazing human being here with a big story who gave back as opposed to a pop star in it for the glory,” Tudor tells Deadline. The Temple Black family tells Deadline in a statement: “As the 100th anniversary of our Mom’s birthday approaches, we are so pleased at the idea of sharing with the world the lesser-known second half of her incredible life story. She often observed that ‘the Little Girl opened the door’, but then our Mom stepped through it, confident, courageous, authentic – all grown up.”

It would be amazing to have the rest of Shirley’s autobiography released!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Deleted Broadway

In 1938 Shirley Temple film, ‘Little Miss Broadway,’ there are a few deleted musical numbers that still survive today. Typically, those could be recycled into shorts and were kept in the studio vaults because of that possible re-use. Dramatic numbers usually ended up in the landfill. Thanks to Melissa (aka “The Colonel”), we can get an idea of what was removed. According to a script from February 8, 1938, this is what occurred:

Pop Shea (Edward Ellis) is at the lobby desk of his hotel, The Hotel Variety, looking for his recently adopted daughter, Betsy (Shirley Temple). Flossie the switchboard operator calls upstairs to find Betsy. She calls up to the acrobats’ room, but they haven’t seen her. A man practicing a knife-throwing act gets the call next and says he saw Betsy about 20 minutes ago. Then a call comes to a ballet dancer, and finally to the ventriloquist’s room (photo above). A ventriloquist’s dummy answers the phone. Betsy is holding him on her lap but the ventriloquist is doing the talking. She takes the phone and says she’ll be right down and the dummy says, “Come back and sit on my lap sometime!” As Betsy exits the elevator she’s greeted by a group of performers [photo below]. She stops to talk to a performing dog which jumps over her foot and does a backflip.



In the final film, Shirley descends the stairs, not the elevator, and most likely the idea of a trained dog was rethought, too.



Above is a screenshot that shows Betsy just before the film quickly cuts to her at the lobby desk (below), showing her homework to Pop and his daughter, Barbara (Phyllis Brooks). They have been talking about the overwhelming bills that they owe.



If you ever wondered what color this cute little dress with the embroidered leaves was, don’t rely on this vintage lobby card. These hand-colored promotional items rarely got the color right of the actual costumes and set pieces.



Thanks to the Theriault’s Love, Shirley Temple auction from 2015, we know that the dress was actually red.



From the catalog description:

Red Silk Polka Dot Dress Worn by Shirley Temple in the 1938 film “Little Miss Broadway.” Of fine red silk, the dress features a high-waisted bodice of cream organza, under a faux jacket with puffed short sleeves and embroidered cream flower and leaf trim. The skirt is of alternating flat panels and pleated panels. Included is a vintage photograph of Shirley Temple wearing the costume. The costume was worn by Betsy (Shirley Temple) in the 1938 film "Little Miss Broadway", notably in the first scene at the Hotel Variety as she bounces down the staircase and proudly shows the (completely incorrect!) arithmetic lesson that Mr. Berdini, the magician, has taught her, while greeting (and thus introducing the movie-goers) to all of the zany entertainers who call the hotel home. Sold for $4,750.

The current owner graciously shared an image of the dress in her collection, along with a vintage Cinderella Frock from the same time period that was most likely inspired by this very costume.



Here’s the tag that would most likely have accompanied one of those Cinderella Frocks:



The reverse side:



Next time you watch this movie, you can keep your eye out for what’s left of this scene!

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.

Temple Tuesday: The Coat & Beanie Craze, Pt. 2

Finally, part two of the Coat and Beanie Craze post! Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) did the legwork to collect all of the instances that Shirley wore this type of clothing combo in her films. The first instance is from 1936’s, “Stowaway.” Shirley goes to Reno to prevent her adopted parents from getting a divorce. The judge (J. Edward Bromberg) is more than happy to assist her! As she turns away to go to the judge’s chambers, we can see the feathers that adorn her little beanie. This movie costume is one that didn’t surface in the 2015 Theriault’s auction, “Love, Shirley Temple.”



Two coat and beanie combos appear in “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” (1938). The first one has apparently disappeared over the years.



As Rebecca (Shirley) is ripped away from Sunnybrook Farm by her scheming stepfather (William Demarest), she sports this cute hat and beanie:



The coat came to auction, but sadly no beanie. From the auction catalog description:

ROSF: SILK DRESS, FLOWER DESIGN, COAT, WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE IN "REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM" Lot Number: 456 The navy blue silk crepe dress has hidden front closure which opens to hidden pleats below the waist, and with two matching hidden pleat insets at the front and a gathered back, all allowing for easy and fluid movement. The inset color is a rich ecru which matches the two applique wildflowers, the piping, and the ecru covered decorative buttons. The dress has original studio label of 5349. Along with a woolen coat of matching color with white silk faille collar and piping. Generally excellent, back of coat collar a bit darkened. Included are two vintage photographs of Shirley wearing the costume. The costume was worn by Rebecca (Shirley Temple) in the 1938 film "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm". Realized Price: $8,500 Presale Estimate: 3000+



This is also the outfit that initially inspired my two posts! I was able to photograph the coat when it was on display at the Santa Monica History Museum:



As her character leaves the orphanage in “Little Miss Broadway” (1938), Shirley wears this beautiful coat and beanie.



