Temple Tuesday: Treacher Tales

Besides having similar storylines, Shirley Temple’s childhood films often had similar supporting actors, like Arthur Treacher. Born on July 23, 1894 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, Treacher began his acting career in England as a chorus boy in “Maggie” (1919), moving to New York City in 1926 in the musical-comedy revue, “Great Temptations.” His first movie role was in “The Battle of Paris” (1930). His role of a butler in “Fashions of 1934” launched his career as filmdom’s favorite stuffy British butler. According to legend, the characterization came about because of an incident that happened during the filming of “Hollywood Party.” From one of his obituaries:

He became typecast in the role by accident in 1933 when he was playing a conventional and polite butler in a minor role in a film with Jimmy Durante. One day, Lupe Vélez, known as the “Mexican Spitfire” visited the set and told the 6-foot-3 actor she had a boyfriend as tall as he [note: that would have been Gary Cooper]. Unimpressed, Treacher replied: “Really?” The director took note said, “play the part like that” and a character was born.

And that is how he landed his first role in a Shirley Temple movie, “Curly Top” (1935). At 6'4", Treacher towered over the little star, adding a comic effect to their interactions.



Like most of the old codgers in a Shirley Temple film, Treacher’s character eventually thaws and becomes enamored with the little girl.



He was singled out in the reviews for “Curly Top,” despite his limited screen time:

Treacher’s butler is equal to his previous best. But when it’s all said and done these capable people are naught but “feeders” for the principal figure.…Arthur Treacher plays the proud butler, brought low by Curly Top’s winning ways and contributes his own bit of comedy.

In “Stowaway” (1936), Treacher’s butler actually gets a name: Atkins.



The actor was also given considerably more to do, playing straight man to Temple, Eugene Pallette, and Robert Young, who had the role of his wealthy playboy employer.



We even got to hear Treacher attempt to warble a lullaby for Shirley. It was not a pleasant experience!



In the Love, Shirley Temple auction by Theriault’s, two photos and a letter were sold from Shirley’s personal collection:



From the catalog description:

Comprising a photograph of Arthur Treacher napping while, unbeknownst to him, a humorous sign is placed on his chest reading "Exhibit 496 Cuttlefish (Extinct) Do not touch", and with his personally inscribed message and his autograph; a photo of Shirley Temple and Treacher during the filming of “Stowaway” as she applies make-up to his face; and a two-page 1937 letter signed "Arthur Treacher's Mother" in which she notes, among other things, “I understand from my son that he had to go down on his knees in homage to you before you would autograph your photograph” and “I think you are better on the screen than my little boy is - this is a great admission for me to make.”




Treacher’s best known film role at the time was as Jeeves, the valet in “Thank You, Jeeves” (1936) and “Step Lively, Jeeves!” (1937), based on the fictional character by English author P. G. Wodehouse. From a publicity caption that accompanied the two vintage photos below, which were shot at his 3252 Bennett Drive residence (the address listed on the above stationery):

Being the screen’s only buttling star has enabled Arthur Treacher, star of 20th Century-Fox’s “Step Lively, Jeeves,” to acquire his own home.






The home still stands today and looks very much the same:



While the two Jeeves films were a success, Wodehouse was not happy with the adaptations, which turned his beloved character into a naive bumbler. No other Jeeves films with Treacher were made after that.

His third film with Shirley was “Heidi” (1937), which gave Treacher very little to do and was a definite step backwards for the actor.



“The Little Princess” (1939) was the final film pairing of the two, and this was his most substantial role in a Temple film. Rather than a stuffy butler, Treacher played Hubert “Bertie” Minchin, a former vaudevillain who works for his greedy sister in a boarding school for wealthy children. Below is a deleted bit where the two share a card trick.



Shirley and Treacher dance together twice in the film, and while maybe not the level of a Bill Robinson-Temple duo, it is just as joyous. They truly had great chemistry - on screen, at least.



This is why it was surprising to me that Shirley only gave Treacher a small mention in her autobiography, excerpted below. Reading it, one could surmise that she was not overly fond of him. From Shirley’s autobiography, Child Star:

On a soundstage disappointment comes in more cloaks than simply technical incompetence….Sometimes it arrives in the person of someone just passing by. Practicing the rollicking jig “Knock ’em in the Old Kent Road,” Arthur Treacher, a reedy, hawk-faced butler type, was having trouble with one intricate movement. “For anyone as austere and towering as I am,” he complained, hiking up his pants, “well, it’s too complicated.”



