Heidi

"Heidi" is a childhood classic. It was only natural that Darryl F. Zanuck should choose to have his number one star play the title role in what has become a classic Shirley Temple film. Watching it, one has to be aware of just why this girl was one of the most famous of all the child stars. She has more charisma than the law allows!

While not completely faithful to the book, it is adapted to make it suitable to fit Shirley Temple's growing expertise as a child actress--and for good measure, a song sequence is included--"My Little Dutch Shoes"--to keep Shirley's fans happy. Jean Hersholt makes a perfect Grandfather, living in the Alps and at first resistant to Shirley's charm, stern and strict in behavior. Of course his heart soon melts and soon he's even attending church again. When Heidi is kidnapped, we see her in a rich man's household. Here she helps the crippled Klara to walk again and brightens up a gloomy household. In the end, of course, she is reunited with her grandfather for a teary reunion.

Perfect entertainment for youngsters who will probably fall under Temple's spell by the time the movie is over. Mary Nash is a standout as Fraulein Rottenmeier--although even meaner to Shirley in "The Little Princess". Too bad this one wasn't filmed in color. There is a colorized version available on video but I'm not partial to the colorization of black and white films. The colors are often distorted and unreal.

As my grandmother will tell you, when I was little I loved this movie. It basically started my love of movies, especially old ones. It also was why I idolized Shirley Temple when I was little.

What's not to love about this movie? Although it is slightly cheesy, it's an incredibly sweet movie that, today, never fails to make me cry! It also has its funny points. I always loved the part where Heidi and Klara steal the organ grinder's monkey. The choas it causes in the house is incredible!

Some people have said this is Shirley Temple's best film. It's not my favorite but I admit it is very, very good....and it has some of the most touching, wonderful moments of any of her films. In fact, there were several times in the first part of this film that produced tears in my eyes. Of course, I am an old sentimentalist. Nonetheless, this is wonderful stuff.

The only reason I don't rank this among my favorite Temple films is the mean old lady, "Fraulein Rottenmeier," played by Mary Nash, has too big a role in the second half of the movie making for a number of unpleasant scenes. I had gotten so involved with the story that I couldn't stand to see this mean woman so nasty to "Heidi" (Temple). Also, there was only one song-and-dance number and that's not enough for Shirley Temple movie.

The other characters were fine. Arthur Treacher provides good humor; Jean Hersholt is great as the gruff-then-loving grandfather and Marcia Mae Jones is nice as the young invalid.

This is a true classic story and ends with perhaps the most gorgeous and sweetest smile I've ever seen on Shirley's face.

These are one of the best movies I like for the rest of my life since I was little. In that movie, Heidi (who was played by Shirley Temple) lived with her grandfather then has been kidnapped by her nasty Aunt Dete then been threatened by that stupid Frauline Rottenmeier. It has really great scenes that takes place in the Alps of Germany and then Frankfurt. Since when I saw that movie, I thought it wouldn't be interesting but, now it is. By the way, the video of the movie is now in a colorized version.

Heidi as a book was a childhood favourite and still is a timeless classic. This version with Shirley Temple was also a favourite as a child and is still a delight, whether you've read the book or not. It is true that it is not the truest to the book, with some darker elements that didn't feel shoe-horned and far from traumatising, but that really doesn't matter, you can still love the book and also love the film. There could have been more of the relationship between Heidi and her grandfather(but it is still really touching) and the musical number In Our Little Wooden Shoes while catchy, well-staged and cute didn't add a whole lot to the story, in fact really it was irrelevant. Everything else is fine, and I found it superior to the 1993 Noley Thornton version(which was still good), it doesn't feel over-dramatic even with the added darker parts, the characters are far more truthfully and sympathetically written with much more of a character journey with the grandfather and there's more heart. Heidi is a lovely film to look at, being crisply and lovingly filmed, scenery that makes you wish you were right there and the costumes give a genuine sense of time and place(they look good too, yes even Heidi's poor clothes). The music is whimsical and sparkling, the dialogue has a very good balance of funny and meaningful and the story essentially has every bit the charm, heart-warming sentiment and emotion that the book has, the ending is well and truly sweet and not tacky. The sled chase, any scene with Fraulein Rottenmeier and the monkey are standout scenes. Heidi is briskly directed with enough time for the story to resonate and for the actors to really go for it. Jean Hersholt plays grumpy and heartfelt beautifully, while reclusive there is a real sense that he cares for Heidi and she for him. Mary Nash is the very meaning of beastly- living aptly up to her character's name- and absolutely relishes it, while Arthur Treacher is hilarious as the butler Andrews and Marcia Mae Jones is an affecting Klara. But it's Shirley Temple's film, she's adorable and while she manages to be charming and have wonderful comic timing she is equally good at displaying an emotional side, her acting in the scene in the police station(another memorable scene) is just heart-breaking. While she is the main attraction of the film, the other characters and actors are just as believable to not make Heidi too much of a Shirley Temple show. All in all, delightful and a Shirley Temple classic, one of her best possibly. 9/10 Bethany Cox