1938's "Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm" is our next film. It features Shirley Temple as the title character as she sings and dances her way into the hearts of the nation as Little Miss America.
The film's cast includes Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, Jack Haley, Gloria Stuart, Phyllis Brooks, Helen Westley, Slim Summerville, Bill Robinson, William Demarest, Paul Harvey, Franklin Pangborn, and J. Edward Blomberg.
Rebecca Winstead is raised by her stepfather, "Uncle Harry". With no way to earn money, Harry turns to Rebecca to bring home the bacon. He signs her up for a radio program that might make her "Little Miss America". He tells her that this is what they've got to do, because they're landlady locked them out. "Uncle Harry, why are landladies always doing that to us?" asks Rebecca.
She does sensational when she sings on the radio. The radio executives want her, but through a mishap, Rebecca gets away without signing any contract.
Not wanting to be burdened by her anymore, Harry takes Rebecca to her mother's family, where she is taken in by her aunt Miranda.
Also living with Miranda is Rebecca's pretty cousin, Gwen. The two become fast friends.
Miranda vows to give Rebecca a wholesome country atmosphere and family life. Rebecca is thrilled. When Miranda tells her to run along and see what she can learn about farming, Rebecca says she's going to go and introduce herself to the chickens.
As she explores the farm, Rebecca comes upon a little piglet stuck in a gate. She helps him out and tries to send him back to his mother for breakfast. But he makes a break for it and runs onto the neighbor's property.
Little does she know that the neighbor is none other than Anthony Kent, the radio executive who has been looking for her since she disappeared from the radio studio. He's also very happy to meet Rebecca's cousin, Gwen.
Rebecca shows off her singing and dancing skills right away. She dances with Kent's hired man, Aloysius. The two of them dance and sing to the song "An Old Straw Hat".
When he tries to get Miranda's permission for Rebecca to be "Little Miss America" and appear on the radio, Miranda refuses, saying she doesn't want Rebecca to have anything to do with show people. Naturally, they are extremely disappointed.
So, the only thing to do is let Rebecca go on the radio behind Miranda's back. She sneaks out of the house and runs next door to do the show. The country begins to fall in love with the little girl who sings "Come And Get Your Happiness".
To finish the show, Rebecca sits at the piano and proceeds to sing a medley of "greatest hits", which include "On The Good Ship Lollipop", "Animal Crackers In My Soup", "When I'm With You", "Oh, My Goodness", and "Goodnight My Love".
After the show, Miranda barges in and announces that she's been listening and knows what they're all up to. But they are all pleasantly surprised when Miranda says how much she enjoyed the program and is willing to let Rebecca continue.
During the course of the evening, Anthony lets Gwen know how much he likes her.
It turns out that Miranda wasn't the only one who heard Rebecca. "Uncle Harry" heard her as well, and he wants custody. He shows up with his new wife and a lawyer and demands Rebecca be returned to him. He realizes what a star and money maker she could be. Sadly, Rebecca has no choice but to go with him.
Gwen runs next door and asks Anthony for his help. He's on his way into town anyway, and he's only too glad to do what he can.
Harry has Rebecca all signed up for a rival radio program, "Little Miss Universe". When it's her turn to go on, she gets a case of laryngitis and can't sing. (We later learn that this was deliberate.)
Anthony turns up and talks with Harry. He tells him he will give him $5,000 if he will turn over guardianship of Rebecca to Miranda so she can be with the people who love her most. Harry is only too glad to get his hands on that much cash.
And Rebecca is very glad to be back with the people she's come to know and love more than anything.
The bonus is that she still gets to perform as "Little Miss America". She sings and dances to "The Toy Trumpet" with Aloysius as her delighted family watches.
Bill Robinson....................................Aloysius
William Demarest.............................Harry Kipper
Paul Harvey.....................................Cyrus Bartlett
Franklin Pangborn.............................Hamilton Montmarcy
J. Edward Bromberg..........................Dr. Hill
And that's it for Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm. The title of the film was taken from a book with the same name. Aside from a girl named Rebecca coming to live with her Aunt Miranda, there are no similarities with the storyline. Shirley Temple's pig-tailed hairdo which she sports after she moves to the farm made headline news at the time the film was released.
Our next post comes in the form of our first Shirley Temple film, 1936's "Captain January", a film about an orphan who lives with the lighthouse keeper who found her when she was a baby. A mean truant officer tries to force her to go to school and tear her away from the home she loves. The supporting cast includes Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, Buddy Ebsen, Sara Haden, Jane Darwell, June Lang, Nella Walker, George Irving, and Bill Robinson.
Right away we meet Star. Lighthouse keeper Captain January (Kibbee) puts on some music as she awakens, and Star starts to sing "Early Bird".
