Bright Eyes

Shirley Temple is at it again, stealing everyone's heart. Her mother works for some snooty people in this film called Bright Eyes. The only one in the household who likes her is the old man, Grandfather, who nicknamed her Bright Eyes, hence the name of the film. His daughter and son-in-law are only nice to him for his money and really want nothing to do with him and nothing to do with Shirley. They reluctantly hired her mother as a maid. James Dunn plays a flier and is friends with Shirley and her mother, due to the fact he was good friends with Shirley's father before he died in a plane accident. James Dunn, a frequent costar in Shirley's movies, visits them a lot, and the uppity lady of the house doesn't like such riffraff in the house and told her maid that if these flier people don't stop visiting, she'll have to find work elsewhere. But everything takes a dramatic turn just before Shirley's birthday party. If you're looking for the film where Shirley sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop," then you've found it. In fact, it's a highlight in an otherwise routine Shirley Temple film. Not that it's a bad film; it's just not terribly original or different than most Shirley Temple movies. But Ms. Temple's sweet smile and the supporting cast of characters played by capable actors help buoy this film into an enjoyable little film for about 75 minutes.

One of Shirley Temple's best movies is stolen by an absolutely riotous performance by Jane Withers as Temple's bratty nemesis-the mean rich kid who picks on poor,noble motherless Shirley. This is the movie that boasts Temple's anthem- On the Good Ship Lollipop.Worth seeing if you haven't seen a Shirley Temple movie.And this was one of the major hits of the 1930's.

Jane Withers, at age four, started as one of the deep South's most popular radio stars on Aunt Sally's Kiddy Club. She was so small she had to be lifted up to reach the microphone. She was the mischief-maker of the Kiddy Club program, called "The Little Pest". Like Mitzi Green, she had an uncanny ability to imitate the voices and facial expressions of actors, actresses and other people, something she learned playing with the mirror. On stage by age five, she became a famous actress throughout the South, finally moving to Hollywood at five-and-a-half. In Hollywood, Jane began by playing in a weekly radio-revue and gave numerous stage performances for beneficial organizations.

"Bright Eyes" was Jane's first credited movie role and led to a long-term contract with Twentieth Century-Fox. She stared in numerous movies of the thirties, and was Shirley Temple's main competition. Jane was one of the great child actresses of all times, very popular with the children of her era, and after watching Shirley's goodie two-shoes act in Bright Eyes playing against Jane's power-house comedy performance, I can see why. Shirley Temple was her usual cute, sugar-coated, man-worshiping self with everyone giggling politely at her jokes except the audience. In contrast, Jane Withers had my daughter and I laughing our heads off until we had stomach-aches. Jane in Bright Eyes was bratty, adorable and hilarously funny. Her brat act has seldom, if ever, been equaled in the annals of film.

It is really a shame, and I hope the studios who own Jane Withers' many films as a child take note, that Bright Eyes is the only Jane Withers performance to survive to contemporary video. What ever happened to her movies "Ginger", Paddy O'Day", "Gentle Julia", "Little Miss Nobody", "Can This be Dixie?" and "Pepper"? In a published chat-room article Jane, who is still very much alive, says that she will eventually finish her book on her child star days. Like the kids of Our Gang, she remembers a fun, privileged childhood and has nothing in the way of sob stories. Let's hope that the studios will stop suppressing her films and release them on video soon, perhaps coinciding with her book.

Shirley Blake (Shirley Temple) lost her pilot father in a crash. She likes to hang out at the airport with her godfather Loop Merritt and all of their friends. Her mother Mary is a live-in maid working for the Smythes. Mrs. Smythe disapproves of her flyboy friends and plans to fire her after Christmas. The family hates cranky uncle Ned Smith but Mr. Smythe hopes to get the inheritance. The only person Ned likes is Shirley whom he calls Bright Eyes. Mary is killed by a car and Ned wants to adopt Shirley. This sets up a legal battle for the little girl between the Smythes and Loop.

This has the super cute and spunky Shirley Temple who delivers the song On the Good Ship Lollipop. She's a million watts light bulb. The rest of them are perfectly fine although the other girl Joy is awkwardly bratty. In the end, the battle is between two people who both love Shirley and there is limited drama in the lack of danger. That may be why a dangerous situation had to be manufactured.

Five-year-old Glendale, California tyke Shirley Temple (as Shirley Blake) hitch-hikes to the airport to visit her godfather pilot James Dunn (as James "Loop" Merritt). Not many kids could do that today. While she's away, we meet the curly top's family. She lives with mother Lois Wilson (as Mary Blake), who works as the maid for a wealthy family headed by another former "silent film" star, Theodor von Eltz (as J. Wellington Smythe). His snooty wife Dorothy Christy (as Anita) decides to fire mother Wilson for receiving too many telephone calls. However, their obnoxious but deep-down softie uncle Charles Sellon (as Ned Smith) likes Ms. Temple. He calls her "Bright Eyes". The illustrious cast includes servants Jane Darwell and Brandon Hurst. But the most memorable member of the household is Ms. Temple's antithesis – the classic spoiled brat character played by Jane Withers (as Joy Smythe). She decapitates dolls and terrorizes wheelchair-bound uncle Sellon from her tricycle...

"Bright Eyes" was a very successful early vehicle for Temple. The cartoon-like film captures all of her adorableness. Temple sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop" with the girlish innocence (some say sexuality) of a bygone era. Her amateurish vocals balance the perfect doll-like looks. The film has all the subtext depression-weary audiences loved – most importantly, undeserving and insufferable rich characters are put in their place by the angelic, suffering poor. Temple won an "Academy Award" for her cumulative work in 1934; this film has been mentioned as the one most responsible for bringing her the juvenile acting award, but contemporary reviews and research give the honor to "Little Miss Marker" (1934). In the earlier film, "The New York Times" rated Temple's performance higher than co-star Adolphe Menjou. Until the end of the decade, Temple would play variations of her "Bright Eyes" character, ringing up box office cash registers like no other child star, before or since.

****** Bright Eyes (12/20/34) David Butler ~ Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Jane Withers, Charles Sellon