Customer Reviews

Shirley Temple: America's Sweetheart Collection, Volume 4 (Captain January / Just Around the Corner / Susannah of the Mounties)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

... to add to your collection of Shirley Temple movies. While these aren't some of her best, they are still entertaining.

"Captain January" is probably the most fun of the bunch. I like most of the movies Shirley made between 1934 and 1936, and this one falls neatly in amongst them. "At the Codfish Ball", a great song-and-dance number with Buddy Ebsen, is included.

By the time "Just Around the Corner" came out, Shirley was getting a little old, and the mannerisms that might have passed for cuteness as a child were beginning to get a little annoying. The movie is still worth seeing though, if only for her dance routines with Bill Robinson.

When watching "Susannah of the Mounties", keep in mind that it was a story about a different time (the 1880s) that was made in a different time (the 1930s). It will probably come across as somewhat racist to today's viewers, but it will still probably appeal to Shirley fans.

The problems with sound that I noticed on some of the discs in the last two collections seem to have been corrected. The audio was fine, and the colourizations were decent. People thinking of purchasing this collection might want to be aware that, unlike the three previous collections, there was no charm bracelet included with this one (I don't mind... I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the three I now have!).

All in all, it's a fine set for the collection. I hope there will be a Volume 5... I'm still waiting for "Stowaway" and "Poor Little Rich Girl" (two of my other 1936 favourites).

"Captain January" has a sappy plot: a cute little girl, rescued from a shipwreck by an old lighthouse keeper, is in danger of being taken away by a mean old Miss Gulch of a truant officer. The only things that save this film are the musical and dance scenes, particularly "The Codfish Ball," performed by Shirley and Buddy Ebsen. Take that out and the movie is a wash--or awash.

"Just Around the Corner" is one of the few Shirley Temple movies that even acknowledges the Great Depression. Shirley's mother is apparently dead, and the girl lives with her architect father in a skyscraper New York apartment house. He is on his uppers, but with his daughter's help the icy heart of a mean old millionaire melts and all ends well. You could see it all coming. There are no memorable song and dance numbers, even with Bill Robinson, the doorman, or at the outrageous benefit Shirley stages for her father.

"Susannah of the Mounties" is pure claptrap. Shirley's family is killed by renegade Indians, and she is rescued by the Canadian Royal Mounties. There are all sorts of Indians with giant feather headdresses, squealing and threatening and talking pigeon English ("White men speak with forked tongue"). It's embarrasing to anyone with the least bit of knowledge about native Americans. In this film Shirley has no song and dance interludes of note.

Shirley was a bit long of tooth when these three movies were made and the cuteness of her earlier films is growing a bit thin. If you're short of time, dial up "The Codfish Ball" and skip the rest of these.

The titles include:

Captain January
Just Around The Corner
Susannah of the Mounties

20th Century Fox presents "SHIRLEY TEMPLE COLLECTION VOL.4" (1936-1939) (225 min/B&W/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Shirley Jane Temple is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She began her film career in 1932 at the age of three, and in 1934, skyrocketed to superstardom in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Academy Award in February 1935, and film hits such as Curly Top, and Heidi followed year after year during the mid to late 1930s. She was the top box-office draw four years in a row (1935-38) in a Motion Picture Herald poll

Editorial Reviews & Product Description on this Amazon page for your viewing interest.

FIRST FILM ON THE TRIPLE FEATURE:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation presents "CAPTAIN JANUARY" (1936) (77 min/B&W/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Shirley Temple, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, Buddy Ebsen & Jane Darwell

Directed by David Butler

NOTE: Shirley and Buddy Ebsen team up for a very entertaining song-and-dance routine to "The Codfish Ball," the best song in the movie.
And some of the scenes of the lighthouse are magnificent. Shirley gets emotional during the final tug of war where she is being torn away from the Cap, a crying scene that reveals just how deeply felt some of her performances were.

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

SECOND FILM ON THE TRIPLE FEATURE:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporations presents "JUST AROUND THE CORNER" (1938) (70 min/B&W/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Shirley Temple, Joan Davis, Charles Farrell, Amanda Duff, Bill Robinson & Bert Lahr

Directed by Irving Cummings

NOTE: 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. Legendary Bill `Bojangles' Robinson is on hand with 3 of his celebrated dance routines. Watch, when he dances with Shirley, how she matches him step for step - a marvelous terpsichorean treat. Those two were always fun to watch in their musical numbers together.

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 3 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 3 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

THIRD & FINAL FILM ON THE TRIPLE FEATURE:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporations presents "SUSANNAH OF THE MOUNTIES" (1939) (78 min/B&W/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, Margaret Lockwood, Martin Good Rider, J. Farrell MacDonald & Maurice Moscovitch

Directed by Walter Lang, William A. Seiter

NOTE: Shirley and Randolph Scott show some real affection for each other, he may have been the best of her adult male co-stars. Of course Scott also has eyes for the extraordinarily beautiful Margaret Lockwood who is his commanding officer's daughter. One of Shirley's weaker vehicles, enjoyable only for die-hard Temple fans. Fortunately for Shirley, she still had "THE LITTLE PRINCESS" in release that same year. Which is one of my all time favorites of her films.

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 3 Stars
Performance: 3 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 3 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 225 min on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox ~ (07/25/2006)

My wife wanted Shirley Temple videos for her birthday, so I ordered these. I watched them with her and now we are both Shirley Temple fans! She will never duplicated! The colorized vids are awsome!

I own the movie. I bought it when my daughter was in her early teens. Watched the movies of Shirley when I was a child growing up. Then when I had my own daughter, the two of us would watch Shirleys movies together.
They are great movies for the whole family to watch.
I wish I had movies of her in her teen years, and as an adult.

This is a three-box set containing Shirley Temple's Captain January(1936), Just Around the Corner(1938), and Susannah of the Mounties(1939).

Each movie has the original black & white as well as a colorized version. There are subtitles in English and Spanish.

Also included is the trailer for Susannah of the Mounties along with two Shirley Temple newsreels(Stage dedication to Will Rogers and A pony for Shirley's 8th birthday).

A nice collection for fans of Shirley Temple.

Shirley Temple DVD'S are wonderful for any age. She is a delight and I am well pleased with my purchase.

I bought for my grandaughter, and she loves these. These classics still enthrall and entertain generation after generation. Bring back an era when movies were for fun.

These are among my favorites of Shirley's movies! A great feature to pick between color or black & white viewing! I bought the whole set, one 3pk. at a time. My grand children love them too! Colorized well!In Sussanah of the mounties, Shirley smokes peace pipe for real!