The rehearsal was interrupted for us to be introduced to a man and woman, both thin and tall, with prominent noses and overbites, With his high forehead and lanky frame, the man reminded me vaguely of brother Jack. What set them apart was the name, James Roosevelt, eldest son of the President, and his wife, Betsy [sic]. Slightly inclined forward, he chatted quickly about nothing. Overwhelmed with respect for his name, I tried to answer carefully. In poor taste, someone joked that one of my Tennessee fan letters had repeated a rumor that Mother had once been married to the same James Roosevelt. For proof one needed only to compare my brother Jack’s strong resemblance to Roosevelt in build, facial structure, and high hairline. Roosevelt took the jest gracefully, but Betsy, judging by her face, found little humor in the comment. I was with her. Jokes were my stock-in-trade, but not where they deprecated the name of Roosevelt. To change the subject, I suppose, she turned to Treacher and bluntly asked what he thought of me. Tugging at his nose and then pulling thoughtfully on his chin, Treacher replied, “You have no idea, if she were indeed that way, she could be President of the United States.” Once again everyone tittered uneasily, except Treacher, who stood, shoulders thrown back, posing deadpan. Again I was annoyed. Flip remarks were more an insult to the President and his son than a compliment to me. As the Roosevelts went around meeting the rest of the cast, I tagged along to eavesdrop. “Did you get a police badge?” someone asked Betsy. “No, does she give them away?” “Well, your mother-in-law got some while she was here.” “That’s different,” Betsy replied. “We’re the unimportant members of the family.” In my mind’s eye the presidential family was a unity. Anyone who assaulted that unit insulted the whole. In my mind where the presidency was involved, nobody was unimportant. Tipping heroes from their pedestals offended me. When Betsy had jumped down from the pedestal, it left me disillusioned and resentful. I was less young than before.

In 1938, James and Betsey moved to Hollywood to work as an aide to Samuel Goldwyn. The two divorced in 1940, just a year after meeting Shirley. Betsey was granted custody of their daughters, along with child support. Allegedly…James had little to no contact with his children, and eventually married three more times. Betsey ended up with Jock Whitney, the publicity whiz for “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Below are the two in…happier times? Circa 1933:



Back to Treacher…



In a dream sequence for “Princess,” Treacher portrayed a court jester to Shirley’s princess.



A very good likeness was achieved with the jester puppet that Treacher holds:



Treacher’s character was pivotal to the happy ending achieved at the conclusion of the film.



While I don’t know if the two ran into each other socially, I do know that they performed together six years later. Treacher played George, the butler, and Shirley was Connie, the Cinderella character in The Camel Screen Guild Players adaptation of “First Love,” broadcast on CBS Radio, May 14, 1945.



You can hear the program on Stars On Suspense, starting at 37:17.

In 1960, Shirley had Treacher join the cast of “The Land of Oz” episode in her storybook anthology, “The Shirley Temple Show.” True to form, he played Graves, a butler; but this time, his character was on the side of the villains, scheming along with the evil witch Mombi (Agnes Moorehead) and General Nikidik (Jonathan Winters). It was delicious fun, watching these three hams work together. Shirley played Princess Ozma.



Treacher’s final film role was in the Disney classic, “Mary Poppins” (1964), as Constable Cody Jones.



He brings the Banks children home to their uninterested father (David Tomlinson).



Treacher and Temple were reunited again on the Mike Douglas talk show in May 1972, when Shirley acted as co-host for the week. After “Poppins,” Treacher had gained new fame as sidekick to Douglas’ talk show rival, Merv Griffin, from 1965-1970. When the Griffin show filming moved from New York to Los Angeles, Treacher decided to leave the show, stating, “At my age, I don’t want to move, especially to someplace that shakes!” For those who don’t live on the west coast, Treacher was referring to earthquakes.



At this same time, Treacher became known for the chain of Fish & Chips restaurants that bore his name.



$1.15?!? As one who ate there regularly as a tot on Sunday nights, I can personally attest to the portions being quite large!



