Temple Tuesday: Lions, Rebels, and Cake

In the 1934 Paramount Production, “Little Miss Marker,” Shirley Temple catapulted to stardom thanks to her performance and a solid supporting cast. From left to right, Charles Bickford, Dorothy Dell, Shirley, Adolphe Menjou, and director Alexander Hall. Bickford played Big Steve, a gang kingpin, who helps little Shirley live by allowing for a blood transfusion between the two.



A year later, the two were cast together again in “The Littlest Rebel,” Shirley’s first production for the newly merged 20th Century-Fox film corporation. Playing a similar role, Bickford was a Colonel for the Union army, whereas Shirley’s father was a soldier for the Confederacy.



Although Bickford’s name can be seen on this publicity still, he never made it into the film. Instead, the role of Colonel Morrison went to Jack Holt, since Bickford was mauled by a lion during the filming of “East of Java” over at Universal. Despite the attack, Universal had no problem featuring it in their promotion for the film!



“East of Java” was held up because of Bickford’s bite. He returned for added scenes on November 4, 1935, allowing the film to be released a month later on December 2, 1935; “Rebel” was released December 27. Not only did Bickford lose the role in “Rebel,” he lost his contract with Fox and leading-man status thanks to extensive neck scarring from the attack. On top of that, he was pushing 44, which was considered over-the-hill for a romantic lead. Making lemonade out of lemons, Bickford went on to play a number of memorable character roles, including that of Oliver Niles, the studio head in Judy Garland’s “A Star is Born” (1954).



Although it would have been interesting to see Bickford and Temple together again, Jack Holt did a fine job. You can see from these photos that Virgie (Shirley’s character) eventually won over Colonel Morrison in the film.



Virgie even visited him in prison, since Morrison tried to help her father, Captain Carey (John Boles) escape Union soldiers to get his daughter to safety. No less than President Abraham Lincoln pardoned both Colonel Morrison and Shirley’s father.



Other changes were made along the way. According to the script dated September 12, 1935, the end scene was to have Virgie singing while flanked by Uncle Billy (Bill Robinson) and James Henry (Willie Best). Captain Carey and Colonel Morrison were watching while standing under a flower covered arbor. The two men would be dressed in the uniform of their respective armies, as seen in the still below.



Instead, the film ends with Virgie singing a reprise of “Polly Wolly Doodle” to all the Union Soldiers in the stable where the two men had been imprisoned. An odd place for a celebration!



Unfortunately, this still is somewhat blurry in key areas; I have a feeling it was more of a printing than a lens error.



Holt and Temple also celebrated career milestones during the filming of “Rebel.”



From a vintage publicity blurb (thanks, Melissa, aka “The Colonel”!):

Two popular screen stars celebrated their respective screen anniversaries with a private party consisting of cake, ice cream, etc. Shirley Temple, child screen star, eats cake with Jack Holt, film actor, on the anniversary of her second year as a star and Holt’s twenty-third year before the cameras. The party was held on a film set at 20th Century-Fox Studios. October 16, 1935.



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Cher

This post is a Shirley sandwich; two Temples wrapped around a Cher filling.

On October 14, 1940 “The Littlest Rebel” was dramatized as an hour-long play for Lux Radio Theater, with Shirley Temple (five years older than when she made the movie), Claude Rains, and Preston Foster. The radio show was performed in front of a weekly studio audience at the Lux Radio Playhouse located at 1615 North Vine Street in Hollywood.



I had vague knowledge that the theatre still existed, but never dug further to find out exactly where it was…until (here comes the Cher filling) I learned it was connected to one of my semi-guilty cinematic pleasures: “Burlesque.” Released in 2010, the film did well at the box office but was panned by critics for being clichéd. I agree that the dialogue doesn’t win any literary awards, but the performances are solid, the set design and cinematography are fantastic, and the musical numbers are off the charts. So there. Give it a break. The exterior location that was used as the Burlesque club that Cher owns in the movie is the (former) CBS Radio Playhouse, now known as the Montalbán Theatre.



The Beaux-Arts building (designed by architects Myron Hunt and H.C. Chambers) opened January 19, 1927 as “Wilkes’ Vine Street Theatre.” In March 1931, the theater was converted to a movie house, titled “Mirror Theatre,” part of a chain run by Howard Hughes and Harold B. Franklin. That company soon fell apart, and by the mid 1930s, the theatre was operating under the name “Studio Theatre.” CBS bought the theatre in 1936 and converted it to a live performance radio auditorium and radio studio for local affiliate KNX, under the name “CBS Radio Playhouse.” CBS’s Lux Radio Theatre moved there from New York that year (which is why some sources give the theatre’s name as Lux Radio Playhouse). This popular anthology show featured radio adaptations of stage plays and film scripts performed by well-known actors in front of a live audience; Cecil B. DeMille was for many years its producer and host. This was when Shirley performed “Rebel” there.



