Shirley Temple is, possibly, the greatest child star that ever was or ever will be. At the very least, she will certainly go down in history as the most universally popular. Between the ages of 7 and 10, she was the top box-office draw for 4 years in a row, beating out other popular actors like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. Appearing in her breakout role in the film Stand Up and Cheer at the age of 5, she was a little girl with a near-prodigy level talent for dance,
singing, and acting (she even has a tap combination named after her).
This tale based on the popular book by Johanna Spyri is the emotional pinnacle of Temple's early career. As Adelheid - Heidi for short - she's an 8-year-old Swiss orphan who is given over to her gruffly bitter mountain hermit grandfather (Hersholt) by her aunt. The impact she made on moviegoers in the early days of the 1930s, when the depression hit was tremendous. Temple was a bright spot in some very bleak days, when many maybe couldn't afford to go to the movies or decided they would find a way just to see their favorite stars. Miss Shirley Temple was one such star. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "It is a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents, an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles." Parents named their children after her, like Shirley Jones and Shirley MacLaine for example. And, she was honored with a special Juvenile Oscar Award in 1935 for her contribution to movies. She did 14 films from the age of 14 to 21. The best of her later output were "Kiss and Tell," "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" and "Fort Apache." All I have seen on TCM . She retired from films in 1950 at the age of 22. As an adult, she chose a career in diplomacy as the U. S. ambassador to Ghana and to Czechoslovakia and served as the U. S. Chief of Protocol.
An orphaned girl tends goats for her grandfather until she's sold to serve as a disabled girl's companion.
A truly touching family drama, Heidi is a wonderful film. Even though most of the film takes place in the winter, Heidi was, actually, filmed in the middle of summer in Lake Arrowhead, California. At one point the heat became so, unbearable that Hersholt collapsed from heat exhaustion. Shirley, also, suffered health problems during the shoot when she, accidentally, swallowed fake snow. This resulted in throat problems that forced the production to shoot around her for two days. Despite the mishaps, Shirley still enjoyed making this film, even suggesting the fanciful "In Our Little Wooden Shoes" number herself and during production "helped" direct her fellow child actors through the dance steps.. On one occasion, Temple said in an interview her favorites film was none other than Heidi :)
This tale based on the popular book by Johanna Spyri is the emotional pinnacle of Temple's early career. As Adelheid - Heidi for short - she's an 8-year-old Swiss orphan who is given over to her gruffly bitter mountain hermit grandfather (Hersholt) by her aunt. The impact she made on moviegoers in the early days of the 1930s, when the depression hit was tremendous. Temple was a bright spot in some very bleak days, when many maybe couldn't afford to go to the movies or decided they would find a way just to see their favorite stars. Miss Shirley Temple was one such star. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "It is a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents, an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles." Parents named their children after her, like Shirley Jones and Shirley MacLaine for example. And, she was honored with a special Juvenile Oscar Award in 1935 for her contribution to movies. She did 14 films from the age of 14 to 21. The best of her later output were "Kiss and Tell," "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" and "Fort Apache." All I have seen on TCM . She retired from films in 1950 at the age of 22. As an adult, she chose a career in diplomacy as the U. S. ambassador to Ghana and to Czechoslovakia and served as the U. S. Chief of Protocol.
An orphaned girl tends goats for her grandfather until she's sold to serve as a disabled girl's companion.
A truly touching family drama, Heidi is a wonderful film. Even though most of the film takes place in the winter, Heidi was, actually, filmed in the middle of summer in Lake Arrowhead, California. At one point the heat became so, unbearable that Hersholt collapsed from heat exhaustion. Shirley, also, suffered health problems during the shoot when she, accidentally, swallowed fake snow. This resulted in throat problems that forced the production to shoot around her for two days. Despite the mishaps, Shirley still enjoyed making this film, even suggesting the fanciful "In Our Little Wooden Shoes" number herself and during production "helped" direct her fellow child actors through the dance steps.. On one occasion, Temple said in an interview her favorites film was none other than Heidi :)