We find out that Star is an orphan Captain January rescued. The only link she has with her family is an album of pictures that washed ashore in a trunk. After breakfast, Captain January sends Star on an errand in town.
Finishing her errand, Star and her friend Paul delight the locals with a song and dance, "At The Codfish Ball".
It's a cute little song. The opening lyrics go: "Next Friday night you're all invited to dance from eight to five. All the fish that's still alive are having a ball. It's some affair. They'll all be there from the herring to the whale. They'll turn out to shake a scale in Neptune's hall. Come along and follow me to the bottom of the sea. We'll join in the jamboree at the Codfish Ball."
Watching Star are exceedingly stern truant officer Agatha Morgan and kind-hearted schoolteacher Mary Marshall. Agatha tells Star that she needs to get home so she can tell Captain January the truant officer wants a word. Before racing home, Star asks the locals, "What's a truant officer?" "Stormy weather for kids!" comes the reply.
On Star's birthday, Captain Nazro, a friend of Captain January, comes calling. He's brought a present for Star: a crane.
Captain Nazro says the crane's name is Ichabod. "Look at 'em! Look at 'em!" sighs an exasperated Captain January. "If it wasn't for the ribbon, you couldn't tell 'em apart."
The truant officer barges in on her birthday and demands that Star report to school for an examination of a child of eight, two years ahead of Star's rightful age. The truant officer ultimately wants to remove Star from Captain January's care.
So, Star has to cram for her exam in a hurry. Captain January teaches her some geography, multiplication tables, and spelling. Captain Nazro even comes over to help. Captain January wants to know why he came. "Why, I bet you can't count over ten without taking your shoes off," he says as Star laughs.
The day comes for Star to take her examination. She does alright, but then the teacher asks Star to make up a story about being left alone with a little brother. Star excels in the story with a wonderful imagination. Star eventually passes the examination, even after answering a surprise question about history. The truant officer is angry that Star passed, and vows to continue pressing on with her case.
An adorable moment comes in the form of an operatic song (Chi mi freno in tal momento? from Lucia di Lammermoor). Star and Captains January and Nazro "la la la" their way through it from beginning to end. At one point, Star tries her hardest to sing the notes, but exclaims "too high!" right in the middle of the performance.
It's definitely worth a couple of minutes to watch this highly amusing piece of music.
It's a cute interpretation of a classic song. And Shirley Temple sings to the top of her range (literally!).
Captain Nazro gets some bad news. They're installing some equipment in Captain January's lighthouse that will put him out of a job. With no job, it's a cinch that he won't be able to keep Star. He finds the address of some people who may be related to her and secretly writes to them.
Eventually, Captain January finds out the truth about the lighthouse and gets depressed about not being able to find another job. Captain Nazro tells him he sent for Star's family, which further depresses January.
On the day they are scheduled to leave the lighthouse, the truant officer comes with a warrant to appear in court with Star. They hurry to Captain Nazro's boat before the truant officer arrives at the lighthouse. They almost forget Captain January's pet parrot as they leave quickly.
On Captain Nazro's boat, Star's friend Paul is waiting. The plan is for them to take it out a mile or so and wait until the truant officer backs down. Later that night, the truant officer catches up with them, and has Star forcibly removed from January's custody. Captain January gets injured in the process.
Just as Star is being taken away by the truant officer, her family comes to claim her. It turns out that her uncle is the American Consul in Morocco and has just returned after having been away for many years. On Captain Nazro's advice, they leave without first seeing Captain January.
Star moves with her uncle and aunt to their home in Boston, and they shower her with gifts. However, she can't get Captain January out of her mind, and misses him terribly.
Star's aunt and uncle tell her they're going to take a trip and they have a surprise for her. They think they've found a toy she'll really like. It's a new yacht, and they're fixing up a playroom for her. But that's not the surprise.
They've hired Captain January as the captain. And that's not all, they've also made Captain Nazro first mate. Her friend Paul is made a member of the crew. Also joining the crew is Mrs. Croft (who's been sweet on Captain January for the whole movie). She's been made the ship's cook.
The film ends with a reprise of "At The Codfish Ball", and Star is happy that she has both her newfound family and her old one in her life. Cast rundown:
Buddy Ebsen..............................................Paul Roberts
Sara Haden................................................Agatha Morgan
Jane Darwell..............................................Eliza Croft
June Lang..................................................Mary Marshall
Nella Walker...............................................Mary Mason
George Irving.............................................John Mason And that's all for Captain January. An interesting fact: one scene where Shirley Temple was supposed to dance the hula was cut. Test audiences considered the hula immoral so it was removed from the final product. As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.