A&P heir and arts patron Huntington Hartford bought the theatre from CBS in 1953 and re-opened it as the “Huntington Hartford Theatre.” Hartford ran the theater successfully for ten years with high-profile productions featuring the biggest stars of the era, but he eventually lost interest in patronizing the arts and sold it to James Doolittle, who renamed it the “Doolittle Theatre.” Doolittle ran the theatre successfully for 20 years, after which it was acquired by UCLA. In 1999, the Ricardo Montalbán Foundation bought the theatre and re-opened it as “Ricardo Montalbán Theatre” in 2004. Which brings us to “Burlesque.”

In the film, Ali (Christina Aguilera) comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom. After pounding the pavement and failing to get discovered, she stumbles upon something that makes her stop cold.



Just in case you weren’t sure that this is a mystical turning point in the film, there’s plenty of fog to clue you in.



Lo and behold, it’s the Burlesque Lounge.



Little Ali is like Alice in Wonderland; she must check out this rabbit hole!



I combined a few frames from a pan shot in the movie to get this image:



How the same area looks today:



If you’re looking for the location where Cher has a catfight with Kristen Bell in a parking lot (shown below), you’re too late. The parking lot is now a multi-level parking garage.



One more shot of the exterior for you. I parked illegally on a Friday afternoon in Hollywood just to get these photos with my dog barking up a storm as he waited not-so-patiently. The things I do for Temple Tuesdays!



While doing some research for this post, I stumbled upon a fun 10th anniversary article about “Burlesque” on the Entertainment Weekly website. Here are some of the highlights:

STEVEN ANTIN (writer-director): My sister…had a show that she created at the Viper Room [for] the Pussycat Dolls. They were becoming a popular thing, so she decided to do a bigger show at the Roxy.…I wrote a story for her show that loosely weaved together their musical numbers. The show exploded.…I got some cameras and shot the show over a few nights and edited together a little movie. That was the genesis.



AGUILERA: I wanted to make sure Burlesque felt right before confirming, so it was important to meet Steven in person. His warm and genuine nature encouraged me to confirm, along with him interweaving so many pieces of my love for Etta James [into the script], knowing my personal passion for Burlesque [on] my Back to Basics album, and also [with me having] performed in the original Pussycat Dolls stage show at the Roxy.

ANTIN: For the role of Ali, we wanted an actress with a very big voice. Christina was the choice. The role of Tess could’ve gone several ways. At first, I was interested in Queen Latifah or Michelle Pfeiffer. But Clint came up with and loved the idea of Cher. Amy really wanted Cher, and so did Clint. I liked the idea, too. So did Christina. I mean, hello. Cher. Enough said…. Cher was on a soundstage doing a voiceover for “Zookeeper.” Clint heard she was there. We camped outside of the stage and waited for her to exit. When she did, we introduced ourselves.

CLINT CULPEPPER (Screen Gems studio president): Cher called me to say she was on the lot [on a different stage] rehearsing her Vegas act, and to drop by. So, I did. Christina was on the other side of the lot rehearsing. I’d told Cher that Christina loved her so much: “You don’t understand, this chick would drink your bathwater!” Cher started laughing hysterically and said, "Well, I hope that doesn't become necessary!” When we met Cher, Christina was holding her kid on her hip, and we walked over…. Cher [saw us] and went, “Ok, everybody, take five!” It was so cute. Christina stuck her hand out and said “Hi, I'm Christina, the one who would drink your bathwater.” Cher grabbed her and gave her a big hug and a kiss.

AGUILERA: Cher definitely felt like my mama bear during shooting. In my experience of meeting and working with some of the greatest legends, the best ones usually are that way. They look out for you in a real way, and it was an honor to work alongside Cher. She gave me some good advice, shared some personal insight and stories on love, and also encouragement along the way when I needed to hear it! There were a few scenes we shared where I learned from her that being a supportive costar really helps to create something special, and motivating each other is what makes for a great outcome.



CHER: One of my favorite scenes is when I was helping Christina with her makeup. It was all very spontaneous. It reminded me of when I was a young girl and my mom and all her friends would put on makeup together.



Back to Shirley. What did she do after her 1940 “Littlest Rebel” radio performance? Celebrate at the Brown Derby with a milkshake!

