Captain January (1936)

Shirley Temple: Helen

Photos 

Quotes 

• Helen : My mother was very beautiful, wasn't she, Cap?

  Capt. January : Mighty pretty, Star, according to her pictures.

  Helen : We're awfully lucky, aren't we?

  Capt. January : Lucky?

  Helen : I'd never have known what my mother looked like if it wasn't for that trunk. Did you swim out to get it, too?

  Capt. January : No, it just washed ashore.

• Helen : How can anyone sleep in the deep?

  Capt. January : That's the long last sleep, Star.

  Helen : Does everyone have to die?

  Capt. January : Yes, everyone does.

  Helen : Even you and me?

  Capt. January : Yes, when the time comes.

  Helen : Do you think we'll make it 'til Christmas?

  Capt. January : Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if we did.

• Helen : Good morning, Mrs. Croft.

  The Widow Mrs. Eliza Croft : Good morning, Star. Is Captain January with you today?

  Helen : No, ma'am.

  The Widow Mrs. Eliza Croft : Well, do tell the dear captain that I asked after him. Don't forget, now.

  Helen : I will. I mean, I won't.

• Mrs. Agatha Mogan : You should be taken home and spanked! What kind of man is this Captain January to allow you to run around?

  Helen : Cap's the finest man in the whole world! See that lighthouse down there? Well, Cap owns it... He saved a million ships in his day.

  Mrs. Agatha Mogan : You go right home and tell him I'm coming to have a talk with him.

  Helen : Yes, ma'am. I'll bet SHE can't spit a curve in the wind.

  Mrs. Agatha Mogan : Don't be impudent!

  Helen : I didn't mean to be! Cap always tells me to be polite to old ladies.

• Helen : Why do I have to do this?

  Capt. January : All nice little girls sew samplers.

  Helen : Well, it doesn't seem like anything I'll need in a sea-faring life.

  Capt. January : That's where you're wrong, Star. A good sailor has to be able to steer a needle.

• Helen : It's a cake! Cap made himself!

  Capt. Nazro : Really? Well then I guess I'll just eat the candles!

• Mrs. Agatha Mogan : There is a compulsory education law in this state, and this child is old enough.

  Helen : How can she know how old I am? We don't even know ourselves.

  Mrs. Agatha Mogan : From what I've observed, this child is being brought up completely without control. She's rude and undisciplined, like a little heathen. Look at the clothes she wears. Not even a dress!

  Capt. January : What business is that of yours? Star is mine!

  Mrs. Agatha Mogan : You forget that Star is adopted, Captain January. It's well within the power of the school authorities to have her taken away from you and placed in an institution.

• Helen : Can you stop polishing and help me study for my school examination?

  Capt. January : In a minute, honey. Ships and lives depend on this light being just so. Suppose this light had been out on the night you washed ashore, where would you be then?

  Helen : Asleep in the deep.

• Capt. January : What are the four Gospels?

  Helen : Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

  Capt. January : Correct! Do you remember the story of the Prodigal Son?

  Helen : He came home, and the father said, "Bring me the fattest calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry."

  Capt. January : But not everyone was merry, Star. There was another son and some neighbors. Who was sorry that the Prodigal Son came home?

  Helen : The fattest calf!

• Capt. January : Now, listen, Star, you've just got to pass this examination. You've just got to. It may mean they'll try to take you away from me if you don't. Now, I don't want to make you nervous...

  Capt. Nazro : No, he don't want to make you nervous.

  Helen : I'll do my best, Cap. I'm not worried.

• Cyril Morgan : I'll bet you don't even know who discovered America.

  Helen : Was it a sailor?

  Cyril Morgan : I don't know. I guess so.

  Helen : Cap did!

  Cyril Morgan : He didn't do no such thing! Christopher Columbus discovered America, and I know when he discovered it, too... it was in 1492... you don't know NUTHIN!

• The Widow Mrs. Eliza Croft : Wouldn't you like me to live here, so I could cut'em all down to fit'cha?

  Helen : No, I'd rather grow up to fit the dresses.

  The Widow Mrs. Eliza Croft : Oh! You mean you wouldn't like me to live here?

  Helen : Well, I like you, but you see, I'm the lady of the house, and we couldn't have two ladies of the house.