Care to apply?



Treacher died in Manhasset, New York, December 14, 1975, at the age of 81 from cardiovascular disease. Few of his obituaries mentioned his teaming with Temple. Edited from the Newsday Suffolk Edition:

Though Treacher played in everything from Shakespeare to “Mary Poppins,” he was so identified as a disdained butler that he was made honorary president of the Butlers Club of America in 1939. Treacher made his home in Hollywood for about 17 years, playing not only butlers but a variety of character roles. “We were the backbone of the movie industry,” Treacher said. “You had a pretty boy and a pretty girl and the audience waited to see somebody like Slim Summerville come along. There were actors like Eddie Horton, Eric Blore, Alan Mowbray, Frank Morgan, and Charlie Ruggles.”…On television, he appeared on the Milton Berle Show, the Bob Hope Show and the Victor Borge Show, but he is perhaps best remembered for his stint as second banana on the Merv Griffin Show in the late 1960s. In that role also, he was anything but humble. “He asks me a question, and I answer him or I don’t,” Treacher once said of his role as a haughty aide on Griffin’s talk show. At times, he confessed, he has shut up and let the diminutive Griffin “flounder.” “Sweat, you little son of a ______,” Treacher said with a grin. Griffin’s guests often fared no better. “Do you mind,” Treacher once inquired of a particularly long-winded guest, “if I scream? Treacher was no longer active in show business, though his name is well known through the commercials for his Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips, a fast-food operation. At one time, Treacher had a company, Call Arthur Treacher Service System, providing temporary servants. Married to Virgiinia Taylor, Treacher had no children. “Neither blessed nor cursed,” he once remarked.

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: A Saddle for Shirley

In 1936’s “Stowaway,” Shirley Temple played an orphan stranded in China who eventually gets rescued by a millionaire playboy and his girlfriend (Robert Young and Alice Faye).



In between takes, Shirley posed with one of the many gifts she received during the time that she was probably the most famous person in the world.



Joseph Schenk, Chairman of the Board at Shirley’s studio, 20th Century-Fox, gave her this leather saddle to go with her Shetland pony (another recent gift!). That’s a pretty darn good likeness of Shirley carved into the leather!



This saddle ended up in the 2015 Love, Shirley Temple auction. How it looked when I saw it on display at the Santa Monica History Museum:



Almost looks brand new! Shirley’s mother sure took good care of her daughter’s possessions.



Edited from the Theriault’s catalog description:

#383 Hand-Tooled Leather Saddle Gifted to Shirley Temple by Joseph Schenk

Of superb leather workmanship, the beautifully engraved hand-tooled saddle was custom made for the young actress, featuring Shirley's hand-tooled image with smiling expression and classic curly locks on each fender, her name in raised lasso-style lettering on the seat back, and a silver plaque inscribed "Presented to Shirley Temple by Joseph M. Schenk 1935".



The saddle was custom made by the prestigious Los Angeles leather firm of Lichtenberger-Ferguson. The saddle includes all accessories including the saddle blanket, and is in excellent condition. Provenance: the saddle was gifted to Shirley by Joseph Schenk, Chairman of the Board at 20th Century Fox, on the occasion of another gift to her which was a Shetland pony. The pony was traveling to America aboard the May 1936 maiden voyage of the SS Queen Mary and then by rail to the Los Angeles train station. Shirley Temple wrote of this in her 1988 autobiography "Child Star". "Burdened with a specially-made western saddle with my face tooled into the leather skirts..., [the pony] was introduced to me in the railroad freight yards in downtown Los Angeles. A welcoming flower garland which it promptly tried to eat, was draped around the pony's neck...'Giddap!' I cried. The pony moved ahead but...the saddle started to slip sideways, me with it...A switch engine tooted just as a line of freight cars came screeching along an adjacent track. The pony whinnied, kicked and reared up, while I held on. “I'm going to call him Spunky', I shouted...'He's not afraid of anything.'”

Estimated price  was $6,000-8,000; sold for $3,200. What a value!



