I never thought I would hate a Shirley Temple movie so much. I was irrationally angry at this movie. I absolutely hated it from about the 45-minute mark on. It ceased to be entertaining and began to be rage bait.
Before a little over halfway through "Baby Take a Bow" everything was fine. Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) was released from Sing Sing, he married his sweetheart Kay (Claire Trevor), and he lived a straight life. Five years later he had a decent job, an apartment, and a little girl: Shirley Ellison (she just about always goes by Shirley with just the last name being different each movie). This was one of the rare movies where Shirley Temple had two parents.
Things were going so well for Eddie that his boss, Mr. Carson (Richard Tucker), told him that he could stop being a driver and work in his factory. The driving job would go to Eddie's pal Larry Scott (Ray Walker).
Eddie and Larry had two pending problems:
1.) Their association with Trigger Stone (Ralf Harolde).
2.) A detective named Welch (Alan Dinehart).
Eddie and Larry were no longer crooks so they didn't hang around Trigger anymore, however Trigger came to them when he was in a jam with some stolen property. It was a ridiculous insertion of drama like the writers were fresh out of ideas. Eddie and Larry shooed Trigger away, but that wasn't the last they'd see of him.
As for Welch, he couldn't be easily dismissed. He was a cop who had a hard on for Eddie because he wanted to marry Kay. Welch was just waiting for Eddie to make a mistake so that he could send him back to prison. When Trigger stole a pearl necklace from Mr. Carson, that gave Welch the chance he needed to ruin Eddie's life.
He went to Mr. Carson, informed him that Eddie and Larry were ex-cons, and informed him that he suspected the two of the theft. Welch proceeded to aggressively question the two in front of Mr. Carson which yielded nothing but Eddie and Larry's termination. Welch was convinced that Eddie and Larry were dirty, but he had no proof.
Then the movie fell off the rails. Stupidity and lack of ingenuity became the order of the day for "Baby Take a Bow." There were a series of absurdities that gradually sent me over the edge.
First; Trigger gave Shirley a stolen necklace to hold while she was on the street playing.
I have to say that Shirley's parents were waaaaaaaay to trusting and lax with Shirley's whereabouts. Several times she was by herself; on the stoop, buying ice cream, in the house, etc. I know it was the 1930's, but you can't tell me that back then they had that little concern for the safety of their five-year-old?
And this wasn't the first time Trigger approached Shirley while she was by herself. He was caught chatting with her before, when he asked Eddie to hold his hot merchandise. That should've been the last time as well. From then on my daughter wouldn't have been outside except under a watchful eye.
OK. This is just a small blip, nothing to get excited about. Sure, it is an absurd plot device, but let's see where it goes. He could've hid the necklace any number of places, but he chose to give it to a five-year-old girl. Make that make sense.
Second: Shirley put the pearls into her father's coat pocket.
After Trigger gave Shirley the pearls, she took the pearls upstairs to show her father. Eddie was busy looking through the want ads and had no time to pay attention to her. It was incompatible with the rest of the movie--the fact he couldn't give his daughter a moment of his time. Every other time she wanted his attention she easily got it, but now, when his attention is most needed, he couldn't give the girl five seconds of his time.
She wanted to play hide-and-seek with the pearls which, I suppose, a five-year-old girl could want to play. She put the pearls in Eddie's pocket without him noticing at all, and instructed him to find them. He was so engrossed in chatting with Larry that he didn't see his daughter, feel the pearls, or hear her tell him to find them-- which brings up another problem: what if something happened to her on the street? She had just come from outside where NO ONE was watching her. If he was that preoccupied, something could've happened to Shirley and he wouldn't have had a clue! As it was, a criminal pulled her aside and gave her stolen jewels without anyone noticing; what if he kidnapped her?
Now my blood was starting to percolate a bit. This was one more implausible thing stacked on another.
Third: Welch came into Eddie's home to search him and his place.
I know that felons have fewer rights, and maybe in New York they don't have a right to a warranted search. HOWEVER... They also don't have a right to not be intruded upon by a cop? A cop can just walk into a guy's house because he has a record??
And it didn't stop there. Besides searching through Eddie's private property, he was destroying stuff, and eating Eddie's food! Worst of all, he was questioning Shirley, a five-year-old, while Eddie was still in the living room.
That part is as much on Eddie as it is on Welch. I can't believe he didn't draw the line with a crooked cop questioning his little girl. It was a wonder if Eddie even knew where his daughter was at any given time.
Now I'm frothing at the mouth. I'm outraged. It's taking all my will power just to continue watching. It would be bearable if it was funny, but IT. WAS. NOT. FUNNY.
Fourth: Eddie can't think straight.
By the time Welch was questioning Shirley in HER ROOM behind a closed door, Eddie had discovered the pearls in his coat pocket. Instead of... I don't know... putting them back in his pocket, he freaked out and couldn't figure out what to do with them.
He eventually hid them in the coffee pot, which became a comedy because Welch helped himself to some coffee and Eddie was worried about them spilling out. He got a chance to remove them from the coffee pot and finally hid them in the carpet sweeper, which was then borrowed by the neighbor, who dumped the contents into the trash outside.
I was freaking out at this point. I wanted to insert sanity and rationality into this movie so badly, yet I sat there, powerless to do anything. I just sat with this impotent fury as I watched this movie devolve into something totally illogical.
Fifth: Eddie allowed his daughter to be alone with a criminal and she had access to sharp objects.
