User Reviews

This agreeable movie is based on the Francis Burnett children's classic novel. 1899, London, irrepressible Sara(Shirley Temple) is a little girl in Victorian epoch sent to boarding school ruled by a harsh,hateful headmistress named Mischin(Mary Nash) while her widowed father(Ian Hunter) is posted in South African -Transvaal- during the Anglo-Boer war. Her daddy is declared missing but is reported killed in action and the penniless schoolgirl must work as a servant to pay her existence. Kindhearted Sara befriends a young enamored couple(Anita Louise, Richard Greene)who help her. Then Sara in search for her dad, haunting hospitals where she encounters Queen Victoria.

Impactful adaptation has Temple as likable child playing, dancing, and singing. Lively screenplay, vivid performances, dazzling scenarios originate classic in film-making. Colorful cinematography in Technicolor by William Skall and Arthur Miller. The picture is brilliant and skilfully directed by Walter Lang, a musical cinema and comedy genre expert. This is Shirley Temple's biggest success(it cost a big budget, over 1,5 million dollars) and also her fist colour, another Shirley's hits are:¨Poor little girl,The little rebel,The little colonel and Little Miss Marker¨among others. It's remade by a TV version(1987) by Carol Wiseman with Amelia Shankley and Nigel Havers and a superior version by Alfonso Cuaron with Sara incarnation from Liesel Mattews(Shirley Temple lookalike role),Eleanor Brown(eagle-eyed Mary Nash role)and Lian Cunningham(Ian Hunter lookalike). This is a masterpiece of kids' classic cinema and you will soon be caught up in its sympathetic and enjoyable world.

While American audiences loved this and all the other Shirley Temple vehicles, across the Pond this story of a young girl refusing to accept reports of her father's death in combat must have struck a responsive chord with war-weary Brits who could easily identify with her troubles. Although the Hollywood film industry has always come under some well-deserved criticism for twisting history and other literary sources in its screenplays, they do get it right at times. The largely British cast and English setting give the classic story the right look and feel, and the romance and song-and-dance numbers don't take anything away from the main storyline. Shirley is even reunited with some of her co-stars from other films. (This includes Cesar Romero as a servant here. 8 of his next 11 films were westerns, a genre he'd never tackled, including a pairing with Randolph Scott as Doc Holliday to Scott's Wyatt Earp and a starring role in a handful of Cisco Kid features. Much later would come famous movie and TV roles as Kurt Russell's nemesis A.J. Arno in several Disney comedies in the 70's, and his most famous part, the Joker, in BATMAN.) In a year when so many great films appeared that were taken from the pages of popular books (GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME,GUNGA DIN, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS,THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, TARZAN FINDS A SON, THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK) you can add THE LITTLE PRINCESS. If you never get to read any or all of these books, at least watch the films derived from them. You won't regret it. Dale Roloff

This Shirley Temple feature is worth seeing for a number of very nice moments in the story of "The Little Princess". It might be a little longer than necessary, and the story development is sometimes uneven, which keeps it from achieving its full potential. It offers the young Temple a variety of material to work with, and she has some very good sequences.

For the most part, it follows the familiar story, though often embellished, particularly towards the end. The story and Temple's characterization give it a rather different feel from, for example, the silent version that starred Mary Pickford. Here, Temple projects much of her own persona, with her best moments coming with Arthur Treacher, who plays the easygoing brother of the stern headmistress. The character of Becky is still significant, but Temple does not ever have the rapport with her that Pickford and Zasu Pitts had in the earlier version.

As a result, it's a bit uneven overall, but for those who enjoy this kind of story, it's still worthwhile. The public domain print makes it somewhat difficult to evaluate the production end, although it clearly contained plenty of detail and color. It's a decent if unexceptional feature whose high points are usually worth waiting for.

A small child, affectionately known as THE LITTLE PRINCESS, must endure great hardship after her father is killed in the Boer War.

