Temple Tuesday: Rebecca Restored!

Very quietly, it was revealed that Shirley Temple’s 1938 musical comedy, “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” has been restored. Those that live near the Orinda Theatre can view it on the “big” screen on September 5 at 1pm, according to the theatre’s website:

A new chapter unfolds for cinema enthusiasts: We have secured an extraordinary partnership to showcase a Disney Restorations Series. Starting in 2026, the first Saturday of each month will bring an amazing opportunity to experience some of cinema's most treasured classics on the big screen, right here at the Historic Orinda Theatre. This series celebrates a milestone in film preservation, with the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' Restoration and Library Management Department sharing their remarkable work, including restored classics from Disney, Selznick International, 20th Century-Fox, Fox Film Corp., and 20th Century Pictures. Many of these cinematic gems have been absent from theaters for years, making this year-long showcase a groundbreaking event for Northern California, with numerous premiere presentations of these restored masterpieces. We will be opening the series with the 1950 Animated Classic, Cinderella! Hosted by Film Critic, Matias Bombal

The Orinda, just under seventeen miles outside of San Francisco, was designed by architect Alexander Aimwell Cantin, are right up my alley. If only it were closer! Photos below were found online:



From the exterior signage:

The Orinda Theatre opened its doors in 1941 and is the city’s most prominent visual landmark with its signature dorsal fin marquee. It is a textbook example of Streamlined Moderne Architecture, a late type of Art Deco design inspired by structures built for the 1939-40 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. The building includes Carrara glass and stainless steel finishes, with the interior theatre walls and foyer ceiling painted in classic murals.

Back to Shirley…I was curious what “restoration” meant in this case. No information was given as to whether the efforts sourced the original negative, a vintage print, or…? Due to “vault fires” and the natural aging of nitrate film, many of Shirley’s early films don’t look so good. “Rebecca” has always looked pretty decent in its VHS and DVD releases, so for this one to be the first chosen for a restoration effort seems like Disney (who now owns her childhood catalog) was seeking some low hanging fruit, or perhaps because it is one of Shirley’s least controversial movies. Whatever the reasoning is, I am very happy that Disney is actually doing something positive with Shirley, who has been buried since they took over the 20th Century-Fox classic catalog of films. Below, Shirley helps “Titanic” dish Gloria Stuart bake some cookies in “Rebecca”:



Kevin Schaeffer, the current Director of Restoration & Library Management for the Walt Disney Corporation, posted this on his LinkedIn account:

Incredibly proud and excited that our restoration of the Shirley Temple classic "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1938) is premiering at the Venice International Film Festival today. Congratulations to our Restoration Manager Nikki Jee, Natalie Altounian, our partners at The Film Foundation, and the artists at Cineric Inc and Audio Mechanics for their great work.

When using AI to find more information, I learned just how faulty it can be. It apparently mixed up information for the Mary Pickford version, and also freely takes information about negative restoration and haphazardly paired it with “Rebecca.” One should ALWAYS check the sources for AI and follow-up with more questions. Below, Shirley’s “Rebecca” costars Randolph Scott and Jack Haley (best known as the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz”) have a discussion:



Franklin Pangborn (below) has a memorable bit towards the end of the film. Few played the prissy/fussy comedic characters like he did; he was often a foil for W. C. Fields (“International House,” “The Bank Dick,” and “Never Give a Sucker an Even Break”).



Below is a still from a deleted musical number with Shirley, Slim Summerville, Bill Robinson, and some of the other fieldhands from Sunnybrook Farm. If only this sequence survived!



In other Shirley news, it appears that the rest of her autobiography might finally see the light of day. Hollywood gossipy Deadline, quietly broke this story last October (which was briefly regurgitated this March on the official Shirley Temple website):

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. 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. His Orbison-Buddy Holly hologram tour was booked for 58 dates while Houston’s was a 36-date tour in Europe. Tudor’s credits include the Cryer movie Hiding Out, the 1995 TV movie Sahara, the 2004 TV special Carol Burnett: Let’s Bump Up the Lights, and the 2005 Disney TV movie, Once Upon a Mattress starring Burnett, Zooey Deschanel and Tracey Ullman. “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.”

