marc

(2012-05-04 23:35:16)

"good Ship Lollipop" Shirley Temple stolen by Jane Withers

One of Shirley Temple's best movies is stolen by an absolutely riotousperformance by Jane Withers as Temple's bratty nemesis-the mean rich kidwhopicks on poor,noble motherless Shirley. This is the movie that boastsTemple's anthem- On the Good Ship Lollipop.Worth seeing if you haven'tseena Shirley Temple movie.And this was one of the major hits of the1930's.

Michael O'Keefe

(2012-05-04 04:06:48)

She will play on your heart strings.

Hollywood's smallest, biggest star Shirley Temple plays an orphan caughtupin a custody battle. She worships a daredevil pilot(James Dunn)and throughthe course of the movie gets the chance to sing and make immortal "On theGood Ship Lollipop". Also in the steadfast cast are: Jane Darwell, JudithAllen, Charles Sellon and probably the show stealer Jane Withers. Withersisthe perfect rich brat to be mean to the poor little orphan(Temple). One ofthe better projects of the busy little "curly top".

Bleeding-Skull

(2012-05-03 03:52:18)

* * * * out of 4

After losing her father, Shirley and her mother live with the wealthy,snobby family that employs her mother. Although the circumstances arenot the best, Shirley has the support of the aviator friends of herlate father who dote on her, recognizing her biggest dream to flysomeday. When her mother is hit by a car, and left entirely orphaned,she is stuck living with the snobby family, and their cruel littlegirl, the only kindness she is shown in the home is from the beautifulniece, and surprisingly the cruel Uncle Ned.Excellent Fox film with great actors of the yesteryear. And ShirleyTemple in this film deserved the Oscar. Good if you like 30's films.But, it's good anyway.Rated PG.

Ron Oliver

(2012-05-02 19:01:02)

Shirley Temple Charms In Sentimental Crowd Pleaser

Little BRIGHT EYES wins the hearts & changes the lives ofalonely aviator and a cranky old coot.This movie was a very big hit for Shirley Temple, who certainlydeserved all the attention: she is adorable. Although thefilmtends to lag into melodramatics during the final half hour,Shirley brightens everything considerably when she appears.With her undeniable talent & elfin smile, it's easy to seewhyshe became Hollywood's top box office star.However, the Mighty Mite does have competition. Jane Withersis on hand as the Ultimate Brat, a dreadful child who likestoplay with imaginary machine guns and amputate body partsoffof dolls. Although she looks alarmingly like OUR GANG'sAlfalfain drag, Withers is wonderful and the perfect antidote forthosewho may find Miss Temple a tad bit icky sticky. To say thatMissWithers practically plunders the picture from The Moppetishigh praise, indeed.James Dunn appeared in four films with Shirley in 1934;inBRIGHT EYES he has his finest scenes with her. As her deadfather's best buddy, Dunn is quite touching in his devotiontothe child. Elderly character actor Charles Sellon has somefunnyscenes as a most obstreperous old blister. His contemptforMiss Withers is a joy to behold.Jane Darwell was always a welcome addition to any cast;hereshe plays a lovable Irish cook. Brandon Hurst as her primEnglish butler husband, Judith Allen as Dunn's love interest,Lois Wilson as Shirley's doomed mother, and Theodore vonEltz& Dorothy Christy as Withers' pestilential parents all add tothemovie's enjoyment.Shirley sings what was to become her signature song - ‘OnTheGood Ship Lollipop' - and it is a highlight of the film. Manyfirsttime viewers, having heard the song all their lives, maybesurprised to learn it's about a plane, not a boat - in thiscase,from American Airlines.

ancient-andean

(2012-05-02 09:16:12)

The studios need to reissue Jane Withers' films

Jane Withers, at age four, started as one of the deep South's most popularradio stars on Aunt Sally's Kiddy Club. She was so small she had to belifted up to reach the microphone. She was the mischief-maker of the KiddyClub program, called "The Little Pest". Like Mitzi Green, she had anuncannyability to imitate the voices and facial expressions of actors, actressesand other people, something she learned playing with the mirror. On stagebyage five, she became a famous actress throughout the South, finally movingto Hollywood at five-and-a-half. In Hollywood, Jane began by playing in aweekly radio-revue and gave numerous stage performances for beneficialorganizations."Bright Eyes" was Jane's first credited movie role and led to a long-termcontract with Twentieth Century-Fox. She stared in numerous movies of thethirties, and was Shirley Temple's main competition. Jane was one of thegreat child actresses of all times, very popular with the children of herera, and after watching Shirley's goodie two-shoes act in Bright Eyesplaying against Jane's power-house comedy performance, I can see why.Shirley Temple was her usual cute, sugar-coated, man-worshiping self witheveryone giggling politely at her jokes except the audience. In contrast,Jane Withers had my daughter and I laughing our heads off until we hadstomach-aches. Jane in Bright Eyes was bratty, adorable and hilarouslyfunny. Her brat act has seldom, if ever, been equaled in the annals offilm.It is really a shame, and I hope the studios who own Jane Withers' manyfilms as a child take note, that Bright Eyes is the only Jane Withersperformance to survive to contemporary video. What ever happened to hermovies "Ginger", Paddy O'Day", "Gentle Julia", "Little Miss Nobody", "CanThis be Dixie?" and "Pepper"? In a published chat-room article Jane, whoisstill very much alive, says that she will eventually finish her book onherchild star days. Like the kids of Our Gang, she remembers a fun,privilegedchildhood and has nothing in the way of sob stories. Let's hope that thestudios will stop suppressing her films and release them on video soon,perhaps coinciding with her book.

