Their Daughter, Shirley
BABY TAKE A BOW (Fox, 1934), directed by Harry Lachman, with its backstage musical sounding title, is actually one taken from a production number introduced by James Dunn and Shirley Temple in STAND UP AND CHEER (1934). While it could have been a sort of sequel with Dunn and Temple reprising their original roles as Jimmy and Shirley Dugan, father and daughter song and dance team, in a story to what's become of them after making it big on Broadway, with the little girl taking all the bows while her father rests in the background, it's actually a dramatic story with some doses of humor thrown in, about reformed crooks going straight (filmed before as "Square Crooks" (Fox, 1928) starring Robert Armstrong, Dorothy Dwan and John Mack Brown). For Shirley Temple's first starring role at Fox, much of the plot revolves around future Academy Award winners James Dunn (Supporting actor for A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945) and Claire Trevor (supporting actress for KEY LARGO (1948), with Temple, as their petite daughter, around for moral support.
The ten minute prologue introduces Kay (Claire Trevor) at the train station heading for Ossining to meet with the man she's going to marry. Eddie Ellison (James Dunn), a former crook, having served time in Sing Sing Prison, is being paroled four months early for good behavior. Welch (Alan Dinehart), the special investigator who caused Eddie's conviction to get Kay for himself, has followed Kay to the prison. Upon their meeting, Kay makes plans for she and Eddie to marry and honeymoon at Niagara Falls. As Flannigan (James Flavin) arrives with Larry Scott (Ray Walker) to serve a five year stretch, Scott, who takes an immediate liking towards both Kay and Eddie, and dislike towards Welch, does Eddie a good turn by socking Welch. Six years later, Eddie is seen working as a chauffeur for the wealthy Joseph Carson (Richard Tucker). He succeeds getting Cason to hire his friend, Larry, now out on parole with plans of marrying Jane (Dorothy Libaire), though both keep their prison history a secret. Also released from Sing Sing is "Trigger" Stone (Ralf Harolde), who, unlike Eddie and Larry, has no intentions of reforming. Eddie and Kay, blessed with a daughter, Shirley (Shirley Temple), make preparations for her upcoming birthday party to take place on the rooftop of their tenement apartment building. Trigger, who has stolen a pearl heckles from the Carson home, gives it to Shirley, thinking it as her birthday present. Due to the robbery and the discovery of Eddie and Scott's prison records through Welch, Carson is forced to have dismiss them from his employ. Learning that Trigger is the culprit, Eddie and Larry have a hard time proving their innocence, especially with the heckles in their possession and Welch hot on their tail.
Not quite the formula Shirley Temple production, BABY TAKE A BOW, does offer her, in ballet dress, a song and dance number accompanied by James Dunn singing "On Account of I Love You" (by Buddy Green and Sammy Stept). A good song underscored during its opening and closing credits, but something that simply didn't catch on as did Temple's other hit songs of 1934, "Baby Take a Bow" and "On the Good Ship Lollipop." Temple and Dunn registered so well together that they were reunited for the last time in their best collaboration, BRIGHT EYES (1934). Others in the cast include Olive Tell (Mrs. Carson); Samuel S. Hinds (The Warden); Mary Gordon (Mrs. O'Brien); and Guy Usher (McLane, Captain of Detectives).
1934 was a busy year for Shirley Temple, having more film releases than any other year. As for BABY TAKE A BOW, it has become unfamiliar and least known to modern audiences due to its unavailability, having never become part of the "Shirley Temple Theater/ Playhouse" on commercial television during the 1960s and 70s. Not until the mid to late 1980s has BABY TAKE A BOW surfaced, becoming a welcome addition to the Shirley Temple/20th Fox movies placed on cassette by Playhouse Video and distribution on cable television (Disney Channel (early 1990s), American Movie Classics (1996-2001), Fox Movie Channel) and later on DVD either in colorized or original black and white formats.
Regardless of BABY TAKE A BOW's reputation as being one of Temple's lesser efforts, due to plot focusing more on adults (especially the annoying Dinehart) than to her character, along with some gun battles not used in her latter films, overall, a welcome addition plus a look back into the early career of the biggest, littlest star, Shirley Temple. Baby, take a bow! (***)
The ten minute prologue introduces Kay (Claire Trevor) at the train station heading for Ossining to meet with the man she's going to marry. Eddie Ellison (James Dunn), a former crook, having served time in Sing Sing Prison, is being paroled four months early for good behavior. Welch (Alan Dinehart), the special investigator who caused Eddie's conviction to get Kay for himself, has followed Kay to the prison. Upon their meeting, Kay makes plans for she and Eddie to marry and honeymoon at Niagara Falls. As Flannigan (James Flavin) arrives with Larry Scott (Ray Walker) to serve a five year stretch, Scott, who takes an immediate liking towards both Kay and Eddie, and dislike towards Welch, does Eddie a good turn by socking Welch. Six years later, Eddie is seen working as a chauffeur for the wealthy Joseph Carson (Richard Tucker). He succeeds getting Cason to hire his friend, Larry, now out on parole with plans of marrying Jane (Dorothy Libaire), though both keep their prison history a secret. Also released from Sing Sing is "Trigger" Stone (Ralf Harolde), who, unlike Eddie and Larry, has no intentions of reforming. Eddie and Kay, blessed with a daughter, Shirley (Shirley Temple), make preparations for her upcoming birthday party to take place on the rooftop of their tenement apartment building. Trigger, who has stolen a pearl heckles from the Carson home, gives it to Shirley, thinking it as her birthday present. Due to the robbery and the discovery of Eddie and Scott's prison records through Welch, Carson is forced to have dismiss them from his employ. Learning that Trigger is the culprit, Eddie and Larry have a hard time proving their innocence, especially with the heckles in their possession and Welch hot on their tail.
Not quite the formula Shirley Temple production, BABY TAKE A BOW, does offer her, in ballet dress, a song and dance number accompanied by James Dunn singing "On Account of I Love You" (by Buddy Green and Sammy Stept). A good song underscored during its opening and closing credits, but something that simply didn't catch on as did Temple's other hit songs of 1934, "Baby Take a Bow" and "On the Good Ship Lollipop." Temple and Dunn registered so well together that they were reunited for the last time in their best collaboration, BRIGHT EYES (1934). Others in the cast include Olive Tell (Mrs. Carson); Samuel S. Hinds (The Warden); Mary Gordon (Mrs. O'Brien); and Guy Usher (McLane, Captain of Detectives).
1934 was a busy year for Shirley Temple, having more film releases than any other year. As for BABY TAKE A BOW, it has become unfamiliar and least known to modern audiences due to its unavailability, having never become part of the "Shirley Temple Theater/ Playhouse" on commercial television during the 1960s and 70s. Not until the mid to late 1980s has BABY TAKE A BOW surfaced, becoming a welcome addition to the Shirley Temple/20th Fox movies placed on cassette by Playhouse Video and distribution on cable television (Disney Channel (early 1990s), American Movie Classics (1996-2001), Fox Movie Channel) and later on DVD either in colorized or original black and white formats.
Regardless of BABY TAKE A BOW's reputation as being one of Temple's lesser efforts, due to plot focusing more on adults (especially the annoying Dinehart) than to her character, along with some gun battles not used in her latter films, overall, a welcome addition plus a look back into the early career of the biggest, littlest star, Shirley Temple. Baby, take a bow! (***)
- lugonian
- 8 août 2008