This is a curious story as Disney/Fox owns the rights to most of Shirley’s well-known childhood titles. Most likely the movies the story refers to are her Baby Burlesks and the 1950s/1960s Storybook anthology television series. Below, a 32 year old Shirley plays a little girl magically transformed into a boy in “The Land of Oz” (1960) segment of “The Shirley Temple Show.” She is shown with Jonathan Winters:



A brave Shirley even tackled the role of “The Little Mermaid” on her series. In a bad blonde wig, Shirley was very miscast in this part. Below, Shirley and costar Torin Thatcher: 



The one comment left on the Deadline story was hilarious:

They’re gonna AI Shirley age 10.

A hologram concert with Shirley? Oh my…

See more photos at my main website.

Wasn’t I a dish?

In the 1997 blockbuster, “Titanic,” Gloria Stuart portrayed Rose, a centenarian who survived the sinking disaster of the luxury liner in the title of the film. Stuart was 86 when she filmed the role. As her character looks at a sketch that was drawn of her aboard the ship, she exclaims, “Wasn’t I a dish?”



Why yes, Gloria; you really were! In the 1936 film “Poor Little Rich Girl,” Stuart was given the thankless task of playing the romantic lead in this Shirley Temple musical. She wasn’t given much to do except look pretty in the few scenes that she had.



Above she is shown with Michael Whalen, who portrayed Shirley’s father in the film. Below, with Claude Gillingwater and Shirley.



In a 1996 interview Gloria had this to say about working with Shirley:

“My agent called me one day and said, ‘You’re going to make a Shirley Temple film!’ I said, ‘Oh no!’ He said, ‘Gloria, it’s wonderful!’ I said ‘What’s wonderful about it?’ W.C. Fields said never be in a movie or on the stage with dogs or children. It’s a losing battle. So I asked to see Darryl Zanuck and I said, ‘Mr. Zanuck, I’m a dramatic actress. It’s not for me.’ He said, ‘Gloria, you could be in film for the next ten years or on the stage and nobody would ever see you or hear about you, but if you’re in a Shirley Temple film, millions of people will see you.’ She was really a get-away girl. You watched her and she was so completely composed and happy and talented and up up up. She was a real tonic. She was a miracle. Indescribable. It’s impossible that one child was all those wonderful things but she was.”



Stuart reconnected with Shirley sixty years later at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony. “I was sitting at the banquet afterwards and she came up and put her arms around me,” Stuart recalled. “I was the only one left that she worked with.”



Perhaps in a nod to her less-than-enthusiastic response to playing alongside Temple, studio head Darryl Zanuck had the publicity machine crank out some fashion shots of Stuart. This caption accompanied the below image:

Three high fashion notes of the spring season, a strictly tailored suit, men’s wear fabric, and the newly favored shade of grey striped in chalk white, are incorporated in this costume worn by Gloria Stuart playing in “The Poor Little Rich Girl” for 20th Century-Fox. Horizontal bands of the material finish the seams of the skirt and the slot pockets, evidence of the meticulous tailoring of this suit. The blouse of white pique has a pleated frill for collar and closing. A grey felt hat and grey suede accessories complete the outfit.



Neither one of these outfits were visible in the final film.



Stuart co-starred with Temple again in 1938’s “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” alongside Randolph Scott. At least she was given more to do in this film and a number of comic zingers which she delivered perfectly.



Yes Gloria - you were a dish!

See more photos at my main website.

Sunday with Shirley: Temple for Easter

When it came to publicity shots, number one Box Office Star Shirley Temple posed for every occasion! Easter 1935 had Shirley wearing this Renè Hubert designed outfit that was most likely intended for the movie “Our Little Girl,” released in May 1935. The accompanying caption:

AGAIN the stars of Hollywood are rebels in the world of fashion. Their Spring hats are new and novel inspirations—not copies of a dictated vogue. Even petite Shirley Temple has a very definite idea about her Easter bonnet—and a bonnet she has—fashioned of piquet, which actually ties in a pert white bow under her chin!