See more Hollywood photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Dancing with Bill

In the history of dancing pairs, Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple lead the way for a number of reasons. When it came to onscreen chemistry, these two had it over everyone else; their adoration for each other was evident in each of their four onscreen appearances together. While it may seem like small potatoes today, having a little girl dance AND hold hands with a man of color was unheard of back in 1935. This speaks volumes for both Winfield Sheehan and Darryl Zanuck, the Fox studio heads at the time. Both pushed the envelope of what audiences would accept by filming these numbers and including them. True, it was up to the exhibitors whether or not they excised those portions of the film when showing them to audiences, but Fox sent them those films complete. Which is more daring and worth honoring: a studio that risked a financial loss in 1935 by filming an interracial dance scene? Or a studio (Disney) that in 2020 will not re-release a film from their vault (“Song of the South”) because of potential backlash and cause a loss of money? While I agree that portrayals of people of color were often racially insensitive in older films, wouldn't it make a great teaching opportunity to show them instead of hide them, add a commentary track, and have an open discussion about how far we have come and how far we still have to go?



In June 2020, Melissa Joan Hart (a huge Shirley admirer) tweeted about Bill and Shirley:

The post…by Danica McKellar reminded me of one of my favorite Shirley Temple movies, The Little Colonel, because of the history of the stair dance she did with the incredible Billy 'Bojangles' Robinson. When studying the life of Shirley, I learned that it was the first time an interracial couple danced on screen together. Bojangles wasn't allowed to hold her hand but Shirley grabbed his anyhow during the dance and it made history. She also gave him full credit for making her a better dancer, as did Gene Kelly.

The backlash was immediate as a swarm of busy bees was unleashed, quick to point out that the movie and even the term "Bojangles" were racist and offensive. Comments included:

Did you miss the part about this scene taking part in a plantation? Look, I know you mean well by this, but it's not helpful.…Black people are begging for our help right now - giving them a story where the white girl is the hero is not it.…Bill Robinson was an incredible man, but try calling your friends 'Bojangles' and see what they have to say about it.

Melissa attempted to defend her post by saying she wanted to portray a story "about friendship and about breaking barriers,” but the bees did not want to hear it. Do I understand what Melissa was trying to say? Most certainly. Do I understand what the bees were saying? I sure do. What I don’t see is why people are unable to view occurrences through the lens of the times and see how these small baby steps back in the 1930’s were part of what helped shaped people’s opinions going forward. Armchair critics who tweet from the safety of their homes really don’t impress me much. There’s no reason why BOTH opinions can’t be valid and EVERY reason why people should work together for a solution (see earlier in this post for a suggestion on that), instead of wasting time arguing over who is right.

Back to Bill and Shirley. Some criticize Robinson for accepting roles as a butler or a servant; I find his acting skills break through that barrier. Robinson was able to add a touch of class, style, and elegance to every role he portrayed. When doing a scene with Shirley, he always came off as either a peer or an educator, regardless of his socio-economic status in the film. Here’s a scene from their second film together, “The Littlest Rebel”:



Bill and Shirley’s third on-screen pairing, “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” ended with one of their best dance numbers together, “The Toy Trumpet.” Here’s a behind the scenes shot of the sequence being filmed:



While “Just Around the Corner” may have been a less than stellar movie, their final film collaboration yielded two more opportunities for Bill and Shirley to entertain audiences with their dancing. “A Happy Little Ditty”:



…and “I Love to Walk in the Rain”"



I’d also like to give a shout-out to Shirley’s parents, George & Gertrude. Not all children were raised to treat those that are different from them with kindness. Even today, that is something that is missing from the upbringing of far too many.



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Thank you for the use of the Hall

Poor little Shirley seemed to be a staple of the court system throughout her childhood film career! Her characters were often found charming a judge into helping her get the right adoptive family (as in 1934’s “Bright Eyes” above). Sometimes, Shirley was able to plead her case to the highest authority in the country, as she did with Abraham Lincoln (perfectly portrayed by Frank McGlynn Sr.) in 1935’s “The Littlest Rebel,” shown below. Of course he kept her on-screen father from the gallows!

In 1936’s “Stowaway,” Shirley lands in jail with co-star Robert Young who accidentally grabbed the hand of the wrong child, thinking it was Shirley. Don’t worry — they were bailed out quickly.

In the same film, Shirley’s expert (albeit coached) testimony helped keep adoptive parents (Alice Faye and Robert Young) from getting a divorce just in time for a Christmas celebration.

In “Heidi” (1937), Shirley is able to keep her grandfather (Jean Hersholt) from being locked away for kidnapping by namedropping “Herr Sessemann,” who just happened to be the wealthiest guy in town.

Shirley got creative in court in “Little Miss Broadway” (1938) by presenting a complete Broadway show as evidence to help keep her father from being evicted from the hotel that he ran.

Even in her adult career, Shirley’s characters sometimes ran afoul of the law. In “Honeymoon” (1947), an underage Shirley has trouble getting a marriage license in Mexico. Ick.

