Petite Miss

I encountered this on TV recently when I had no intent whatsoever of watching any film, but found myself glued to the edge of my seat till the very end. I'm now stumped to think I once saw it as a child and as a child's film. The levels of sensitivity and depth of feeling, the Tempest-like voices from the Brave New World of old New York, are so wonderful, I see it now overwhelmingly as an adult's film. I'll say no more, other than to point to this as another example of the failure of our rating system. Oh, Menjou and Dell... To think that this masterpiece is only rated six and a half by its fifty-five voters at this point, while lowest common denominator junk too often rates substantially higher...

Marthy 'Marky' Jane (Shirley Temple) is used as a marker when her father makes a bet. He loses and commits suicide. Bookie Sorrowful Jones (Adolphe Menjou) gets stuck with the girl. Everybody falls in love with her including the bosses' girlfriend Bangles Carson (Dorothy Dell).

Shirley Temple is on the rise. She is basically carpet bombing the movie theaters. I don't know if she slept during those years. Of course, she's adorable. Of course, all the characters are enchanted by her. She doesn't even have to break out her dancing shoes. She does sing a song. That is enough to overload the cuteness meter.

LITTLE MISS MARKER (1934) is one of the absolute dearest movies I've ever seen. I watched it last month on TCM. When it replayed tonight, I was back again. It is a Damon Runyon tale. His stories include men on the wrong side of the law. In this case they are gamblers, bookies, horse race fixers, and the like. The men use some saucy language created by Runyon that is definitely a sign of the 1930's, but some of the words are still around today, so it's an interesting insight into American slang.

Shirley Temple really shines in her breakout role. From her first line she hooks us with her entire adorable little self. She charms the grouchy Apolphe Menjou and pals. Due to a series of events, Shirley ends up in Menjou's care. Hilarity ensues and his grinch-like heart becomes the perfect size for the happy ending. Most of the supporting cast are players I'm not familiar with as this movie is a bit older than those I usually watch, but these kooky men with soft hearts and pride fall for Markie and their lives are forever changed. A beautiful story that even shows Menjou praying which humanizes him and makes him even more heroic.

This film is old, less then 90 minutes, plays a little bit like a stage production sometimes, has few big name stars, isn't Oscar worthy in the acting category, but it has heart. A big heart! It's pure entertainment like I'm sure depression era patrons needed for a dime or less. The production quality is still good. It's a feel-good comedy drama that is just the perfect film for someone wanting pure entertainment from its humble beginnings. I highly recommend this film:)

One Edward Earle a compulsive gambler can't cover a bet and leaves a marker with bookie Adolphe Menjou. The marker is quite alive, it's forty pounds of little daughter in the person of Shirley Temple. What to call her especially since her name is Martha but Little Miss Marker.

This Damon Runyon story filmed four times already and is about due for another retelling, is the story of how Shirley Temple managed to melt the hearts of all those Broadway sharpies that populate Runyon stories, people like Charles Bickford, Warren Hymer, Lynne Overman and Bickford's girl Dorothy Dell. In fact Temple causes a split between Bickford and Dell and plays a little girl cupid for Menjou and Dell.

The young lady is full of illusions, her mother used to read tales of King Arthur, but these guys who are in the business of odds making and occasional odds fixing when it comes to the kind that race on the track make pretty poor substitutes for Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere. Still in their own Broadway style they try to live up to little Shirley's image of them.

After Darryl Zanuck became head of the new 20th Century Fox studios his greatest asset in the form of America's favorite moppet would never be lent out like she was here to Paramount. Little Miss Marker represents a milestone in the career of Shirley Temple and the three remakes don't reach this standard. But Damon Runyon is timeless and I'll bet someone out there in Hollywood might be thinking of a fifth version.

A tiny child, left as an IOU at a race track by her insolvent father, charms her way into the hearts of a group of hard-boiled gamblers.

Shirley Temple - not quite six years old - became a full-fledged movie star with LITTLE MISS MARKER. Loaned out to Paramount for the one picture, she emerged as a top of the bill powerhouse prepared to return to Fox Studios and become the most popular performer in Hollywood for the next five years. With genuine talent & an infectious sparkle, she would carve out her unassailable niche in film history.

To its credit, the fast moving script allows her to be a little less than saintly, with a normal dose of cranks & crotchets. Even so, her costars, as well as the audience, become her willing slaves in short order. Adolphe Menjou, as the cynical gambler who takes her in, and Charles Bickford as his tough boss, find themselves completely overwhelmed by the mighty moppet. Both of these gentlemen were abundantly experienced actors, used to controlling viewers' attentions in their screen scenes; it must have been somewhat odd for them to be reduced to so much stage dressing - but Shirley's ascendant flood swamped all other boats.

The Damon Runyon story is well served by the rest of the colorful cast, but it is easy to regret every minute the Small One does not appear on screen. Shirley became quite close to pretty Dorothy Dell, playing a nightclub chanteuse involved with both Bickford & Menjou. The news of Miss Dell's tragic death in a car wreck soon after filming completed was kept from Shirley for some time.

Movie mavens will recognize Willie Best as a friendly janitor & Tammany Young as a bettor, both uncredited.