Shirley Temple had her last great box-office triumph in this splendid Technicolor adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett childhood classic. No longer a tiny tot - she turned eleven the year THE LITTLE PRINCESS was released - but still a little trooper, Shirley exhibits once again the tremendous charm & talent which made her Hollywood's top box office draw. With wrinkled brow & tremulous lip or bouncing curls & joyous smile, she adeptly displays just the right mood or mannerism to keep the focus of the audience's attention firmly grasped in her chubby fists.

The supporting players' roster is abundantly well cast: stalwart Ian Hunter appears as Shirley's soldier father - this very fine actor wisely uses his acting skills to keep from being completely upstaged by the mighty moppet; handsome Richard Greene & lovely Anita Louise play the riding master & teacher who befriend Shirley - their roles aren't terribly significant, but they fill them quite well.

Mary Nash is once again cast as Shirley's tormentor, this time playing the evil-spirited headmistress of an exclusive girls' seminary. This accomplished actress did not appear in many films, but she could generally be counted on to provide a vivid performance - notice the relish with which she essays her small part in the medieval fantasy sequence (`I know my rights, I know the law and what I say I saw, I saw!'). Long-legged, adenoidal Arthur Treacher plays her henpecked brother; he is a delight during his two romps with Shirley to the music hall ditty ‘Knocked ‘Em In The Old Kent Road.'

Cesar Romero quietly portrays an Indian servant in a small, but important, role; Miles Mander & E. E. Clive both appear as hardhearted, crusty old gentlemen - only one is regenerated by film's end. Sweet Beryl Mercer makes the most of her few moments as a stately, kindhearted Queen Victoria - while Eily Malyon is a true fright as the school's slatternly cook. Marcia Mae Jones participates in one of the film's most memorable moments, when, as a particularly vile teenager, she receives a face full of fireplace ashes, courtesy of sweet Shirley.

Special attention should be given to ten-year-old South African Sybil Jason, who plays the wistful waifish charmaid who idolizes Shirley. In her American film debut, Warner's LITTLE BIG SHOT (1935), she proved wonderfully winsome & winning, but the storm of attention surrounding Miss Temple (exactly 19 months older than Miss Jason) tends, at this remove, to swamp the boats of the other female child stars of the period. However, delightful Sybil deserves to be remembered & appreciated for her own accomplishments.

The Stolen Kiss, a lavish fantasy dream sequence, provides a welcome few minutes change of pace for Temple, Nash, Louise, Greene, Treacher & Romero.

i have owned this movie for quite some time, and i watch it every once in awhile. i like the movie a lot, but it didnt live up to the book as far as im concerned, but what film does? it was an imaginative interpretation of the novel. i admit,though i never pictured sara crewe tap dancing,or singing, it was cute.

"The Little Princess" is a reversal-of-fortune movie, so to speak. Sarah Crewe (Shirley Temple) is the daughter of a wealthy soldier sent off to the Boer War in 1899. Having no relatives, Sarah is placed in an exclusive girls school until her father returns. When her father is reported dead and their fortune is wiped out, the friendly headmistress becomes not-so-friendly towards Sarah, who is made to work off her father's debt to the school. Sarah is convinced that her father is alive, though, and searches the area hospital for him, eventually finding him.

This movie serves as an excellent example of several things: movies like this just aren't made any more. Unfortunately, they can't be - people would say it was too corny. In the movie, Shirley portrays a child not only with unshakable hope but patience, manners, politeness and kindness in the face of terrible adversity, with only a couple of cracks in her steadfastness. She meets Queen Victoria. Who would believe that a child under the duress that she suffers could be so gracious? Who would believe that, being a pauper, she could meet the Queen of England? Today's movie child star would have filled the air with sassiness and expletives under the same situation. But Shirley/Sarah doesn't, and that's a reason that I really like this movie - it shows someone who tries to make the best of a bad situation, and never gives up hope.

