Temple Tuesday: Little Miss Marker sets, Pt. 3

Time to bring this series of “Little Miss Marker” (1934) set stills to a close! First up is the plush apartment of Bangles Carson (Dorothy Dell). In the screenshot below, crusty Sorrowful Jones (Adolphe Menjou) drops by to see how Marker/Marky (Shirley Temple) looks in the new clothes Bangles picked out for the little girl.



A detailed view showing the thought and care that went into decorating the set, right down to the curios on the table.



Another angle of Bangles’ apartment:



This part of the set is shown during a key scene where the relationship between Bangles and Menjou begins to change.



Despite the age and appearance gap, the expert performances between Menjou and Dell make the chemistry appear real. Makes me think of “Easter Parade.” Even though Peter Lawford seems like a better physical match for Judy Garland, you still root for Fred Astaire!



And speaking of performances, the musical number between Dell and Temple (“Laugh, You Son of a Gun”) shows the loving chemistry between these two performers. Dell had the sex appeal of a Mae West and the husky voice of an Alice Faye. In addition, she had a vulnerability that made her even more appealing. It makes one wish she hadn’t died so young and that she and Temple could have been paired again. Personally, I think she could have given “Now and Forever” a bit more heart than Carole Lombard did.



When Marky needs an operation, the best doctor for the job must be torn away from his wedding day to perform the surgery. This overhead shot is most likely a combination of a set and a matte painting:



The lobby of the church was definitely a set:





Combining a few screenshots, I was able to get this panoramic view from the film, showing the Doctor (Frank Conroy):



A closeup of the “stained glass”:



A few stills showing the lobby and elevator of the hospital:





Big Steve (Charles Bickford) exits the elevator with the intent of revenge on Bangles and Sorrowful for their betrayal of affections:



Another view of the hospital lobby including the nurse’s desk:



A corresponding screenshot where everyone waits anxiously for a donor for Marky’s surgery:



With some Photoshop magic, I was able to create this panoramic view from the set stills:



The set for the operating room; note the crude sketch showing which bed Shirley would be in. You can also make out the faint writing that states as much:



The corresponding screenshot where Big Steve is the blood donor for Marky:



Even for a movie oft-watched, you can catch new details, such as the Nurse getting high on what I would “assume” is oxygen, but in Hollywood, one never knows!



The Damon Runyon story on which the film drew its inspiration was first published in Collier’s magazine, March 26, 1932: 



The story is darker and doesn’t have the same ending as the movie.



One of the ads in the magazine features a Philco 112X floor model console radio; remember, this was back in the day when families gathered around a large radio for their entertainment instead of a TV or computer screen.



A detailed view of the radio, housed in a gorgeous wood cabinet:



I was able to find a few shots online of one for sale:



Can you imagine if this kind of craftsmanship was put into TV/Computer Screens today?!? Edited from tuberadioland:

The Philco model 112X was introduced in January of 1932, billed as the first radio scientifically designed as a musical instrument. It used an updated version of Philco's 11-tube superheterodyne plus chassis and was the company's first model to use the inclined sounding board, a new invention that was their latest salvo in the ongoing battle for superior tone. It looked radically different to any Philco that had preceded it and this prompted the use of another catchy marketing phrase: It Looks Different. It Sounds Different. It IS Different! The importance of this innovation was such that, starting with the 112X, models using it would have an X appended to the model number. The 112X's cabinet was styled by Edward L. Combs (patent), who was also responsible for the design of the cabinets for the very successful models 70 and 90, introduced the previous June. The "inclined sounding board" was designed to provide clearer high frequency reproduction by directing high notes up towards the listener and away from the floor - keep the music off the floor they proclaimed. Furthermore, according to ads for the 112X, high frequencies emitted from the cabinet's rear were not only attenuated by Philco's new echo absorbing screen, mounted behind the speaker chamber, but were moreover directed down to the floor instead of being reflected back to the listener off of walls behind the radio.



One of the illustrations from the Collier’s article:


 
…and the corresponding scene from the movie:
 


Stay tuned for another upcoming series featuring set stills from Shirley’s other Paramount film, “Now and Forever”! 
 
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Little Miss Marker sets, Pt. 2

Back to my collection of set stills from Shirley Temple’s “Little Miss Marker” (1934) we have a poker table inside the office of Big Steve (Charles Bickford). It is only briefly seen after the game is over, as Steve tells Bangles (Dorothy Dell) that he needs to pawn his recent jewelry gift to her. She is none too happy about this!



Although it doesn’t get much screen time, you can tell a lot of thought was put into dressing the set. Just look at the notepad from the game; it even uses the correct character names!



Shirley’s character is first seen on this set, Sorrowful’s Booking Office.



The matching screen shot with Little Miss Marker (Shirley) and her father, who is about to pawn his daughter off so that he can place a bet.



The bet goes awry, and Shirley is left in the charge of Sorrowful Jones (Adolphe Menjou) and his buddies. While in their care, she sees a barbershop pole and tells her not-too-swift bodyguards that she wants the “big stick of peppermint.” As you can see in this publicity still, they oblige.



The view of Sorrowful’s office from his booking window:



A corresponding screenshot with Marker and her father (Edward Earle):



The board seen in the background:



A detailed view, showing the sheet for the Hialeah Park racetrack in Florida, which opened as a racetrack in 1932.



The real Hialeah Park racetrack in Florida:





The nite club set was one of the largest sets in the film:



I need to know more about the paintings that dressed the set. They have the flair of Tamara de Lempicka’s work, albeit slightly amateurish looking.





A detailed view of the instruments left by the band:





This publicity still gives a corresponding view of this portion of the set:



The bar:



Another interesting painting:



A screenshot showing the bar:



If you wonder what the bar was stocked with, wonder no more!



How about that phone?



Does every bar carry Cream of Mushroom soup? That’s a cocktail I’m not familiar with!



The corresponding screenshot from the back of the bar:



Another set still showing the nite club:



The corresponding screenshot from the beginning of the film, as the men are about to bet on how much Marker weighs:



This set still includes the actors:



A blurry detail of Adolphe Menjou:



A corresponding screenshot:



This stitched panorama shows the scene just before Shirley makes her entrance:



The men are portraying characters from The Boy’s King Arthur (read more about the book in Shirley’s hands from my previous post):



Bangles and Marker make their entrance:



A publicity still showing Marker at the King Arthur party, held in her honor:



Yes, there will be a part 3!
 
See more “Little Miss Marker” photos at my main website.