The outfit was not seen in the finished film. Another shot from the same photo session was used in Photoplay magazine, May 1935:



Not to let a good outfit go to waste, it was repurposed with a different hat and a fur capelet and worn by Shirley at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre ceremony where she immortalized her signature in cement on March 14, 1935:



Back to Easter, and “Our Little Girl”! Shirley took time between takes to pose with this darling little bunny in a basket for a few Easter-theme photos:





The Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News featured Shirley in an Easter fashion bit on April 22, 1935, wearing the same outfit from “Our Little Girl”:



As reported by the Progress Bulletin on April 19, 1935, children could celebrate WITH Shirley at an Easter Egg Hunt:

Children’s Matinee Features Egg Hunt And Shirley Temple

An Easter egg hunt and the showing of a Shirley Temple picture will be the major attractions at the Fox Saturday Morning Children’s club matinee at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the Fox Pomona theatre, according to plans announced today. Shirley Temple, whose tremendous popularity extends to both children and adults, will be seen at this morning matinee only in her feature picture “Stand Up and Cheer,” in which she made on of her greatest hits. The other featured attraction, the Easter egg hunt, is expected to be one of the most popular events ever arranged for the club. There will be lots of Easter eggs hidden away, for the boys and girls to find.

The cynic in me believes the above story was intentionally misleading people into thinking that Shirley herself would be at the matinee on Easter Morning. I highly doubt the Temple family traveled to Pomona for Easter morning…but I could be wrong.

For Easter 1938, Shirley Temple posed at an altar, clutching a hymnal, while looking heavenward. 



The accompanying caption:

There is a definite spirit of sanctity in this Easter picture of Shirley Temple, the Nation’s No. 1 box office star, whose latest 20th Century-Fox starring picture is “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” Even to a child like Shirley, Easter means more than colored eggs, and soft-eared bunnies, and the peaceful wisdom in Shirley’s expression tells the whole story.

For Easter 1939, Shirley posed with what appears to be the same hymnal. It must have been a popular edition at 20th Century-Fox! The accompanying caption:

EASTER HYMN — The screen’s number one star makes a lovely looking choir boy against the background of stained-glass windows. But to Shirley Temple, as to every other youngster, Easter symbolizes more than hymns and the Sunday service - it means Easter vacation from school and painted easter-eggs as well as all the other paraphernalia that makes this one of the happiest seasons of the year. Her latest picture is “Susannah of the Mounties.”



This alternate pose came with a different caption:

CHOIR BOY — The robes of a choir-boy ideally suit Shirley Temple’s innocence and childhood charm. The tenth birthday of the 20th Century-Fox number one star of the screen comes shortly after Easter and that for Shirley is all the more reason for celebrating the holiday. Her latest picture is “Susannah of the Mounties.”



Just before the end of her 20th Century-Fox contract in 1940, Shirley posed with some Easter lilies in this gorgeous Kodachrome image:



For those that celebrate Easter, I hope it is a happy one!

See more Shirley Temple holiday photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Behind the Scenes of Rebecca

This behind-the-scenes image from Shirley Temple’s “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” (1938) shows the child star at the piano with Jack Haley leaning in over her shoulder. A detailed view of Shirley and Jack, best known as the Tinman from “The Wizard of Oz” (1939):



Below in the detailed view you can see the crew, which includes Cinematographer/Photographer Arthur C. Miller at far left in glasses, Joseph LaShelle (uncredited second cameraman) behind the camera, and director Allan Dwan in front. Shirley’s brother Jack (uncredited second assistant director) is sitting in the background near the fireplace. Apparently this scene was filmed before he was removed from the picture by Director Dwan for an altercation he had with his famous sister over a prop turkey (you can read more about it here). Note the label on the camera for the Shirley Temple Police. The badges began on Shirley’s previous film, “Heidi” (1937).



