Little Miss Marker was Shirley Temple’s breakthrough film. She was five years old when she made it. Watching her in it is an unnerving experience in more ways than one. The whole film is a weird experience. Directed by Alexander Hall, some of it is so bad, so poorly paced and edited, and so oldContinue reading “Little Miss Marker (1934)”
Category Archives: Shirley Temple
Captain January (1936)
When Captain January was released, Shirley Temple was eight years old and had already made several hit films. Her arc was still ascending, and that incredible sense of cheer and fun in her early movies is evident. It’s a sentimental story that could have been much worse. Once again Shirley is an orphan, rescued andContinue reading “Captain January (1936)”
Little Miss Broadway (1938)
Little Miss Broadway isn’t one of Shirley Temple’s best movies. She had already made most of her classic films, and she’s beginning to grow out of her preternatural kawaii cuteness. Those earlier films are full of invention and energy, and she seems uncannily natural no matter what she’s required to do. The story of LittleContinue reading “Little Miss Broadway (1938)”