Although Shirley doesn’t appear in court in “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer” (1947), her sister plays a judge. Thanks to that crucial family connection, Shirley’s underage attempt to romance an older man (Cary Grant) is kept out of the judicial system!

Finally, in “Adventure in Baltimore” (1949), Shirley lands in the klink for being part of a women’s rights protest. Father (Robert Young) has to bail her and the rest of the family out of jail.

Fortunately in real life, Shirley stayed on the right side of the law!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Watch The Whole Movie!

I would wager that those who consider Shirley Temple’s movies sickeningly sweet haven’t really watched an entire film of hers. Back in the late 1980s, Shirley told writer John Culhane a funny somewhat “cautionary” tale about those who didn’t view her childhood movies all the way through: 

Shirley: I heard a very sad story the other day about a woman who was working during Christmas wrapping packages at a department store, locally, near me, and I was getting a package specially giftwrapped, and she recognized me, and she was a very wan, kind of sad-looking woman, and she recognized me and she started to smile, and she said, “Oh, I've loved your films so over the years, and my little girl loved your films.” They used to be shown on television out here I think on Sundays, on TV. And she said that her little girl only could see the films half-way through, and then they'd have to go to church. And I thought, they're going to ruin her life, that's the saddest part of the films is the middle! I said, she'll never know there are any happy endings in life; gotta' go to church on a different time of day or something!

Culhane: She's gotta' convert to Catholicism where they have those 6 o'clock masses!

Shirley: Exactly! I think these came on something like 11 in the morning or 10 in the morning, or even that she could go very early, but I never thought of it, but think of some poor little child that's only seen half of a movie for most of her life.

Think about it… in “Stowaway,” you might think that Shirley gets sent back to the orphanage as she is torn away from Robert Young and Alice Faye.

Or in “Littlest Rebel,” you might assume Shirley’s father gets executed after being caught by the Union Soldiers.

Or in “The Little Colonel,” that the two bad men end up swindling her poor sick father.

Poor Randolph Scott in “Susannah of the Mounties;” did he get burned at the stake?

And finally, in “Heidi,” can you imagine little Shirley being raised by the gypsies?

To find out what happens, you’ll have to go back and watch the ENTIRE film!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: The Rarest Role of All

If you’ve seen enough of Shirley Temple’s childhood films, you’ll note that there’s a very distinctive trend: get rid of Mama! Disney wasn’t the only one in the 1930’s that left their heroine motherless. This allowed Shirley to play matchmaker and fix her father up with somebody else. If she was an orphan and both parents were gone, Shirley could then find great wealth by being adopted into a rich family. This provided the dream situation for money-challenged Depression audiences. Overall, if you were an actress in the 1930’s and wanted a lot of screen time, you DID NOT want to be cast as Shirley’s birth mother! Today’s post will go movie by movie and spell out Shirley’s maternal situation. WARNING: PLOT SPOILERS!!

1934
Little Miss Marker: Mama is already gone



Baby Take a Bow: She’s ALIVE and played by Claire Trevor.

Now and Forever: Dead on arrival!



Bright Eyes: Played by Lois Wilson, she is run over by a car 30 minutes into the movie.

1935



The Little Colonel: She’s ALIVE and played by Evelyn Venable.



Our Little Girl: She’s ALIVE and played by Rosemary Ames.

Curly Top: Dead on arrival!



The Littlest Rebel: Dies about three-quarters of the way through the movie.

1936: The WORST year to be a Shirley birth mother: zero for zero!

Captain January, Poor Little Rich Girl, Dimples, and Stowaway: Dead on arrival!

1937



Wee Willie Winkie: She’s ALIVE and played by June Lang.

Heidi: Dead on arrival!

1938: Another year of zero for zero, Shirley is busy playing matchmaker!

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Little Miss Broadway, and Just Around the Corner: Dead on arrival!

1939: You guessed it: zero for zero!

The Little Princess and Susannah of the Mounties: Dead on arrival!

1940



The Blue Bird: After 3 years, Shirley finally gets a mother: Spring Byington!

Young People: Orphaned but quickly adopted!

Moving into the teen years, Shirley is found motherless again.

1941

Kathleen: Dead on arrival!

1942

Miss Annie Rooney: Dead on arrival!

What's the final tally? 5 out of 23 Shirley movies listed here allowed the birth mother to live through the entire movie. Yikes! Claire Trevor, Evelyn Venable, Rosemary Ames, June Lang, and Spring Byington are the lucky five. Today, Oscar winner Claire Trevor is probably the only one that audiences would remember, with Oscar nominee Spring Byington a distant second.

Enjoy the New Year’s Eve festivities, but please play safely! See you in 2020!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.