Bright Eyes

One of Shirley Temple's best movies is stolen by an absolutely riotous performance by Jane Withers as Temple's bratty nemesis-the mean rich kid who picks on poor,noble motherless Shirley. This is the movie that boasts Temple's anthem- On the Good Ship Lollipop.Worth seeing if you haven't seen a Shirley Temple movie.And this was one of the major hits of the 1930's.

Even though there is very little singing and dancing, which is a big part of the appeal of Shirley Temple, it's still a solid film.

This was the first movie in which was Shirley was the big star, I believe, and you can see why she quickly won the hearts of Americans.

Although there is only one song, it's perhaps her most famous: "On the Good Ship Lollipop." The rest of the film is almost as charming as that song with many sweet, touching moments that made her films so endearing.

It also helped to have James Dunn as the male lead. Dunn was one of the more likable guys in classic Hollywood, on and off the screen. He and Shirley make a great pair.

Other interesting people to watch in this movie are the crabby old grandfather, played by Charles Sellon; the spoiled brat played by Jane Withers, who is so bad she's funny and an assortment of other characters from fliers to cooks to old girlfriends.

The only negative is the ending. It looked like they didn't know how to end this, so they rushed to finish it without much thought. Oh, well, the main thing is Shirley's charm.....and that's there in abundance.

Shirley Temple is at it again, stealing everyone's heart. Her mother works for some snooty people in this film called Bright Eyes. The only one in the household who likes her is the old man, Grandfather, who nicknamed her Bright Eyes, hence the name of the film. His daughter and son-in-law are only nice to him for his money and really want nothing to do with him and nothing to do with Shirley. They reluctantly hired her mother as a maid. James Dunn plays a flier and is friends with Shirley and her mother, due to the fact he was good friends with Shirley's father before he died in a plane accident. James Dunn, a frequent costar in Shirley's movies, visits them a lot, and the uppity lady of the house doesn't like such riffraff in the house and told her maid that if these flier people don't stop visiting, she'll have to find work elsewhere. But everything takes a dramatic turn just before Shirley's birthday party. If you're looking for the film where Shirley sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop," then you've found it. In fact, it's a highlight in an otherwise routine Shirley Temple film. Not that it's a bad film; it's just not terribly original or different than most Shirley Temple movies. But Ms. Temple's sweet smile and the supporting cast of characters played by capable actors help buoy this film into an enjoyable little film for about 75 minutes.

Five-year-old Glendale, California tyke Shirley Temple (as Shirley Blake) hitch-hikes to the airport to visit her godfather pilot James Dunn (as James "Loop" Merritt). Not many kids could do that today. While she's away, we meet the curly top's family. She lives with mother Lois Wilson (as Mary Blake), who works as the maid for a wealthy family headed by another former "silent film" star, Theodor von Eltz (as J. Wellington Smythe). His snooty wife Dorothy Christy (as Anita) decides to fire mother Wilson for receiving too many telephone calls. However, their obnoxious but deep-down softie uncle Charles Sellon (as Ned Smith) likes Ms. Temple. He calls her "Bright Eyes". The illustrious cast includes servants Jane Darwell and Brandon Hurst. But the most memorable member of the household is Ms. Temple's antithesis – the classic spoiled brat character played by Jane Withers (as Joy Smythe). She decapitates dolls and terrorizes wheelchair-bound uncle Sellon from her tricycle...

"Bright Eyes" was a very successful early vehicle for Temple. The cartoon-like film captures all of her adorableness. Temple sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop" with the girlish innocence (some say sexuality) of a bygone era. Her amateurish vocals balance the perfect doll-like looks. The film has all the subtext depression-weary audiences loved – most importantly, undeserving and insufferable rich characters are put in their place by the angelic, suffering poor. Temple won an "Academy Award" for her cumulative work in 1934; this film has been mentioned as the one most responsible for bringing her the juvenile acting award, but contemporary reviews and research give the honor to "Little Miss Marker" (1934). In the earlier film, "The New York Times" rated Temple's performance higher than co-star Adolphe Menjou. Until the end of the decade, Temple would play variations of her "Bright Eyes" character, ringing up box office cash registers like no other child star, before or since.

****** Bright Eyes (12/20/34) David Butler ~ Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Jane Withers, Charles Sellon

Shirley Blake (Shirley Temple) lost her pilot father in a crash. She likes to hang out at the airport with her godfather Loop Merritt and all of their friends. Her mother Mary is a live-in maid working for the Smythes. Mrs. Smythe disapproves of her flyboy friends and plans to fire her after Christmas. The family hates cranky uncle Ned Smith but Mr. Smythe hopes to get the inheritance. The only person Ned likes is Shirley whom he calls Bright Eyes. Mary is killed by a car and Ned wants to adopt Shirley. This sets up a legal battle for the little girl between the Smythes and Loop.

This has the super cute and spunky Shirley Temple who delivers the song On the Good Ship Lollipop. She's a million watts light bulb. The rest of them are perfectly fine although the other girl Joy is awkwardly bratty. In the end, the battle is between two people who both love Shirley and there is limited drama in the lack of danger. That may be why a dangerous situation had to be manufactured.