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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely the weakest set..., April 29, 2007
As a Shirley Temple fan, I have purchased each one of these new DVD sets so far. This one is definitely the weakest.
The one strong movie of the three, "The Little Princess", cannot make up for the other two. Though all three movies look good, it is the story/plot of each that is either their saving grace or their downfall. (Note that two of these movies - "The Little Princess" and "The Blue Bird" are in colour, while "Stand Up and Cheer" has been left in its original black-and-white state without a colourized version.)
"The Blue Bird" is weak, and it is understandable that this film was the one generally viewed to have ended Shirley's career as a child actress. The story is boring and drawn out, and one cannot help but think that it would be much better as a play (and, in fact, it was originally a play). Shirley is unappealing as a selfish child, and the acting on the part of her co-stars is not very good. Young children would probably not understand some of the underlying themes, and might get bored. I certainly did...
"The Little Princess", made a year earlier than "The Blue Bird", is a much better film. Based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the movie tells the classic story of little Sara Crewe and her undying belief that her soldier father is still alive. This version looks great; the colour is wonderful. The sound didn't seem quite right (loud ambient noise and too-quiet voices), but that may be my DVD player.
"Stand Up and Cheer" is just a weird movie. It's not for children, and it barely has enough of a plot to keep adults entertained. It's a mish-mash of song-and-dance numbers, and Shirley barely features in it at all. Luckily, with DVD technology, we can skip right to her special scene (and it is a good one... it's no wonder the 1930s movie-going public fell in love with this child!).
I am still waiting for some of my other favourites to be released as part of this series, but I don't know how many more 3-disc sets there will be, as there are five movies (by my count) left to be released: "Our Little Girl", "The Poor Little Rich Girl", "Stowaway", "Wee Willie Winkie", and "Young People".
So, for this set, three stars. The films have been restored nicely. They're just rather weak on content.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the Shirley Temple Collections!, August 4, 2007
In this collection, we get Shirley's only two Technicolor films: The Little Princess and The Blue Bird, the former having been available on a dozen different - and inferior - DVDs. This time, Fox has restored all the three-strip Technicolor brilliance to two of the titles, and, strangely, released Stand Up And Cheer only in black-and-white. All the other black-and-whites in her collections were both b&w and colorized.
Perhaps it is because no colorization would look good next to these Technicolors. They are absolutely breathtaking.
As for content, well, you may or may not care for the films, but as a friend of mine used to say about three-strip Technicolor films:Good or bad, they are always a feast for the eyes! Thank you Fox for the banquet!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For fans of Shirley and Technicolor, October 5, 2007
Others have commented that this is an odd assortment and not the best; I would agree to a small extent. "The Little Princess" is often referred to as Shirley's best, and this DVD print definitely bears out those sentiments. Shirley has a strong supporting cast with Arthur Treacher, Mary Nash, Marcia Mae Jones (as the spoiled arch nemisis of Shirley), and Anita Louise. Fox also gave Shirley high production values which show in the color, the sets (especially the lavish ballet number), and the costumes. Definitely 5 stars. "The Blue Bird" is a film that often slides into both camps; people either hate it or love it. Shirley herself gives a standout performance as a little brat. This is a little jarring for her regular fans, but for once she is given an opportunity to play against type and she succeeds. The rest of the supporting cast is strong and so are the production values. Where the film fails is in the direction, pacing, and script. With tighter direction and editing, the lulls in the plotline could have been fixed. Although not as bad is its horrible reputation, "The Blue Bird" is not as enjoyable as "The Little Princess." I would give this one a 3/4 star rating. "Stand Up & Cheer" is mainly for fans of old musicals and campy entertainment. I don't think Fox at anytime (even when it was released) ever claimed this movie was high art, and it has always had the reputation of being a lot of hokey numbers with the exception of Shirley 's standout "Baby Take A Bow" duet with James Dunn. Shirley's actual part of the number only lasts about a minute, but boy does she shine in the midst of this turkey! This movie gets about 4 stars for its historic value, and probably about a 1 or 2 star rating for overall entertainment. It's pure escapist fun that needs to be put into the historic context in which it was released: the country was in the midst of a terrible depression, and even this hokum was able to put a smile on their face. In general, it's still disappointing that Fox has been so stingy on the extras with these Shirley sets. The gal that saved the studio at least deserves a few features and commentary tracks.
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