Tchin-Tchin

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.

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.

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!

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.

"Stowaway" may not be the best of the Shirley Temple movies, mostly because the character of the man who adopts her is too devil-may-care for the viewer to think he has the necessary heart of gold to become a surrogate father, but it is still an endearing and delightful film. Contrary to what another reviewer wrote, Shirley does NOT play a "street child" in China, rather, she is the orphaned child of Christian missionaries who is being sent home to America by her careful guardians (both American and Chinese), when a horrible series of events leads to her becoming lost. This portion of the movie is quite realistic, as with many of the most affecting Shirley Temple films, and sets the necessary tragic background against which her bravery and good cheer will shine. "Stowaway" is also notable for a stage turn in which Shirley does a credible impersonation of Al Jolson, which is a great deal of fun for fans of the period's celebrities.