I also believe that the movie is an accurate portrayal of the life and times of the turn of the century, as it was made only 40 years after the Boer War. I think that Victorian England was captured well in this movie; after all, we do a pretty good job of displaying the 1960s on film these days.

Overall, though, it is Shirley Temple at her singing/dancing/acting best in this movie, and she does a wonderful job from start to finish.

There were a lot of "franchise" stars in the 1930s – Astaire and Rogers, The Marx Brothers, Mae West – players who had a very specific appeal and would appear as almost identical character in a series of almost identical movies. Shirley Temple was a little different because, as a child star, with each successive movie her roles had to reflect her changing age. The Little Princess was made when Temple was ten, and as such it's a comparatively dark and dramatic story, at least in contrast to her previous appearances.

And so, rather than just play the cutesy little girl with amusingly childlike emoting, we now see her reacting to things like loss and death in a story that occasionally borders upon real life, even if it's cutely saccharine in its resolution. The trouble is, now that she's started specifically trying to act, she lost a lot of the naturalism she had as a tot. As usual they put her alongside actors of a mid-level calibre, suited to the prestige and popularity of the movies, but not likely to set the world on fire with great performances. Ian Hunter is good for his small yet crucial role, pitching his performance to the twee simplicity of the story, but with an effective amount of dignity nonetheless. Hunter's rapport with Temple is also very clear, which pays off at the end of the movie. Richard Greene appears wooden at first glance, but here and there something a little more genuine shines through the varnish. Arthur Treacher is good fun as usual, and actually demonstrates in one scene that he could probably have been a good straight actor, had he had the inclination.

Director Walter Lang was renowned for his kindness and patience with actors, which no doubt helped generate a convivial atmosphere upon the set. He also has a great eye for shot composition, having been a keen painter in his youth. He keeps his camera low down, at a child's eye-level, which sounds obvious but not all directors remember this for kids' films. Also impressive is his use of multiple angles which really gives dimension to the sets, or can be used to highlight a sudden change in mood without resorting to cheap trickery. In the climactic scene between Temple and Hunter a couple of well-timed angle changes and otherwise long, static takes really bring out deep poignancy in what is a rather predictable moment.

Unfortunately for Temple (or more precisely, Fox's ability to profit from her), there have never been many great opportunities for child performers once they hit a certain age. Teenage roles can be played by young adults who have more experience and can work longer hours, and besides, while Temple was the perfect sweet little girl, she was never the gutsy Elizabeth Taylor type. In itself however, The Little Princess is not a bad little movie. The finale is touching in spite of cliché, and it's all delightfully watchable along the way. It is however, probably her last great moment.

THE LITTLE PRINCESS (20th Century-Fox, 1939), directed by Walter Lang, based upon the story by Frances Hodgeson Burnett, ranks one of Shirley Temple's best known and most revived feature, as well as her first in Technicolor. Capitalizing on her previous success with screen adaptations to literary children's novels, including HEIDI and WEE WILLIE WINKIE (both 1937), THE LITTLE PRINCESS displays Temple's talent in heavy dramatics at best, especially with her two key scenes, one in which she teary-eyed bids goodbye to her father as he goes off to war; and another where she stands firm, looking angrily straight at her evil boarding school mistress as she is about to slap her face for standing up to her. Like a fairy tale, this production includes good characters along with a wicked one (wonderfully played by Mary Nash), along with some dialog usually found in storybooks, such as one little girl saying on how Sara Crewe (Temple) looks just like a princess, with the overly jealous girl sarcastically responding, "Princess, INDEED."