One of the most coveted (and personal) pieces of Shirley memorabilia is an authentic Shirley Temple Police Force badge. The idea began when Shirley put a paper clip on still photographer Anthony Ugrin’s coat one day. She wrote about its origin in her 1945 autobiography My Young Life:

I told him that wearing the clip made him a policeman and I was chief of police. One of the prop men asked to join the force, so I put a paper clip in his lapel too, and pretty soon everybody on the set was going around ornamented with paper clips. Then I decided that the director (Allan Dwan, on the set of “Heidi”) should be chief of police and offered to abdicate, but the director wanted me to retain my high position and joined the ranks instead. Finally, the director presented me with a box of little tin badges with the inscription ‘Shirley Temple Police Force,’ painted on in black lettering. First thing every morning I’d line up the Shirley Temple Police Force for inspection and look at their badges. There was a 5-cent fine for people who had forgotten their badges, and a 1-cent fine for not having it polished, and thumping $5.00 fine for anyone who had lost a badge or given it away.…I made scads of money on fines, but I didn’t keep it. Part of it furnished a Girl Scout room in Santa Monica, another part helped to build a recreation room for boys in a Santa Monica school and the rest went to the Babies Milk Fund.

Members each signed the declaration that “I wish to join this police station for $10,000,000 per week. This will not be paid if I leave within 10 years.” The badge shown below was auctioned off in 2015 for $3,600.


Another behind the scenes shot from the musical number, “Come and Get Your Happiness.” Once again, LaShelle is behind the camera, Dwan in front of it, and Photographer Arthur C. Miller in the back leaning against the table:



Shirley is directing two pretty singing twins, who also appeared in “Just Around the Corner” (1938).



Below are announcer George Fisher and Shirley Temple at the Press Preview of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on March 4, 1938. Shirley had the opportunity to speak over the radio airwaves of the Mutual Broadcasting Network at 8:30pm Pacific Time.



The great Rita Dubas, Shirley expert supreme, identified the object in Shirley’s gloved hand as one of the coveted Police Force Badges. Not quite sure though…



Maybe this alternate shot from the evening will reveal what’s in Shirley’s gloved hands.



Bingo! It’s a Shirley Temple Police Badge. Of course Rita was right!



Rita also put together this incredible video with clips and other goodies from the preview:



See more “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: The Dinehart Connection

Actor Alan Dinehart co-starred with Shirley Temple in two films. First, he played a private investigator determined to get Shirley’s father (played by James Dunn) behind bars again in “Baby Take A Bow” (1934). Four years later, he had a short role as Purvis, the rival radio executive of Tony Kent (Randolph Scott) in “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” (1938). Below is a screenshot with William Demarest, Ruth Gillette, Shirley, and Dinehart.



How did Dinehart’s name appear in my brain? As I was re-watching childhood TV favorite, “The Brady Bunch,” I encountered yet another Shirley connection.



The Season One November 14, 1969 episode was titled, “A-Camping We Will Go.”



I noticed on the credits the name Alan Dinehart as one of the writers. Did Dinehart become a writer? Thirty-one years after “Rebecca” was made? It didn’t seem possible.



The episode is cute. This panorama shows the location of where the blended Brady family went camping, the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir in Los Angeles. If it looks familiar, you might recognize it from the opening of “The Andy Griffith Show.”



The story is a mix of boys vs. girls and “The Parent Trap” (1961). With the family unable to catch fish for lunch, Carol (Florence Henderson) pulls through with her backup picnic basket.



Fried chicken and cold cuts for days! Greg (Barry Williams) scoffs at the basket, calling it “sissy food.”



Yes, there are some cringe moments when watching this vintage show, but for the most part, the stories promote equality, and not just between the sexes. It was also groundbreaking in showing the mother and father’s love for each other. Almost every episode shows them in bed (the same one!), kissing, hugging, and flirting with each other. While today’s jaded generation may find the show laughable, for me, it evokes a sadness for a time when healthy relationships were promoted in the media. Sadly, “healthy” has become “corny.”



As always, I digress. Turns out that the Alan Dinehart in the credits was actually Alan, Jr., son of the actor and his first wife, Louise Dyer. This 1934 photo shows Alan and his son, with Dinehart’s second wife between them.



From the accompanying vintage publicity blurb:

Alan Dinehart, stage and screen star, and his bride, flew back to California April 17th, after a brief ten days sojourn in New York, accompanied by Dinehart’s 16-year-old son, Alan, Jr. who is to make his home henceforth in California. Like his dad, Alan, Jr., is a polo enthusiast and the new estate they have secured in Riverside, Calif., will offer plenty of opportunity to improve his game. The trio is shown above at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, shortly before leaving New York. Mrs. Dinehart is the former Mozelle Britton. 4/18/34.

