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.

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.

As I watched this film, I was shocked how the amazingly talented Shirley Temple APPEARED to be speaking Chinese. I assumed she was actually speaking nonsense. I was thrilled, however, by Moondog-8's review as they said that she really WAS speaking reasonably good Mandarin Chinese!! What a talented kid!! Ching-Ching is the orphaned child of missionaries in China. She mostly wanders the street like a ray of sunshine. She happens upon a playboy bachelor (Robert Young) and he's naturally taken by her. Later, when she accidentally stows away on the same ship as Young, he befriends her and even wants to adopt her. But, he needs to find a wife FAST, as they won't let a bachelor adopt a kid. So, he asks a very nice lady (Alice Faye) and the rest is for you to see for yourself.

This film is unusual in that it's pure sentimentality and schmaltz...yet it manages to work. This is because of the combined talents of Shirley, Robert Young and Alice Faye--who were all at the top of their game. Plus, the writing is good...provided you can dismiss some nagging questions you'll naturally face. So, try not to think HOW an orphan living in impoverished China can have permed curls, clean clothes and look well-fed! Just ignore all this and take in the fun--and the film does manage to be quite fun.

By the way, in the credits, Faye's fiancé is credited as Allan Lane. Later, he gained fame as cowboy star 'Rocky' Lane.

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.