Set in London in the year 1899, Sara (Shirley Temple) is the daughter of her widowed father, Captain Crewe (Ian Hunter), who leaves her in a boarding school under the care of Miss Amanda Mirchin (Mary Nash) and her brother, Bertie (Arthur Treacher), a former music hall performer, before he goes off to the Boer War. Because Crewe is a well known figure and man of wealth, Sara is given the royalty treatment, as if she were "a little princess," causing jealously amongst one of the other girls, Lavinia (Marcia Mae Jones), who doesn't want to lose her place with Miss Mirchin. After Miss Mirchin receives news from Mr. Babbows (E.E. Clive) that Captain Crewe has been killed in the war, leaving daughter Sara penniless, she, at first, decides to put Sara and her belongings into the street, but Babbows advises her that this would not look good for her or the school. So the only other alternative is to place Sara from her luxurious room into a cold attic, taking her expensive clothing and auctioning it off to pay for her lodging, leaving Sara with only paupers' clothes to wear. In order to earn her keep, Sara must work long hard hours in the kitchen along with another girl, Becky (Sybil Jason), who befriends her. Being treated harshly, Sara becomes a hard and bitter child who tries to be a good soldier as her father had wanted her to be, but finds she's unable to do it, being at times both hungry and cold. Not wanting to believe her father is dead, Sara braves the streets of London at night in hope to one day find him amongst the wounded in the military hospital.

Also in support in THE LITTLE PRINCESS are Richard Greene and Anita Louise as the young romantic couple, with Louise as Miss Rose, an employee of the boarding school who loses her position for secretly meeting with Sir Geoffrey Hamilton (Greene) against the wishes of Miss Minchin; Cesar Romero as Ram Dass, an Arab servant to Lord Wickham (Miles Mander), Sir Geoffrey's grandfather; Eily Malyon as an unsympathetic boarding school cook; and Beryl Mercer as Queen Victoria, among others.

Aside from the heavy handled dramatics that resembles a dark Charles Dickens novel, THE LITTLE PRINCESS does take time for some song and dance, including "Down By the Old Kent Road" (by Arthur Chevalier and Charles Ingle) as sung and danced by Shirley Temple and Arthur Treacher; and as with Temple's earlier classic, HEIDI, there's a musical dream sequence, this one titled "Fantasy" by Walter Bullock and Samuel Pokrass.

As with HEIDI, THE LITTLE PRINCESS is prestigious Temple production. It also reunites her with her HEIDI co-stars, Mary Nash, Arthur Treacher and Marcia Mae Jones. And also like HEIDI, THE LITTLE PRINCESS gives the impression of a hurried conclusion.

Mary Nash gives a standout performance with her female interpretation of Mr. Murdstone from Dickens' novel, David COPPERFIELD, with Treacher a likable Micawber character from that very same novel. Temple and Treacher have fine screen chemistry, with this being their fourth and final collaboration together. The 1899 London period setting is wonderfully captured along with its lavish crisp Technicolor. Sybil Jason, a promising young child actress of Warner Brothers (1935-38), who didn't rise above the rank of Temple, is quite memorable playing the cockney orphan, Becky. Her performance is unlike anything she has done before, but sadly, after one more film, THE BLUE BIRD (1940), which also starred Temple, Jason's career would come to an end.

Unlike the other Shirley Temple movies of the 1930s, THE LITTLE PRINCESS became a public domain video title, being distributed through various video companies through the years (1980s and 1990s), and like the Christmas classic, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), which also fell victim to public domain, THE LITTLE PRINCESS became frequently shown on numerous television stations at any given time. The 1989 CBS Fox Home Video presentation of THE LITTLE PRINCESS does present this film with the best Technicolor print available, outdoing some others with duller looking copies. THE LITTLE PRINCESS was formerly presented on cable television's American Movie Classics from 1996 to 2001, and occasionally airs on Turner Classic Movies and on the Fox Movie Channel. Wherever THE LITTLE PRINCESS is found, it makes good family viewing.

One final note: the Frances Hodgeson Burnett classic included a 1917 silent film version starring Mary Pickford, and a 1995 remake with Eleanor Bron, both titled A LITTLE PRINCESS. But whenever THE LITTLE PRINCESS is mentioned, it'll be no doubt that the Shirley Temple version will be the one that comes to mind. (****)

Little Princess is filled with delight. I recommend it to all the little princesses out there. I gave it a 6/10.