From the auction description:

WEDGWOOD-BLUE WOOLEN COAT WITH SAWTOOTH ACCENTS WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE AT EVENTS Lot Number: 325 Of a rich wedgewood-blue color, the lightweight woolen coat with self-covered buttons features suit lapels of ivory silk faille, and is decorated with vertical bands of dark blue sawtooth-shaped appliques.The coat was worn by Shirley Temple for various social and publicity events in the late 1930s. Realized Price: $4,250 Presale Estimate: 500+





It isn’t long before Shirley has another costume change into (what else?) a coat and beanie. This one is worn during the “We Should Be Together” number with George Murphy.



This time, the beanie hat was included in the 2015 auction!

BLUE WOOLEN COAT WITH COLLAR, HANDKERCHIEF, BERET WORN BY SHIRLEY IN "LITTLE MISS BROADWAY" Lot Number: 323 The blue woolen double-breasted coat has a fine Belgian lace collar, breast pocket with lace-edged hankie, and two pockets with flaps. Along with a blue woolen beret. Included are two vintage photographs of Shirley Temple wearing the costume. The costume was worn by Betsy (Shirley Temple) in the 1938 film "Little Miss Broadway", notably in the song and dance routine "We Should Be Together" with George Murphy, and on various publicity occasions. Realized Price: $6,250 Presale Estimate: 3000+ 



As Shirley attempts to escape the truant officer, she wears combo #3!



BROWN WOOLEN COAT WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE FOR PUBLICITY EVENTS Lot Number: 551 Of woven brown wool, with double-breasted construction, side-slit pockets and wide lapels, the richly lined coat is trimmed with two amusing lapel pins depicting Tyrolean style figures. The coat was worn by Shirley Temple for various publicity events including a promotion for the Los Angeles Railway Co., of which a vintage photograph is included. Realized Price: $1,700 Presale Estimate: 500+



Could there possibly be a fourth combo? You betcha’!



BROWN CASHMERE WOOLEN COAT WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE IN THE 1938 FILM "LITTLE MISS BROADWAY" Lot Number: 326 Of light brown cashmere wool, the silk-satin lined coat features nine self-covered buttons that extend down the front, dainty rounded collar, curved collar with flap covers, and decorative leaf-shaped trapunto quilting at the front and back shoulders and sleeves. Generally excellent, a few tiny moth holes. Included is a vintage photograph of Betsy (Shirley Temple) wearing the coat from the 1938 film "Little Miss Broadway", notably as Betsy escapes from the orphanage to help save the Hotel Variety, hitching a ride on the bike handlebars of the newspaper delivery boy. Realized Price: $4,750 Presale Estimate: 1000+



This fifth ensemble is worn in the courtroom scene, and also shows up in the publicity photos taken during Eleanor Roosevelt’s visit to 20th Century-Fox:




FINE COUTURIER COAT WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE IN PUBLICITY PHOTOGRAPHS Lot Number: 103 Of finest midnight-blue wool with very narrow pinstripes, the tapered coat has reverse stripe six-button placket front, three petite flap pockets, ivory silk faille collar with knife-cut lapels and detachable matching yoke with toggle button closure, silk faille fold-up cuffs. Generally excellent. The coat is tagged "13809 Temple" indicating it may have appeared in a late 1930s/early 1940s film, and definitely was used by Shirley Temple in a number of publicity photographs, including this in which Hedda Hopper is shown signing Shirley's autograph book. In addition to Shirley Temple’s use of the coat in publicity photographs, she also wore the coat in “Little Miss Broadway” while singing “Thank You For the Use of the Hall”. Realized Price: $3,500 Presale Estimate: 500+



“Just Around the Corner” (1938) only has one coat and beanie:



Again, another instance where the beanie has disappeared!

BLUE BOUCLE WOOLEN COAT WORN BY SHIRLEY TEMPLE IN THE 1938 FILM "JUST AROUND THE CORNER" Lot Number: 462 Of powder blue boucle wool, the faux double-breasted coat has self-covered buttons, curve-shaped pockets (one with lace handkerchief), striped silk faille collar and cuffs, and blue silk crepe lining. The coat has original studio inventory number 14714. Included are two vintage photographs of Shirley Temple wearing the coat, once with her co-stars of the 1938 film, and once in a publicity photograph as she was arriving to serve as Grand Marshall of the 1939 Tournament of Roses Parade. The costume was worn by Penny (Shirley Temple) in opening scenes of the 1938 film "Just Around the Corner" as she arrives at the Riverview to find she no longer lives in the penthouse, but rather in a basement apartment. The costume designer for the film was Gwen Wakeling. Realized Price: $5,000 Presale Estimate: 1000+



My very favorite coat and beanie worn by Shirley is from her final film at Fox, “Young People” (1940). Unfortunately, this one has also apparently disappeared over the years.



One can hope that the missing beanies and other ensembles are squirreled away in somebody’s closet/drawer, waiting to be discovered!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.