Customer Reviews

Little Miss Marker [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the best films based on Damon Runyon's stories, 'Little Miss Marker' is a well-cast, smartly directed movie.

Yes, Shirley Temple plays the title character. Five years old and on loan from her home studio, Fox, she gave a fresh and interesting performance. Those who loathe the treacle and unrealistic characters in Temple's later work will find this film a pleasant surprise. Shirley doesn't sing (she has one short song), she doesn't dance, and she doesn't play an angel. She does, however, show off her incredible acting talent as an orphaned child thrown among gangsters. As she spends more time with them, she falls more and more under their influence, until she turns into a baby moll who tells people to "scram" and "lay off". It's an interesting commentary on the influence parents and adults have on the children who observe them.

The film captures the atmosphere of the early thirties very well. Dorothy Dell, playing lounge singer/gun moll Bangles,is fantastic, and does a wonderful number at the Diamond Horseshoe cabaret.

Even if you aren't a Temple fan, you'll probably love this film!

Most of Shirley Temple's films are so corny, you wonder how one release kept leading to yet another. "Little Miss Marker", which was remade many times over the years, is the easy answer. It was Shirley's first movie and, yes, she's an orphan from the very start. But thanks to Damon Runyan, a wonderful cast led by Adolph Menjou, and a very original story line (again, thank you Mr. Runyan), the start of the Shirley Temple series is a comical, off-beat delight that surpasses the distilled maple syrup of her later efforts, enjoyable though they may be. Only in the early thirties would you find such a movie as this, and in no other film does the neat and dapper Adolph Menjou play such an unrepentant, but soft-hearted, slob (seeing this alone is worth the price of the movie). It would be great if Hollywood had not lost the knack for making films like this. If you don't like Shirley Temple that much, but you'd like to know what all the noise was about, you'll like this one.

Little Miss Marker has Shirley Temple as the star character.A child thrown about by a bunch of gangsters Temple wins the heart of Adolph. This is temple's first role and from the start she's an orphan. Dorothy Dell is great with Temple in this movie. After a while you see Shirley has changed a bit saying things like "Scram "and "Not Tellin" this movie is cute and when she gets thrown of Dream Prince you get all scared. Remember Temple did her own stunts,pretty good for a 6 year old! She doesn't sing or dance much in this movie but she shows of she's an actress . Pretty cute. I recomend this movie,to all the Temple fans who forgot she could act! and to anyone else

Actually, I watched this movie because I was so fascinated by Dorothy Dell, who starred as "Bangles Carson," a tough gambler's girlfriend and nightclub singer. It is hard to believe that Dell was only nineteen years old when she made this film; she died two weeks after the film's release in a horrific nighttime car accident. But she looks and acts much, much older...she was beautiful, talented, and had an extremely promising future.

Oh, yes...and Shirley Temple? Well, I think this was the best role she ever did. She was so little (five years old) and so gifted and natural in this role...her later movies were too sugary for my taste! She and Dell and Adoph Menjou had marvelous chemistry together in this film, although Menjou was terrified of Temple's screen presence and knew she was stealing the film.

Well worth seeing!

What a fun movie!!! Shirley plays a precocious little girl who wins the hearts of a bunch of gamblers. You laugh and you cry. It is heartwarming and fun! She wins your heart from the beginning! I just LOVE this movie!

While making this film, Adolphe Menjou remarked about Shirley: "She's Ethel Barrymore at six! This heartwarming story stars Temple as the title character, who is left with bookie Sorrowful Jones (Menjou) as the IOU for a gambling debt. When her father doesn't return, it's up to Jones and his racetrack cronies to make a home for the wee tyke. The Damon Runyon story is cute and clever with the actors even portraying characters out of King Arthur to pacify Shirley; children from the ages of 5-105 will be tempted to watch these expertly COLORIZED Temple films which are still appealing to all who are young at heart! The now - forgotten Dorothy Dell had in this her best role; she had a promising future in the movies until she tragically met her death via a car accident later in the year.

This movie is the type of movie that children should be watching today. It had some educational back ground in it. Where Shirley was presued by a man and wanting her to go with him to buy candy. If the parents are watching this movie with the children they can point out what was wrong when she started to go with him. Other than that the movie was fun to watch and a delight to see a movie without swearing. As in all of her movies she can light up your day and at the same time make you cry.

In the original and best of several versions of this Damon Runyon fable, six-year-old Shirley Temple is featured in the picture which set her to the top of the popularity charts. Shirley's an adorable tyke who's left with bookie Menjou as a marker for a $20 bet. Shirley is fascinated with King Arthur and Menjou's pals are all dubbed names by her! Adolph Menjou was quoted as saying that Temple was "Ethel Barrymore at six"! The Alice Faye-like Dorothy Dell had her best role in this (as Bangles Carson); she died in a car accident soon afterward.

Despite only two songs, it's another entertaining Shirley Temple film. The story is familiar; it's been done several other times, once under the name "Sorrowful Jones," with Bob Hope. This movie is a bit different from that one, so you could own both and have two different slants on the famous Damon Runyon story.

This version has a lot more comedy from the supporting players, since Temple is cute but her character in this story isn't the main source of humor as Hope was in his films. In here, all the bookies and gangsters provide the humor.

The leading male, played by Adolph Menjou, is a sourpuss but still likable. The leading adult female, Dorothy Dell, was a bit tough-looking, I thought, for this role.

Temple doesn't play as sweet a role as she did in most of her films, but she still has her tender moments. Nobody can produce a sentimental scene as quickly as Shirley could. In all, a nice film and enjoyable from start to finish.

Note: This was the best colorized version I have seen of Temple's films. Perhaps that was because MCA Universal did this VHS, not Fox, which did the others. It advertises "stereo" but I didn't hear any.

This is a great movie for all Shirley Temple fans . Shirley plays a curly topped orphan who starts out as a sweet little girl who loves fairies and King Arthur and turns into a little mug and says things like "lay off me" and "that would be somethin'." The only thing that would keep you from buying this movie is Shirley does not tap dance or do much singing in the movie. The only song she does is " Son of a Gun." Still she is very cute in this movie and it shows one of her earlier roles.