A photo of Shirley on the saddle with her pony Spunky at her Brentwood home:





See more Shirley Temple in “Stowaway” photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Dimples and Romance

Actress Astrid Allwyn had supporting roles in two back-to-back Shirley Temple films, starting with “Dimples” (released October 16, 1936) and followed by “Stowaway” (released December 25, 1936). Allwyn was born Astrid Christofferson on November 27, 1905 in South Manchester, Connecticut. At age 13, she was offered a scholarship to the Boston Conservatory of Music for her singing, but declined rather than move away from home. After high school graduation, she moved to New York, hoping for a career as a concert singer, but ended up taking classes at a business college and becoming a typist on Wall Street. She studied dancing and dramatics while in New York and later gathered experience by joining a stock company. Allwyn made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Elmer Rice’s “Street Scene,” and on the strength of her second play, “Once in a Lifetime,” was brought to Hollywood in 1932. Her first husband was actor Robert Kent, who also starred in “Dimples.” Although she played the gold-digging “other woman” in “Dimples” (Delma Byron, seen below with Robert Kent and Shirley, played the romantic lead) Allwyn ended up winning the leading man in real life. Ain’t that grand?



Allwyn told the story of how she and Kent fell in love in the November 1937 issue of Hollywood Magazine:

Astrid up and got herself married about six months ago to Robert Kent, 20th Century-Fox star, and a mighty good actor in his own right and a chap who is going places in the picture business before he is through. “Frank Morgan can take credit for the start of our romance,” Astrid reveals. “We were shooting a scene in the Shirley Temple picture “Dimples” where Robert was supposed to kiss me. Whether it was because he was shy or because he scarcely knew me,  he suggested to Bill Seiter, the director, that he merely kiss my hand. Bill had some suggestions of his own—and Robert was told to kiss me the way a boy should kiss a girl. Well, the cameras began to grind and we began to kiss. Frank Morgan was supposed to interrupt the embrace with a bit of dialogue but as he said later ‘I didn’t have the heart’ so we kept it up until Bill finally yelled out. From that time on—thanks to Frank Morgan—we began a friendship that ended where we are now—happily married and deeply in love.”

The marriage took place shortly after “Stowaway” wrapped up production, when the two headed south to Tijuana for the ceremony. They married on January 10, 1937, as announced in the Hanover Evening Sun on January 18, 1937:

Astrid Allwyn and Robert Kent, film players, have disclosed they were married Sunday, January 10 in Tijuana, Mexico. The only attendant was J. Edward Bromberg, screen actor. The couple obtained their marriage licenses under their true names of Astrid Christofferson and Douglas Blackley. Their romance began last spring.



Bromberg also costarred in “Stowaway,” seen at left below with Alice Faye, Temple, and Robert Young.



Below are Allwyn and Eugene Pallette in a scene that was ultimately deleted from the final film. Once again, she played a woman with less than desirable morals, about to blackmail Robert Young for some moolah.



The scene below was also deleted from “Stowaway.” Allwyn is barely visible in the final film, hardly earning her onscreen credit.



Despite being “happily married,” Astrid and Robert were divorced in 1941. Allwyn had the distinction of appearing in three Best Picture Oscar nominated films: “The White Parade” (1934), “Love Affair” (1939), and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939). She married a second time in 1941 to businessman Charles O. Fee. After filming Hit Parade of 1943 (1943), Astrid made a decision to retire so she could focus on family and raising her children. One of her daughters, Melinda Fee, had a modestly successful career in movies and television. Astrid remained married to Charles until her death in Los Angeles on March 31, 1978 from cancer, at age 72. She is buried in Forest Lawn in Glendale, Court of Freedom, #955.



Above is a publicity shot for Fox, shot by Gene Kornman in 1936. The accompanying blurb:

Hollywood continues to smile upon the small hat and triumphantly demonstrates that size imposes no limits in either beauty or variety. Turbans are strong in the mode and imbued with exceptional charm — as witness this black velvet model by William Lambert, 20th Century-Fox stylist, and worn by lovely Astrid Allwyn, featured player of the same studio. The round crown is effectively trimmed with a black cellophane novelty. The ring worn by Miss Allwyn is one of her heirlooms from Sweden — a floral design in mosaic is set in jet and mounted in antique gold.

She may not have had a huge career, but in Shirley-world, Astrid Allwyn was the perfect villainess for “Dimples.”



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.