talking_tree

(2012-04-27 21:48:19)

slow, rarely interesting

I usually really like watching the old and charming Shirley Temples. Butthis one, Dimples, just simply isn´t a very good movie. Some fairly goodactors are in it but all together it´s very tiring and unrealistic littlefilm. Shirley´s charisma just doesn´t hit it this time. And when itdoesn´thit, the only thing that shows is her acting which is not anythingspecial.The only quite good thing is the songs and dance rutines but other wise:boring. Also it just shines out how bad possition black actors had inHollywood on the 30s.This is not Shirley´s best, watch Curly top or The Little Princessinstead.

murraygewirtz

(2012-04-27 12:47:51)

Dimples is a primer on stereotyping of Blacks

Parents should not allow their small children to watch Dimples any morethan they should allow them to watch excessively violent, sexuallyexplicit or profane movies, as they would be exposed to egregiousstereotypes of Black people. The movie should be viewed by students offilm, sociology and American history so they might have a betterunderstanding of the negative, demeaning attitudes toward Blacks soprevalent in the U.S. until relatively recently, traces of which stillexist. The picture has Stepin Fetchit playing a servant to Frank Morganas if he has an IQ of 10. It has a "play-within-a play" performance ofscenes from Uncle Tom's Cabin featuring Whites in ludicrous black-facecomplete with white sugar donut lips. It's ironic that the novel UncleTom's Cabin was intended as an abolitionist work, and indeed did arousesympathy for Blacks, (so much so that President Lincoln called itsauthor, Harriet Beecher Stowe, "The little lady who started the CivilWar") while this movie, in which Uncle Tom's Cabin plays a prominentpart, is, by enlightened standards, crudely racist.If you can overlook the above racism, and I I'd like to know who can,Shirley Temple is adorable as usual, dancing wonderfully, though hersinging voice, albeit cute, leaves something to be desired, as always.Frank Morgan gives an admirable performance as a charming con manthief.But, all in all, Dimples is a children's movie that is no longer, if itever was, suitable for children. If you doubt this, Just picture theObamas screening it for their daughters.

mark.waltz

(2012-04-27 17:25:31)

Likable film with some great character performers!

Can you imagine Shirley Temple as one of the Bowery Boys? Well, here in1852, she plays a ragamuffin street entertainer being raised by apickpocket grandfather (lovable Frank Morgan). Dimples gets theattention of an aging society matron (equally lovable Helen Westley)who, for some reason, has a hatred of the theater and everything thatit stands for. Her nephew (Robert Kent) wants to put on a Broadwayproduction of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and use Dimples for the role ofLittle Eva. Desperate for money after being cheated into buying a fakewatch for $800 of the show's money, Morgan agrees to let Westley takeTemple in for $5000.00. Eventually, he sells HER the fake watch for$1000 and stays on with her to be with Shirley. The show goes on butwhen Westley finds out that the watch was fake, she tries to haveMorgan arrested. But then she sees Temple on stage dying as Little Evaand has to face both her hatred towards the theater and her decision toimprison Temple's grandfather.It's a predictable story with a few musical moments, including aminstrel show at the end that might raise a few eyebrows. But that waslife in Hollywood in the 30's, and producers didn't think about whothey might offend then, let alone the future. Add Stepin Fetchit asWestley's servant, and you have double the offense for some audiences.Minus this socially unaware concept fortunately gone (but available tobe seen to show how wrong it was), "Dimples" is a cute little film thatwas made during Temple's heyday as Box Office gold. She's always been alittle too cutesy pie for my tastes, but I can understand how latedepression audiences could take her into their hearts as a sign of hopefor the future. I much prefer the talents of the veterans here, FrankMorgan and Helen Westley, who manage to avoid being backgroundfurniture when sharing scenes with her. They are adorable. Here, theyare the type of grandparents many audiences could relate to or desirefor their own. Morgan, rascally yet undeniably charming, and Westley,somewhat cranky, but oh, that heart of gold, are well paired here. Bothhad very long careers in films, and Westley seems to have beenoverlooked as a major character player. She could play gruff characterslike Parthy in 1936's "Show Boat" or be lovable like the blindgrandmother opposite Temple in "Heidi". Try not to fall in love withher here or in the 1937 Loretta Young screwball comedy "CafeMetropole". She's also wonderful in the 1934 version of "Anne of GreenGables".While not outstanding, "Dimples" is still quite likable in spite of itsshortcomings. Overlook the bad taste of black-face and stereotypes anda cute little film emerges.

ccthemovieman-1

(2012-04-27 03:16:51)

Pretty Good But She's Done Better

Boy, I really liked this Shirley Temple film the first two times I sawit when I owned it on tape. Then, after a fairly long hiatus, I boughtthe DVD and didn't find it nearly as entertaining as I had before.Having a poor transfer on DVD didn't help. Subsequently, Fox hasre-issued these with much better quality (on those 3-pack Templecollections) but I doubt if I'd re-purchase this again.Anyway, I still liked all the songs and dances, especially the onesearlier in the film. There are a few more numbers here on than on mostof her movies, which is fine with me. Temple is still cute and winsomeas ever and there are no evil- nasty villains in here, for a change.Yet, Frank Mogan can be a bit annoying and Stepin Fetchit is just plainaggravating. Fortunately, he has a minor role without much dialog.In summary, a decent Shirley Temple movie but she made at least ahandful of others during this time period that were much better It'sstill a sad comment there are only six reviews of this. Don't peopleappreciate this girl's talent? She is a legend.