Alan Dinehart, Sr. died of a heart attack in 1944 and was buried at Forest Lawn (Mozelle would “join” him there in 1953). Alan, Jr. (1918-1992) worked as a producer, scriptwriter, voice-over artist, and voice director for “Top Cat” and “The Flintstones.” Besides “The Brady Bunch” episode, he also wrote for “Gilligan’s Island.”

Yet another mystery solved here at Daveland! See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple's Turkeys

Temple Tuesday is two days late, but these photos go perfectly with today’s celebration of Thanksgiving. Whether you get riled up about the origins of the celebration or not, EVERYONE would benefit from slowing down and taking at least one day to focus on what they can be thankful for. Just getting the disclaimer out of the way first, folks, cause that’s how I operate.

Photo #1 is from 1935 and shows Shirley in the duds that she wore during the orphanage sequences from “Curly Top.” Even though the film was shot from May 25, 1935 through July 10, 1935, the publicity department was thinking ahead by shooting photos that could be used during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. From the accompanying (now) gruesome caption:

“You eat now, and I’ll eat Thanksgiving Day,” seems to be the idea Shirley Temple, little Fox Film star, has as she watches one of her turkeys go after the corn supply.



One of Shirley’s semi-notorious stories from her childhood film career took place during the filming of “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” Early in the film, Rebecca (Shirley) goes to visit neighbor Tony Kent (Randolph Scott). Her cousin Gwen (Gloria Stuart) eventually joins the two as Rebecca dines on some turkey that Tony’s butler (Slim Summerville) has served the little girl. The photos above and below were taken during the filming of this sequence.



Shirley’s brother Jack was hired as third assistant director, to which she would later say, he “spent time thinking up things to take care of, one of which was me.” Director Allan Dwan fired him after a dispute over a roasted turkey prop. The turkey had been sprayed with insecticide and Jack loudly ordered her not to eat it, which she had no intention of doing. Out of spite, she popped the turkey in her mouth, prompting her brother to shake her to dislodge it. “Despite a slightly bitter taste, it was good turkey and my disobedience was immensely satsisfying.” Below, Shirley calms down between takes of the sequence by doing a little crafting:



In the 1938 film “Just Around the Corner,” Shirley and Bennie Bartlett share some turkey in the kitchen as their characters play matchmakers for their family. Do their attempts work? Of course they do!



The film was released just in time for Thanksgiving, on November 11, 1938. From the Sunday, November 20, 1938 Milwaukee Sunday News-Sentinel:

Hollywood’s little dream-girl-come-true (Shirley Temple, of course) is pictured having a dream of and for herself…and Shirley’s vision should come true Thanksgiving Day. As for the forthcoming holiday, seems to us Shirley has quite a few things for which to be thankful. Only 9 1/2 years old, she has earned a sizable fortune…should be able to enjoy a bright and bountiful future. On the other hand, millions of moviegoers might well remember to be appreciative of the happiness and cheer she has given them from the screen. Then there are the thousands outside the motion picture industry for whom her fame has been a source of livelihood…employees of doll manufacturers and children’s clothing concerns, etc. Doesn’t the title of her next picture, “The Little Princess,” fit Shirley to a ‘T’? The film a 20th Century-Fox production, will be her first full-length Technicolor vehicle.



The dress Shirley wears while carving the turkey was seen in “Just Around the Corner” and is known as the Lucky Penny dress, named after her character in the film, Penny Hale.



“The Blue Bird” (1940) was shot from September to October of 1939, so it stands to reason that Shirley would be photographed carving yet another turkey, wearing her peasant garb from the movie.

After a brief retirement in 1940, Shirley was back in the kitchen with a turkey again in 1941 during the filming of MGM’s “Kathleen.” These publicity shots were taken in Shirley’s Brentwood kitchen.











In the above and below shots, you can see the Morgantown Ruby Red goblets on the top shelf, as Shirley happily pretends to munch on her Flintstone-sized turkey leg.



I hope you all have a joyous, reflective, and relaxing day. I’ll be out this morning running the Turkey Trot, attempting to earn whatever calories I take in! And while I’m at it, I’d like to wish a VERY happy birthday to faithful Daveland reader and stellar Shirley’s Army member, SJR!!
 
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.