Tchin-Tchin

Shirley Temple, Robert Young, and Alice Faye star in this wonderful family film. Shirley Temple plays Barbara Stewart aka Ching-Ching, a lovable child who befriends Tommy Randall (Robert Young) in China. Both end up on a ship going to the United States. There they both meet Susan Parker (Alice Faye, in a brilliant performance). If you like Shirley Temple films and haven't seen this one you definitely should. Shirley was always great in her films and this one is no exception.

Shirley Temple is orphaned and alone in Shanghai when she meets up with playboy Robert Young. She stows away accidentally on the cruise ship he's on, where Alice Faye is engaged to Allan Lane. Lane's misfortune lies in having Helen Westley for a mother. Her interference drives a wedge between her son and his fiancee. It's up to Shirley to get Young and Miss Faye together.

The big song in this movie is Harry Revel & Mack Gordon's "Good Night My Love," introduced by Miss Temple and reprised by Miss Faye. As usual, lots of well-known performers show up, including Eugene Pallette, Arthur Treacher, J. Edward Bromberg, and Robert Greig. Several Asian-American actors get sympathetic parts, including Philip Ahn, Willie Fung, and Sammee Tong doing a Bing Crosby imitation.

Believe it or not, Shirley Temple has got herself a Chinese name ("Ching Ching") and lost in Shanghai. The god of luck is looking down favourably on her, though, and she happens upon "Tommy" (Robert Young). She befriends him, takes a nap in his car and next thing is the eponymous lass on a Transpacific liner heading to the USA. He is a decent cove and agrees to take her under his wing but with their destination looming, an orphanage for her beckons! Unmarried men can't adopt. Meantime, "Susan" (Alice Faye) is also on the boat and also takes a shine to the little girl - and to her minder, too! She's engaged to the rather wimpish "Richard" (Allan Lane) though and her mother (Helen Westley) wants no truck with "Tommy" - so, yep - you've guessed it - it falls to the curly-haired star to do a bit of fixing so that true love will blossom and she will hopefully be spared being in a real version of "Annie". The instantly recognisable dulcet tones of Eugenie Pallette help keep things on an even keel and Temple delivers with her usual and natural charm. On that last point, she always comes across as charismatic and never precocious, and here there's a germ of chemistry between her, Young and Faye. Messrs. Revel & Gordon have provided a few gentle numbers to allow Temple to show off some of her nimble dancing and the writing some entertainingly bilingual dexterity. It's light-hearted and characterful fun, this, and though you'll probably never remember it, it's enjoyable.

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!