Stowaway

I had been living in China about a year, when I saw this DVD. (It's a very popular title in the People's Republic: there are original dialog versions, Chinese dubbed versions, colorized versions, even a sing-along version where you follow the lyrics as Shirley or Alice Faye warble.

I was humbled that a 7-year-old, under the tutelage of a Mandarin coach, could get her mouth and lips around some of the words she was using. She spoke pretty good Chinese!! Much better than mine was after living for 12 months in the country.

Aside from that, *Stowaway* is a good product of the studio system. The tunes are hummable; Alice Faye is gorgeous and has the dreamiest contralto voice; Eugene Palette is gruff yet lovable; the plot twists are fun. Plus there's a little darkness in it, because Shirley is orphaned and then abandoned after her money is stolen from her. So the first reel is anything but sweetness and light.

A fun movie.

Shirley Temple gets to speak Chinese! It's not enough work for her to sing, tap dance, memorize lines when she's not even old enough to read them, and look adorable. She has to learn a foreign language, too. In Stowaway, she's a young girl in Shanghai whose missionary parents die. She accidentally bonds with a wealthy playboy on vacation, Robert Young, and while he's busy getting drunk with his buddy Eugene Pallette, Shirley accidentally smuggles herself on board the same cruise ship. There, she meets Alice Faye, who's engaged but not in love. Do you think Shirley might get to play matchmaker?

Unarguably, the best line from Stowaway comes out of Arthur Treacher's mouth. He's Robert's hilarious valet, and after what he thought was a romantic evening with his employer and Alice, he asks where to lay out Robert's pajamas. "The same place you put them last night," Robert snaps back, clearly frustrated. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, sir," Arthur says. As much as this is a children's movie, it also has jokes that will make the grown-ups chuckle and leave the kids confused. A side plot involves Alice's fiancé and his overbearing mother, Helen Westley. It will bore the kids, but anyone old enough to deal with in-laws will find it hilarious.

There used to be a running joke in my household. I used to say, "Robert Young? Ew, he's so smug." My mom would be horrified: "But he's Father Knows Best! He's Marcus Welby, M.D.!" The reason why I always thought Robert Young was smug was because I'd only ever seen him in Stowaway. He plays an entitled playboy, and to be honest, he's a little smug. However, I've since learned he was simply acting, and that in other movies, he's not smug at all.

Stowaway is really cute. If you haven't seen this Shirley Temple classic yet, rent it. You'll be treated to the sweet curly top singing "You've Got to S-M-I-L-E" and "Goodnight, My Love," as well as Alice Faye singing "One Never Knows, Does One." And, as an extra treat, Shirley Temple finally gets to dance with Fred Astaire! I'm sure audiences were frustrated that RKO and Fox couldn't compromise so that the two most beloved dances couldn't combine on the screen, but in Stowaway, Shirley dances with a stuffed dummy who looks like Fred. So cute!

As I watched this film, I was shocked how the amazingly talented Shirley Temple APPEARED to be speaking Chinese. I assumed she was actually speaking nonsense. I was thrilled, however, by Moondog-8's review as they said that she really WAS speaking reasonably good Mandarin Chinese!! What a talented kid!! Ching-Ching is the orphaned child of missionaries in China. She mostly wanders the street like a ray of sunshine. She happens upon a playboy bachelor (Robert Young) and he's naturally taken by her. Later, when she accidentally stows away on the same ship as Young, he befriends her and even wants to adopt her. But, he needs to find a wife FAST, as they won't let a bachelor adopt a kid. So, he asks a very nice lady (Alice Faye) and the rest is for you to see for yourself.

This film is unusual in that it's pure sentimentality and schmaltz...yet it manages to work. This is because of the combined talents of Shirley, Robert Young and Alice Faye--who were all at the top of their game. Plus, the writing is good...provided you can dismiss some nagging questions you'll naturally face. So, try not to think HOW an orphan living in impoverished China can have permed curls, clean clothes and look well-fed! Just ignore all this and take in the fun--and the film does manage to be quite fun.

By the way, in the credits, Faye's fiancé is credited as Allan Lane. Later, he gained fame as cowboy star 'Rocky' Lane.

Fleeing from bandit-ridden China, a cute & incredibly precocious little orphan accidentally becomes a STOWAWAY on a luxury liner. Once aboard, she proceeds to charm (nearly) everyone in sight, while working to bring about the marriage of two lonely Americans.

Shirley Temple switches on her megawatt smile & captures the viewers' hearts once more in this pleasant, crowd pleasing movie. Amply displaying the charm which made her Hollywood's box office queen for years, Shirley gets to sing, dance, and even speak quite a bit of Chinese.

Robert Young & Alice Faye appear as the romantic leads, and they do a good job, but ultimately they are just so much grist for Shirley's mill. Little Miss Temple always found her stiffest acting competition coming from the character performers and this film features some fine examples: Helen Westley as a dreadful mother-in-law in-waiting; wonderful Arthur Treacher as Young's comic butler; Eugene Palette, boisterous as a perpetually inebriated American; Philip Ahn as a faithful friend of Shirley's family; Willie Fung as the negligent boatman who spirits her to Shanghai; J. Edward Bromberg as a no-nonsense judge; and Robert Greig as the kindly ship captain.

20th Century Fox obviously pumped a good deal of money into this film and the production values show it. The scenes in China are particularly well done, although the use of rear projection during Shirley's walk near the Shanghai waterfront is all too obvious.

Shirley sings 'Goodnight My Love,' 'That's What I Want For Christmas' & 'You've Gotta S-M-I-L-E To Be H-A-double P-Y'. During the performance of this latter song Shirley mimics Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor & Ginger Rogers. Originally, she also impersonated Mae West but that segment was considered too hot and excised.

Well, Shirley Temple is in Shanghai for this feel-good musical-drama-romance. She is an inadvertent stowaway in this story and even speaks in Chinese quite a bit. In addition she relates a few profound and touching Chinese sayings and does a cute song on stage on the boat.

Looking after her are the adults leads: Robert Young (who looks very young in here) and Alice Faye. Also fun to see, speaking of young, is Arthur Treacher, who has some funny lines.

There is not a lot of funny material in here but it's a nice film and definite good addition to any Shirley Temple collection. I also saw a colorized edition of this, and they it was one of the better jobs in that regard. It hasn't been issued on DVD yet, but I assume it will since most of films are out on that format by now.