We are always captivated by a young person's grown up prowess on stage or screen. This is certainly true of Temple's performance. We are intimidated by her poise and strength, but endeared to her by her sincerity. Who will forget Caesar Romero (or better who would guess it was him)in the role of the Indian servant? The scene when Queen Victoria visits the hospital is gripping. On the one hand, we know the writers could not be so cruel to let her father escape her, yet on the other hand the writers and players condition you into feeling ... . Well, you'll just have to watch the movie.

Temple also pulls off the "the princess and the pauper" (one implied title of the movie) class switch well. Excellent character actors and actresses support.

I think a good movie for young people to watch.

If you like Shirley Temple films, this is one that will satisfy. The talented moppet is the daughter of a soldier who leaves to fight in the Boer War. In true fairy tale fashion, her life is beset by misfortune, but she remains true to her nature, an optimistic child.

The film pulls on all the heartstrings-love, family, faith and patriotism. The story and its components have parallels in another film of the day, "The Wizard of Oz", especially in its dream sequence, though this film is by Twentieth Century Fox, not MGM.

The story depends upon remarkable coincidences to build emotion and to create drama. But this is perfectly acceptable in a fairy tale.

Miss Temple, nearly age 11 in this film, plays slightly younger to cater to fans, but her budding maturity proves to be an asset, and she gets to show a slightly wider range of acting ability.

Worth noting is Arthur Treacher as the light-footed footman, Bertie Minchin. His teaming with Temple is one of the film's highlights.

I wouldn't rank this in the top half of all the Shirley Temple movies of the 1930s. It's not the worst but it's far from her best, BUT it's definitely better than the insufferably-politically correct 1995 remake.

"Amanda Mirchin" as the owner of a school, is the villain in here and Mary Nash did her acting job well because you hate this woman as the film goes on. Temple, as "Sara Crewe," overacted a bit with the fake teary scenes. She was never too realistic with those parts of a movie, but convincing in every other way.

Also, I prefer Temple's more light-hearted films, of which is not one, although Arthur Treacher was a good guy and fun to watch. He does two song-and-dance numbers with Shirley that help bring some brightness to the story.

There are those who claim Shirley Temple couldn't really act--but The Little Princess is living proof that she was much more than just a dimpled tot who could sing and dance on cue. Her tearful reunion with her missing dad (Ian Hunter) in a hospital ward at the conclusion of this classic story should move even the most hardened cynic. Her tears range from joy to hysteria as she tries to tell the shell-shocked soldier that she is his daughter.

This is a lavish technicolor delight with Shirley Temple at 12 doing an expert job as Sara, the little miss who has to bear the indignities of a boarding school once her father has been declared dead in the Boer war. The harsh mistress (Mary Nash) has her stripped of all privileges and makes her live in the attic while becoming a servant in the very household where she was once called "the little princess" by the other girls. There are departures from the novel since the script is given a "Shirley Temple formula" to ensure its success as the right vehicle for her at that time. But the addition of a dream sequence does no discernible harm, nor is the brief song-and-dance with Arthur Treacher to "The Old Kent Road" much of a distraction.

It succeeds in being a heart-warming tale of a girl's courage and determination when it seems that there is no hope of finding her father alive. The ending with Queen Victoria giving Shirley an approving nod, is an added delight. One of Shirley's best performances with a wonderful cast of supporting players: Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Mary Nash, Sybil Jason, Arthur Treacher and Cesar Romero all doing expert work.

Charming film in color where Shirley Temple's dad goes off to fight in the Boer War. She is left is a fancy girl's school with a headmistress who is stern.

When word is brought to the school that the father, who adored his Sarah (Temple), has been killed and the child is left penniless, poor Sarah is shut up in the attic and made to work in the kitchen. Move over Cinderella.

Sarah never gives up hope that her dad (Ian Hunter) is living and she searches feverishly for him.

When a Indian mystery man (Cesar Romero) makes her room beautiful during a ballet sequence, Sarah is suspected of stealing.