lugonian

(2012-05-01 22:51:25)

The Custody of Shirley

BRIGHT EYES (Fox, 1934), directed by David Butler, stars child actressShirley Temple in the last of her many 1934 movie releases, and thefirst to be categorized as a formula "Shirley Temple film," though herearlier LITTLE MISS MARKER over at Paramount comes close to thatformat. Whether playing an orphan or a child with a living parent, inBRIGHT EYES, Shirley has a mother whose aviator father "cracked up"some time ago. She is loved and admired by everyone except her mother'semployers. This also marks a rare case in which Shirley is pittedagainst another little girl, a complete opposite to her angeliccharacter, as well as the introduction to Temple's signature song, "Onthe Good Ship Lollipop" by Richard Whiting and Sidney Clare, singing itto the fellow aviators on an airplane as it taxis on the runway, andher catch phrase of "Oh, my goodness!"The story, set during the Christmas season in California, revolvesaround Shirley Blake (Shirley Temple), a charming 5-year-old living ina mansion with her widowed mother, Mary (Lois Wilson), employed as amaid for the snobbish and selfish Smythe family: Anita (DorothyChristy), J. Wellington (Theodore Von Eltz) and their unruly daughter,Joy (Jane Withers). Also under their wing is the cranky Uncle Ned Smith(Charles Sellon), a wheel-chair bound old man, and Mr. and Mrs. Higgins(Brandon Hurst and Jane Darwell), a middle-aged couple working asbutler and cook, who all have a soft spot for little Shirley. One ofShirley's greatest pleasures is heading over to the American AirlinesAirport where she spends time with her godfather, James "Loop" Merrill(James Dunn), a pilot whose best friend was Shirley's deceased father.When Shirley's mother is struck by a passing vehicle on her way toattend her a Christmas party at the airport, the child, now an orphan,becomes a charity case for the Smyths, who in reality take her in andher dog, Rags, too, only to please their Uncle Ned. Because Loop is abachelor, he's unable to take in Shirley. He even refuses the help ofAdele Martin (Judith Allen), a society girl staying with her cousinAnita's home for Christmas, because he refuses to forgive her forjilting him at the altar years ago. When it's learned that Uncle Nedintends on adopting "Bright Eyes," this not only finds the Smythefamily in fear of losing their inheritance after he dies, but Loop torisk his life flying his airplane in uncertain weather to obtain enoughmoney for an attorney to fight for the custody of Shirley against theold man in court.BRIGHT EYES is one of the few Temple movies where she's nearlyovershadowed by her co-stars, namely Charles Sellon and Jane Withers.Sellon's performance predates that of Lionel Barrymore years beforecranky old men in wheelchairs became fashionable. Aside from comingdown the stairs in his wheelchair, Sellon's Uncle Ned has some trulyfunny lines as well as a great moral message about selfishness andlove. Withers, in the first important screen role, plays a spoiled bratto perfection. She not only has tantrums, rips apart dolls, and wantingto play train wreck with Shirley, but is the only little girl inhistory to want a wheelchair as a Christmas present. Fortunately herunlikable performance didn't put an end to her career. In fact, itstarted a whole new cycle of Jane Withers movies. While Temple remainsthe most famous child star in history, Withers, whose career at20th-Fox lasted longer than Temple's, is virtually forgotten, and dueto her only association with Temple, BRIGHT EYES would become the onlyWithers film from the 1930s in circulation today.Great moments of BRIGHT EYES include Shirley's mother telling her aChristmas story with chorus singing "Silent Night" in the background,and a tender loving scene where Dunn's character, in a choked-upmanner, having to tell Shirley that her mother has gone to Heaven.Shirley's response, "You mean, my mother cracked up, too?" This aloneis classic Temple, with Dunn constantly asking her throughout thestory, "How much do you love me?" He even gives her his "magic ring" tosend to him whenever she's in trouble. All this sounds corny in print,but actually plays better on the screen.Formerly available on video cassette and currently on DVD either inblack and white and colorized process, BRIGHT EYES has played onnumerous cable TV stations throughout the years: The Disney Channel(1980s), American Movie Classics (1996-2001),Turner Classic Movies(2002-03) and even The Fox Movie Channel. In spite of its age, BRIGHTEYES is sure to delight adults, children and optometrists alike. Besure not to miss the good ship lollipop. (***1/2)