When Shirley Temple takes over in curing everybody's woes, they stay fixed. Late depression era audiences couldn't get enough of this adorable moppet, and for good reason. She put a face on President Roosevelt's New Deal. If a heavyset old lady (Marie Dressler), an aging vamp (Mae West) and an adorable little girl (Shirley) could dominate the box office of Hollywood during different years of the 30's, all could be right in the world.
Temple is a lovable orphaned tot whose older sister (Rochelle Hudson) has professed never to be separated from her. When one of the orphanages' trustees (John Boles) takes an interest in Temple, he becomes her secret benefactor, a la "Daddy Long Legs". It's obvious that one of the situations she cures is bringing together Hudson and Boles.
In the supporting cast are such dependable character actors as Esther Dale (as Boles' aunt), Arthur Treacher (as, what else?, their butler), Rafaela Ottiano (as the initially chilly but ultimately kind orphanage manager), Jane Darwell (as her chipper assistant), and Etienne Girardot (as the overly staid head trustee). Temple, Boles and Hudson all sing, but it is Temple's "Animal Crackers in My Soup" that will become the hit. She sings another song where she ages up to an old lady that is nicely done. A nice comical exchange between Temple and Ottiano involving a duck is one of the classic wisecracks of all time. That's what makes Temple so much fun in the way she deals with authoritarian adults. Like "Kids are People Too" years later, you never know just what she's going to say or do.
It seems that much of the character of Little Orphan Annie in the musical "Annie", was taken from this, especially Temple's repetition of "Oh, My Goodness". Ottiano is perhaps the only actress in Hollywood history who had a character in a Broadway musical, "Grand Hotel", changed to her name after she originated the part in the movie with a different name for the character.
Temple is a lovable orphaned tot whose older sister (Rochelle Hudson) has professed never to be separated from her. When one of the orphanages' trustees (John Boles) takes an interest in Temple, he becomes her secret benefactor, a la "Daddy Long Legs". It's obvious that one of the situations she cures is bringing together Hudson and Boles.
In the supporting cast are such dependable character actors as Esther Dale (as Boles' aunt), Arthur Treacher (as, what else?, their butler), Rafaela Ottiano (as the initially chilly but ultimately kind orphanage manager), Jane Darwell (as her chipper assistant), and Etienne Girardot (as the overly staid head trustee). Temple, Boles and Hudson all sing, but it is Temple's "Animal Crackers in My Soup" that will become the hit. She sings another song where she ages up to an old lady that is nicely done. A nice comical exchange between Temple and Ottiano involving a duck is one of the classic wisecracks of all time. That's what makes Temple so much fun in the way she deals with authoritarian adults. Like "Kids are People Too" years later, you never know just what she's going to say or do.
It seems that much of the character of Little Orphan Annie in the musical "Annie", was taken from this, especially Temple's repetition of "Oh, My Goodness". Ottiano is perhaps the only actress in Hollywood history who had a character in a Broadway musical, "Grand Hotel", changed to her name after she originated the part in the movie with a different name for the character.