Having virtually saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy in the 30s, America's favourite moppet was just a year or two from being dumped by the men in suits when she made this strangely uninvolving adaptation of a Frances Hodgson-Burnett novel. Temple was growing older, and once their child stars' breaking voices or budding bosoms became impossible to conceal, the studios would unceremoniously discard them with the typical short-sightedness of those whose creative decisions are determined by matters of a financial nature. But then, child stars weren't employed for their acting skills back in the 30s - they were employed for their cuteness. Jackie Cooper and Temple were probably the biggest child stars of the 30s, but both were limited actors.
In this one, Temple plays Sara Crew, daughter of an army captain (Ian Hunter) who places her in the Minchin Seminary for Girls when he is despatched to the Transvaal after the Boers start getting frisky. With an eye on the regular cheques from the captain, the wicked spinster Amanda Minchin (Mary Nash) treats Sara like a little princess - until daddy is reported missing presumed dead and is discovered to have died penniless. Before you know it, Sara is whisked up to the attic, dressed in drab work-clothes and forced to toil to earn her keep. Of course, plucky young Sara refuses to believe that her father is dead, and the remainder of the film focuses on her search for him - with the aid of an unrecognisable Cesar Romero as a turbaned Indian servant - in the hospitals of London.
There's something undeniably formulaic about this picture, even though it's clear from the accomplished cast and the use of technicolour that this is a prestige production. Considering this was written at the height of Hollywood's golden age it's surprising that the script is so pedestrian, and that the plot offers nothing in the way of surprises. It's all entirely predictable (apart, perhaps, from an orphan waif managing to enlist the aid of the Queen of England (Beryl Mercer) and general Gordon in her search for her father) and only in the last few scenes does director Lang manage to engage the audience, but without hitting the emotional heights for which he must have been aiming.
And what exactly was the point of Richard Greene and Anita Louise's characters? Playing a riding instructor and teacher at the Seminary engaged in an illicit love affair, they are both completely superfluous to the plot.
Definitely for die-hard moppet fans only, this will have all but the least-demanding viewers reaching for the FF button.
In this one, Temple plays Sara Crew, daughter of an army captain (Ian Hunter) who places her in the Minchin Seminary for Girls when he is despatched to the Transvaal after the Boers start getting frisky. With an eye on the regular cheques from the captain, the wicked spinster Amanda Minchin (Mary Nash) treats Sara like a little princess - until daddy is reported missing presumed dead and is discovered to have died penniless. Before you know it, Sara is whisked up to the attic, dressed in drab work-clothes and forced to toil to earn her keep. Of course, plucky young Sara refuses to believe that her father is dead, and the remainder of the film focuses on her search for him - with the aid of an unrecognisable Cesar Romero as a turbaned Indian servant - in the hospitals of London.
There's something undeniably formulaic about this picture, even though it's clear from the accomplished cast and the use of technicolour that this is a prestige production. Considering this was written at the height of Hollywood's golden age it's surprising that the script is so pedestrian, and that the plot offers nothing in the way of surprises. It's all entirely predictable (apart, perhaps, from an orphan waif managing to enlist the aid of the Queen of England (Beryl Mercer) and general Gordon in her search for her father) and only in the last few scenes does director Lang manage to engage the audience, but without hitting the emotional heights for which he must have been aiming.
And what exactly was the point of Richard Greene and Anita Louise's characters? Playing a riding instructor and teacher at the Seminary engaged in an illicit love affair, they are both completely superfluous to the plot.
Definitely for die-hard moppet fans only, this will have all but the least-demanding viewers reaching for the FF button.