Mary Nash is the wicked headmistress and acts in the same way as Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard of Oz." Richard Green and Anita Louise play lovers, who are discharged from the school, by Nash for loving each other.

The ending is wonderful when Sarah finds her dad with the help no less of Queen Victoria (Beryl Mercer).

Enjoyable tale for children and adults alike.

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.

Between the ages of 7 and 10, little Shirley Temple was the biggest box office star in the world. But as she grew older, her popularity quickly began to wane. At 11 (though she believed herself to be 10 because her mother shaved a year off her age), Shirley was still quite a child when she made "The Little Princess." But because she was no longer as cute and cherubic as she was at 6, when "Stand Up and Cheer!" first made her a star, it was to be her last successful film in a children's role.

As Sara (a Hebrew name meaning "princess"), Shirley plays her standard rags-to-riches storyline in reverse: Sara's wealthy widowed father loses everything in the Boer War, and her cruel boarding school headmistress Miss Minchin makes her an underfed, overworked servant girl to pay the tuition debt her father owed. Sara goes from luxurious rooms and private tutors to friendless, freezing attics as suddenly as the swinging America of the 1920s sank into the dust storms, breadlines, and squattervilles of the 1930's Great Depression. But where did poor Americans turn to briefly forget all these problems during the Great Depression? To the movies, where Shirley Temple, her unwavering hopefulness (as present in "The Little Princess" as in any of her movies), and her cute song-and-dance numbers -- with titles like "Laugh, You Son of a Gun" (1934), "You Gotta Smile to be Happy" (1936), "Be Optimistic" (1938), and "Come and Get Your Happiness" (1938) -- cheered up the entire nation. The same singing and dancing cheers up Sara Crewe while she's working as a galley slave in 1899 London, as Shirley performs "The Old Kent Road" with her pal Arthur Treacher (her four-time co-star).

In short, "The Little Princess" is Shirley Temple's career in a nutshell. It is a must-see film for both longtime Shirley fans and newcomers.

It's 1899 England. Captain Crewe is off to fight the Boer War. He leave his daughter Sara (Shirley Temple) with Amanda Minchin (Mary Nash) at a private school for girls. She's treated royally while her father pays handsomely. The top girl Lavinia is jealous calling her "The Little Princess". When her father is reported dead and his property confiscated by the enemy, Minchin wants to kick Sara out into the streets but reluctantly agrees to keep her in the cold attic as a house maid. Despite it all, she never gives up hope for her father and always treats the servant girl Becky with kindness. Meanwhile Minchin keeps the sweet teacher Rose under her control with lies.

It's the first Technicolor film for Temple but I don't have the original prints. I do see enough to tell the unreal brilliant bright colors this film is meant to be. Little Shirley Temple is doing her adorable best with her song and dance. Mary Nash is always a good villain. The story is fine although it is done very melodramatically. The super sweet nature and the Temple mannerism do push it to the limit of corniness. It even has a ballet fairy-tale dream sequence which is so adorable and so cheesy good.

Unlike the horrible U.S.-set remake, this delightful romp stays true to Burnett's vision in tenor if not directly interpreted from the novel. Sara is not a total angel -- playing pranks on her 'evil' seminary mates, etc. Moral tone is present but not overpowering -- good will prevail over evil, belief in one's inner strength, sharing with those even less fortunate than you and many other dictums of Victorian children's literature. The story's climatic scene, when Sara has failed until Queen Victoria herself intervenes, will send you straight to the Kleenex box. Shirley Temple's performance belies J. K. Rowling's belief that an American can not successfully play a hero/heroine in a British children's classic.

