Le petit colonel

There will never be a child star to match Shirley Temple. A born actress, dancer, and entertainer. In this movie she has an amazing support cast of Lionel Barrymore who plays the part of a crusty grandfather but Shirley with her cute and charming ways soon melts the heart of the old grandfather.

Hattie Mac Daniel plays the faithful servant and once again it made you realize just how much these beloved negroes sometimes knew more than " The white folks". The dancing down the steps with "Bojangles Bill Robinson" is something that can make you appreciate the talent of a young and not so young. The story line can be weak in places and the acting might be a bit corny to todays standards but if you need a feel good movie then drag out a Shirley Temple movie . You won't be disappointed.

Having earned her nickname due to her stubborn temper, THE LITTLE COLONEL courageously tries to reunite her splintered family.

Shirley Temple smiles, pouts, tosses her curly locks and completely runs away with the movie. One of her early family classics, this is an excellent showcase for her tremendous charm & abundant talents. As box-office queen, the mighty moppet would dominate Hollywood during the second half of the 1930's. Never was a despot so welcomed or a tyrant so loved.

As one of the industry's finest character actors, crusty Lionel Barrymore gives the little lady a run for her money. Always entertaining, he knows when to purr or when to roar to maximum effect, even if he doesn't quite eclipse Little Miss Personality.

Hattie McDaniel adds her own unique gifts to the role of Shirley's faithful servant, never allowing her dignity to be demeaned. As always, she is a joy. The legendary Bill Robinson is also on hand, mostly, one suspects, so as to partner Shirley in a couple of dances and they are wonderful, especially in Robinson's signature Staircase Dance. They are perfectly matched - one ramrod straight & ebony, the other tiny & blonde - and their minutes together on the screen is the stuff of which movie magic is made.

Evelyn Venable & John Lodge, as Shirley's parents (it's rare for her to have both all the way through a film) do nicely with the romantic angle, but it's kept to a minimum, as is usual in a Temple film, where the spotlight is kept firmly focused on her. Sidney Blackmer appears as a smooth swindler who makes the serious mistake of angering THE LITTLE COLONEL.

Although the film is given good production values by 20th Century Fox, it is the interaction between little Shirley and the other performers which far and away is the most important aspect of the picture.

It should be noted that there are elements of racism in the story line, a not uncommon occurrence in Hollywood films of the 1930's.

The final scene segues into early Technicolor - a pleasant way to end the story.

It's odd that Shirley Temple made two similar movies in the same year, both involving Civil War-type story lines and her character being very similar. "The Littlest Rebel" took place during the Civil War and "The Little Colonel" took place right after the war.

For some reason, I get an extra feeling being choked up seeing Shirley melting a crabby old man's heart as she did in some of her films, this being one of them. Here, it's Lionel Barrymore who was fun to watch in any film.

The lead female role was played by Evelyn Venable and she really wasn't up to the standards, beauty-wise, set by previous Temple adult feminine leads such s Gloria Stuart, Karen Moreley, Rochelle Hudson, etc. But, that's not important.

The story was more important and in case - surprise - I found this to run a distant second to the aforementioned "The Littlest Rebel." This movie was, frankly, boring in comparison.

I am not one of the crying Liberals who boycott Temple''s films because blacks in these movies were denigrated. Unfortunately, that's what you saw in 1930s films....and what's done is done. However, the black characters in here are just plain treated embarrassingly bad. Everyone's Mr. Nice Guy (mine, too) Bill Robinson, didn't come on the scene and dance with Shirley until later in the film when I had lost interest.

Temple, meanwhile, is so cute that she's even likable when she's a brat, as she acts several times with the old man (but apologizes later for her behavior).

It's still a good film but I prefer the "Rebel" over the "Colonel" in the battle of these 1935 Civil War-themed stories.

A little girl tries to mend the relationship between her mother and grandfather.

The Little Colonel is Shirley Temple at her best. She does a wonderful tap routine with Bill Robinson. Lionel Barrymore is good as the curmudgeonly grandfather, and Hattie McDaniel gives a wonderful supporting performance.

Recmomended. First time viewing. 3.5/5

America's favorite moppet Shirley Temple may have met her match in scene stealing with Lionel Barrymore playing her grandfather. Just watching Barrymore taking back his scenes from Temple makes The Little Colonel an enjoyable film to watch.

Barrymore complete with white suit, Panatella, and goatee with long white hair looks like the spitting image of Colonel Sanders. He's one reconstructed old rebel and what Lee and Grant signed at Appomattox has no bearing on him. All he has to hear is that his daughter Evelyn Venable has taken unto herself a Yankee for a husband and he disowns her. So she and John Davis Lodge go first north and west and have themselves a daughter.

When Lodge goes into the west with a couple of shifty partners in a prospecting deal, he sends Venable and the little girl they have now back south to live with grandfather. Well kind of, as they take a gate cottage to live in.

But as these Shirley Temple movies go, you know it's Shirley who brings all the warring parties together. Who could resist.

The Little Colonel is known for that famous dance that Bill Robinson does with Shirley Temple on the staircase. It's still as entertaining as it ever was. The last couple of minutes are in color in which all the principal players appeared in that for the first time.

The scenes with Barrymore and Temple are absolutely precious. Just who was the best capturer of the audience's attention. Judge for yourself.