La vie en rose

Here's a so-so Shirley Temple entry with a catchy song that plays throughout the film. The movie features a bunch of nice characters. The "bad guys" in here - a snotty woman, her butler and a crabby "Uncle Sam" - aren't overly mean and don't have huge roles in here so the atmosphere, for the most part, is very genial.

In addition to the main song ("This Is A Happy Little Ditty," a very catchy song), there is a good production number near the end of the film. Both of those numbers feature Shirley and Bill Robinson. Those two were always fun to watch dance and sing together.

There are two negatives in here: some of the spoken lines are a little stupid and poorly delivered, mostly by the male rich kid "Milton Ramsby" (Bennie Bartlett) who looked like he was reading his lines and the female adult lead, "Lola Ramsby," played by Amanda Duff, was weak. I can see why Duff never had much of a screen career.

I would like to have heard a few more songs, too, but it's still a charming film: not her best, but not the worst, either.

Taking a cue from Mickey and Judy over at MGM, Shirley Temple decides that the problems she and father Charles Farrell are facing because of the Depression can be solved by putting on a show. The show is for the benefit of Claude Gillingwater who is Benny Bartlett's grand uncle Sam. The fact that Shirley confuses Gillingwater who is a tycoon with the euphemism for the USA is certainly not her fault.

Farrell is an architect who's now out of work in his chosen profession and now living in the basement of the building where he had the penthouse suit. Living there now is Cora Witherspoon who is Gillingwater's daughter and her son Bartlett. Among other things Shirley turns him from a spoiled brat into a regular kid.

Just Around The Corner reunited Shirley with Bill Robinson her famous dancing partner from The Littlest Rebel. Also in the cast are Joan Davis as a maid/dogwalker and Bert Lahr as a chauffeur who formerly worked for Farrell and now for Gillingwater's family.

How could Uncle Sam not get better with Shirley Temple as his biggest booster? Fans of the eternal moppet will not be disappointed with Just Around The Corner.

This is a pretty entertaining Shirley Temple movie. Basically, Shirley singlehandedly ends of the Great Depression. Sure, it's unrealistic, but does anyone really expect a Shirley Temple movie to be a display of stark realism? Shirley was still cute, there were good musical numbers, and a good deal of funny scenes (aka run-ins with Mr. Waters). It's not a serious movie; it's just plain fun.

Certainly the curse that caught the child players, met his first victim in Shirley Temple, she was the perfect paradigm to strengthen such matter, in this picture she is back from school due his broken father is no longer had a high class engineer job, he accepts a humble job as maintenance work at same building that he had used to live.

The best thing that this picture offers is quite sure the ill tempered multimillionaire Samuel G. Henshaw played shiningly by the veteran actor Claude Gillingwater mistaken by Uncle Sam, smart script well developed to help the girl prodigy, possibly silly and dated, however nobody can deny the kindness and dexterity of Temple, a true benchmark at it's time, the DVD has an additional colorized version, recommended for all ages!!

Resume:

First watch: 2009 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.

"Just Around the Corner" is strictly Shirley Temple 101. Paul Girard Smith's short story "Lucky Penny" (a much better title!) becomes an unlucky vehicle for the pint-sized star, here portraying the daughter of a financially-strapped architect during the Depression. Through some comically-contrived misunderstandings, Shirl comes to believe her father's boss is actually Uncle Sam--and sets out to solve not only her papa's problems, but the nation's as well! Forgettable bubblegum nonsense, though one with an elaborate production and some energy from supporting players Bert Lahr, Joan Davis, and Bill Robinson. ** from ****