The Little Princess finds Shirley Temple put in an exclusive boarding school by her father Ian Hunter who is a soldier and about to be posted to the Boer War. He's also a person of some substance and the schoolmistress Mary Nash is just glad to have her seeing all those pound note signs in front of her eyes. However when Hunter is reported killed at Mafeking, Nash has not a whit of sympathy for her. She takes Shirley out of her really nice room and puts her to living in a small attic room with another girl, Sybil Jason in a similar financial predicament. Why doesn't she just throw her out altogether you may ask? Simply because it wouldn't do the school's reputation any good to throw out the child of a war hero and Nash is all about a respectable image. The woman is a true Grinch.

But as it is in Shirley Temple's world, the good grownups way outnumber the bad ones and they include young lovers Richard Greene and Anita Louise, Nash's brother Arthur Treacher who is an old music hall performer though Nash doesn't like that getting out, not respectable you know. Miles Mander who is Greene's crusty, but deep down kindly grandfather and his Indian servant Cesar Romero. And finally she gets help from none other than Queen Victoria herself in the person of Beryl Mercer in setting things right.

Treacher was a great deal looser in his performance than he normally is in those butler roles. As for Romero this is the second time he played an Indian in a Shirley Temple picture, the first being Wee Willie Winkie where he also befriends Shirley.

But you really got to hand the film to Nash who is such a mean old thing with her exaggerated ideas about propriety and etiquette as long as you can pay for it.

The Little Princess holds up very well and is still fine family entertainment for a young audience.

Little Miss Temple shines as Sara Crewe in this masterful work. She is mostly happy. That is, until Miss Minchin, the headmistress, comes along to ruin her.

After that, Sara is happy because she thinks of her father. He tells her to be brave. She is.

I love to mention this line: "My daddy has to go away, but he'll return most any day. At any moment I may see my daddy coming back to me."

Sara spoke this line, of course.

The lavish party, for Sara's birthday, is a scene I enjoy in this movie. This moment is fleeting for her, but she is happy.

When her widower father is called to military service, cutely-curled Shirley Temple (as Sara Crewe), her pony, and her doll "Emily" are deposited at an expensive boarding school. The other girls call Ms. Temple "The Little Princess" due to her daddy's extensive wealth. Then, sad news arrives - Temple's father is reported dead; moreover, he's left her penniless. Go figure. As Temple can no longer pay her tuition, wicked headmistress Mary Nash (as Amanda Minchin) puts the golden-locked lass to work as an attic-dwelling house slave. Next, Temple startles ruffian friend Sybil Jason (as Becky) and others by insisting that her father is still alive.

Darryl F. Zanuck's Twentieth Century Fox went all-out for their little money-maker with this one. And, as it turned out, the effort was made in the nick of time. After four years as American exhibitors' #1 box office star, 1939 found Temple slipping. There are times, in this film, where she seems overwhelmed, awkward, or self-conscious. All kids are natural actors, but with adolescence, you need to re-learn acting; due to super-stardom, this began earlier for Temple. Still, she retains enough of that cuteness and charm, herein, to make it work. The Fox regulars, Technicolor, and material (bastardized Frances Hodgson Burnett) are top-notch.

****** The Little Princess (3/10/39) Walter Lang ~ Shirley Temple, Mary Nash, Arthur Treacher, Cesar Romero

This watery film bears little resemblance to the classic novel. If you are a fan of the books, don't watch this movie! The strident pacing and absorbing characterization of the original novel is diluted into a "star vehicle" film for Shirley Temple. As a childhood Shirley Temple fan who has seen many of her films, I have to say that this is definitely one of my least favorites. In this film, Sara is depicted as a perfect, pretty, charming girl who, despite her miserable situation, remains perky and hopeful. Gone is Sara's magical, mysterious nature with her queer ideas and mystical fairy tales. Now she's an ordinary pretty girl; if the movie was made today, she would be played as a prep. Also, little Lottie is noticeably absent, and instead, there's a pointless plot line about Sara's tutor. And where did the pointless cameo with Queen Victoria come from? All in all, the movie turns out to be another happy-pretty-perky children's flick. I recommend watching Alfonso Cuaron's sumptuous film version which, while the ending is different, still maintains the magical mystery of the original novel.