• Capt. Nazro : Miss Morgan is on her way here now with a deputy from Salem. You've got to beat it! You don't want them to take Star away, do you?

  Capt. January : I'm not running away!

  Capt. Nazro : Don't you understand? If they find you with Star, they'll take her away as sure as you're standing here!

  Helen : What are they going to do to me?

  Capt. Nazro : Don't be stubborn, January. You can fight later. In the meantime, take Star and hide out.

• Paul Roberts : Here comes Star! Come on, Star, we've been waiting for you.

  Helen : Can't now, Paul, I'm on government duty. Got a job yet?

  Paul Roberts : No, but I've been promised one as soon as the halibuts start running.

  Helen : I hope they start running soon.

  Paul Roberts : Well, you can't rush a halibut.

  Helen : Well, don't give up the ship.

• Ira J. Slocum, storekeeper : Better watch out, Star. One day she'll tie a tow rope onto January, and you'll lose him.

  Helen : Not while I'm in charge of the lighthouse. We need another case of brass polish. We need it right away.

  Ira J. Slocum, storekeeper : [holding out a jar of lollipops]  Here, have one on the house. They're all the same size, I checked.

  Helen : I know, but the black ones last longer. Now don't forget about our special prize. You know I'm giving you all our trade.

  Ira J. Slocum, storekeeper : I won't forget.

• Mrs. Agatha Mogan : Disreputable sailors, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves, teaching a child to behave this way!

  Helen : Don't be mad at them. They always have fun with me like this. Did you know that Captain Joe Ross can spit 15 feet in a 20-mile gale?

  [Captain Joe Ross smiles at Mrs. Morgan] 

  Mrs. Agatha Mogan : Indeed!

  Helen : And the skipper, the one with the accordion, once he killed three men with a table knife!

• Helen : Ooh, it's Captain Nazro!

  Capt. Nazro : Hello, honey.

  Capt. January : Can't I give a birthday party around here without you barging in?

  Capt. Nazro : Pipe down, you old caddywompus. I didn't come to see you. Come on out and see the birthday present I brung you, honey.

  [They go outside. Capt. Nazro has brought a crane for Star's birthday] 

  Helen : [to the crane]  Remember me?

  Capt. Nazro : Why should the crane remember you?

  Helen : Is it a crane? I thought it was a stork.

• Helen : You're going to invite Captain Nazro to stay for my party, aren't you?

  Capt. January : Well, I wasn't counting on it, but...

  Helen : Goody! I'll fix an extra place.

  Capt. Nazro : I'm here and I'm gonna stay for a while.

  Capt. January : Oh, you are, are you?

  Capt. Nazro : Yeah, I are. It's time I do some inspecting around this lighthouse.

  Capt. January : They must be daft in Washington to make you an inspector. You probably don't know the difference between a telescope and a tarbell!

  Capt. Nazro : The way you handle it, I guess there ain't any!

• Mrs. Agatha Mogan : There seems to be some doubt about the child's age. You say she has the learning of a child of eight. Very well, we'll call her eight.

  Helen : Maybe I'm only six.

  Capt. January : I'll stand on eight.

• Deputy Sheriff : I've got an order here to produce that child before Judge Thompson.

  Capt. January : All right, when do you want her?

  Deputy Sheriff : Tomorrow afternoon at three.

  Capt. January : All right, we'll be there.

  Mrs. Agatha Mogan : You take that child right now! Don't you understand he's trying to sneak her out of the jurisdiction of the court?

  Capt. Nazro : He's trying to do no such thing!

  Mrs. Agatha Mogan : Then why is he on this boat? Officer, you're responsible for the custody of the child!

  Deputy Sheriff : Maybe you're right. I can't take any chances.

  Helen : Oh, Cap, don't let them take me away!

• Capt. January : Let's see what the next question is. Name three animals that live in very cold countries.

  Helen : I know! Three bears and three seals.

  Capt. January : No, Star, they mean three different animals.

• Capt. January : Can you prove that heat causes things to expand?

  Helen : What's expand mean?

  Capt. January : Get bigger. Can you prove that heat makes things get bigger?

  Helen : Of course it makes things bigger. The days are longer in the summer, aren't they?

  Capt. Nazro : I guess that's the answer, all right.

• Helen : I can do everything. I can sing and I can dance and I can read a ship's compass.