...another one of the all-time classic actresses has left us. Anyone who reads this blog is well aware of Shirley Temple's place as the greatest child star ever (name one who could top her, popularity-wise), so this post will concentrate on Shirley's appearances in two GingerFilms, one in her 'early days' and one in the 'latter days' of her film career.
...the first GingerFilm she appeared in was "Change of Heart" in 1934, at the ripe old age of 6.
...that's Ginger's flaxen-haired noggin' just to the left of Miss Temple. Her role lasted all of 10 seconds, and without a speaking part... it's when Ginger and the gang get on the plane to New York, and Shirley is a passenger who befriends them briefly. Even though it's a brief scene, it counts! Shirley had already made a few 'notable' shorts and brief appearances in film, but right after this one, she made 'Little Miss Marker', which was her first bona-fide starring role...strangely enough, at Paramount, who 'procured' the services of Miss Temple from Fox for the role. After LMM was a hit, Fox Films immediately 'locked in' Shirley's services for quite awhile, and the studio was basically kept afloat by her immense popularity...she was the #1 box office draw from 1935 to 1938, winning the hearts of depression-era America.
The other role is QUITE more substantial, and occurred in the well-made wartime Ginger drama, "I'll Be Seeing You"... Shirley was a seasoned veteran of fifteen in this one.
...she played Barbara Marshall, the young niece of Mary Marshall (Ginger), who is out of prison on Christmas furlough... Barbara is a bit wary of Mary, what with her being a hardened criminal and all... but it all (kinda) turns out OK between them in the end, as to be expected... Temple turned in a good performance here, and a few years after this role, she was in what she considered her best acting, in "That Hagen Girl"; she also did "The Bachelor and The Bobby-Soxer" in that year of '47.
From Ginger's bio, here's the recollection she had of Miss Temple while on the set of IBSY, and how she influenced the female youth of the day:
"This was the second time I had worked with Shirley Temple (the first was Change of Heart), but now she was more grown-up, all of fifteen. Edith Head was the costume designer and she sent the sketches for our costumes. My character, out on furlough from the state penitentiary, had only two costumes...Shirley, on the other hand, had several changes. In one scene she was supposed to wear a skirt and sweater. Dore Schary (the producer) came on the set and asked why Shirley wasn't wearing the sweater he'd okayed. It turned out that Mama Temple didn't want her little girl wearing a sweater in that movie. I'm sure she thought it would delineate her daughter's figure too much. (nice way to put that, Ginger!) Schary convinced Mama, and the next thing I knew Shirley was wearing a sweater. The film was released in late 1944 and immediately, teenagers across the U.S.A. began wearing sweaters."
HERE'S a link to IMDb for Shirley Temple info... some pretty cool stuff here.
a few of the more interesting facts:
Shirley Jones and Shirley MacLaine were each named after Shirley Temple.
Her mother Gertrude Temple turned down the lead role on behalf of Shirley for 'National Velvet'.
Was very active politically, as an Ambassador for the U.S. to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.
Is in the top 20-30 of virtually all 'best actors/actresses ever' polls.
Was a breast cancer survivor since the early 1970's.
Her second husband of 55 years, Charles Black, admitted after they had dated a bit that he had never seen any of her films.
...a funny, yet telling quote from Shirley when recollecting her monumental status as child star, "I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six; Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph."
And one more trivia which most of y'all probably know, but just in case, as I had forgotten it - again from Ginger's bio: (while filming Roxie Hart at 20th Century-Fox, about 'Roxie's' dressing room):
"Actually this dressing room had been built expressly for Fox's biggest little star, Shirley Temple, and it was more like a small house. For years, she had kept that company in business with her films."
A viewing of "I'll Be Seeing You" may be in order sometime over the next few days... in remembrance of a classic film icon.
Hu
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