|
| Rating: |
   
|
| Run Time: |
78 min |
| MPAA Rating: |
NR |
| Released: |
1936 |
| Directors: |
William Seiter
|
| Genre/Type: |
Drama
Musical
Childhood Drama
|
| Producers: |
Nunnally Johnson
Darryl F. Zanuck
|
Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson
This lavish
Shirley Temple starrer is set in New York, sometime in the 1850s. While lovable pickpocket "Professor" Eustace Appleby works the crowd, his talented granddaughter Dimples (Temple) dances for pennies. Dimples demands that Appleby stop his thieving ways, but every time he tries to follow the straight and narrow, he comes out the loser (most memorably when he's hoodwinked by a dapper con man played by
John Carradine). While Dimples entertains at the home of society matron Mrs. Caroline Drew (
Helen Westley), Appleby pilfers several valuable objects. This time he's caught with the goods, but Dimples gallantly takes the blame. Touched by this, Mrs. Drew adopts the little girl, enabling her to find success on the legitimate stage.
| Actors |
Character |
Born |
| Shirley Temple |
Sylvia Dolores Appleby (Dimples) |
Apr 23, 1928 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, CA |
| Frank Morgan |
Prof. Eustace Appleby |
Jun 1, 1890 in New York City, NY |
| Helen Westley |
Mrs. Caroline Drew |
Mar 28, 1875 in Brooklyn, New York City, NY |
| Robert Kent |
Allen Drew |
|
| Delma Byron |
Betty Loring |
|
| Astrid Allwyn |
Cleo Marsh |
Nov 27, 1909 in South Manchester, CT |
| Stepin Fetchit |
Cicero |
May 30, 1902 in Key West, FL |
| Berton Churchill |
Colonel Loring |
Dec 9, 1876 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Paul Stanton |
Mr. St. Clair |
Dec 21, 1884 |
| Julius Tannen |
Hawkins |
May 16, 1880 |
| John Carradine |
Mr. Richards |
Feb 5, 1906 in Greenwich Village, New York City, NY |
| Herman Bing |
Proprietor |
Mar 30, 1889 in Frankfurt, Germany |
| Billy McClain |
Rufus |
|
| The Hall Johnson Choir |
Choir |
|
| Jack Clifford |
Uncle Tom |
|
| Betty Jean Hainey |
Topsy |
|
Dimples could be considered a somewhat atypical
Shirley Temple vehicle, although not because of anything involving the story, screenplay or direction. It's atypical because another performer actually gives Temple a run for her money, which rarely happened in her young career. The performer in question is veteran
Frank Morgan, taking the clichéd reprobate grandpa character he's been given and taking the tired dialogue that goes along with it and fashioning a portrait that is enormously engaging and that quite captures the audience's sympathy. Morgan doesn't steal the picture from Temple, mind you; Dimples is still the little tyke's show all the way, and she doesn't give any less than her customary 110% from first frame to last. But Morgan does manage to make a very striking presence, and to give Temple someone strong to play off of, which in turn makes her own performance come across more vividly. The script is the usual melodramatic nonsense that exists to allow Temple to sing, dance and jerk a few tears, and she does it all quite well, even if the sentimentality is laid on especially thick in this story. Modern viewers should beware that Dimples features not only poor
Stepin Fetchit's torturous turn but also a blackface segment. The choreography, by
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is quite good, and executed quite well by Temple.