Trigger made his way back to Eddie's place looking for his stolen pearls. Trigger had Eddie at gunpoint and was asking for the pearls. Shirley was God-knows-where at this time. Eddie was able to get the drop on Trigger and tie him up. He then left him in the apartment while he went out to find Larry.
Why did he need to find Larry? Who the hell knows, but get this; Shirley comes back home from her latest adventure to find Trigger tied up on the floor.
"Are you playing the game too?" she asked, because having a grown man tied up on the kitchen floor is totally normal in her world.
"Of course I am... now go on and find something to cut me loose," Trigger answered.
Now I'm yelling, "Go ahead Shirley, cut him loose! I'm sure you can find a good chainsaw because clearly your parents don't care what you do and who you're with!"
First she grabbed a saw.
A SAW!!!!
This five-year-old was able to readily get a saw! I have adult kids and I don't think they could tell you where a saw is!! Why? Because I don't keep saws lying around that's why.
When the thief saw the saw he told her to get a knife, and she EASILY found a knife; and not just any knife. She found Norman Bates' knife that he used to carve up Marian Crane in the movie "Psycho."
Shirley then went on to deftly cut Trigger free which gave him the opportunity to escape and use her as a hostage/shield.
Of course, everything turned out fine. Eddie knocked out Trigger and grabbed his daughter while the police rushed in to make the arrest. On top of that, Eddie was assured that he'd get his job back, Shirley was told she'd get the $5,000 reward for finding the necklace, and Welch was told he was never to bother Eddie ever again. It was a happy ending, but I was already too far gone. I couldn't stomach the sequence of events. The last fifteen minutes was me barely holding on just so I could finish. But what upsets me the most is that they made me hate a Shirley Temple movie. Not cool.
Free on YouTube.
Before a little over halfway through "Baby Take a Bow" everything was fine. Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) was released from Sing Sing, he married his sweetheart Kay (Claire Trevor), and he lived a straight life. Five years later he had a decent job, an apartment, and a little girl: Shirley Ellison (she just about always goes by Shirley with just the last name being different each movie). This was one of the rare movies where Shirley Temple had two parents.
Things were going so well for Eddie that his boss, Mr. Carson (Richard Tucker), told him that he could stop being a driver and work in his factory. The driving job would go to Eddie's pal Larry Scott (Ray Walker).
Eddie and Larry had two pending problems:
1.) Their association with Trigger Stone (Ralf Harolde).
2.) A detective named Welch (Alan Dinehart).
Eddie and Larry were no longer crooks so they didn't hang around Trigger anymore, however Trigger came to them when he was in a jam with some stolen property. It was a ridiculous insertion of drama like the writers were fresh out of ideas. Eddie and Larry shooed Trigger away, but that wasn't the last they'd see of him.
As for Welch, he couldn't be easily dismissed. He was a cop who had a hard on for Eddie because he wanted to marry Kay. Welch was just waiting for Eddie to make a mistake so that he could send him back to prison. When Trigger stole a pearl necklace from Mr. Carson, that gave Welch the chance he needed to ruin Eddie's life.
He went to Mr. Carson, informed him that Eddie and Larry were ex-cons, and informed him that he suspected the two of the theft. Welch proceeded to aggressively question the two in front of Mr. Carson which yielded nothing but Eddie and Larry's termination. Welch was convinced that Eddie and Larry were dirty, but he had no proof.
Then the movie fell off the rails. Stupidity and lack of ingenuity became the order of the day for "Baby Take a Bow." There were a series of absurdities that gradually sent me over the edge.
First; Trigger gave Shirley a stolen necklace to hold while she was on the street playing.
I have to say that Shirley's parents were waaaaaaaay to trusting and lax with Shirley's whereabouts. Several times she was by herself; on the stoop, buying ice cream, in the house, etc. I know it was the 1930's, but you can't tell me that back then they had that little concern for the safety of their five-year-old?
And this wasn't the first time Trigger approached Shirley while she was by herself. He was caught chatting with her before, when he asked Eddie to hold his hot merchandise. That should've been the last time as well. From then on my daughter wouldn't have been outside except under a watchful eye.
OK. This is just a small blip, nothing to get excited about. Sure, it is an absurd plot device, but let's see where it goes. He could've hid the necklace any number of places, but he chose to give it to a five-year-old girl. Make that make sense.
Second: Shirley put the pearls into her father's coat pocket.
After Trigger gave Shirley the pearls, she took the pearls upstairs to show her father. Eddie was busy looking through the want ads and had no time to pay attention to her. It was incompatible with the rest of the movie--the fact he couldn't give his daughter a moment of his time. Every other time she wanted his attention she easily got it, but now, when his attention is most needed, he couldn't give the girl five seconds of his time.
She wanted to play hide-and-seek with the pearls which, I suppose, a five-year-old girl could want to play. She put the pearls in Eddie's pocket without him noticing at all, and instructed him to find them. He was so engrossed in chatting with Larry that he didn't see his daughter, feel the pearls, or hear her tell him to find them-- which brings up another problem: what if something happened to her on the street? She had just come from outside where NO ONE was watching her. If he was that preoccupied, something could've happened to Shirley and he wouldn't have had a clue! As it was, a criminal pulled her aside and gave her stolen jewels without anyone noticing; what if he kidnapped her?
Now my blood was starting to percolate a bit. This was one more implausible thing stacked on another.
Third: Welch came into Eddie's home to search him and his place.
I know that felons have fewer rights, and maybe in New York they don't have a right to a warranted search. HOWEVER... They also don't have a right to not be intruded upon by a cop? A cop can just walk into a guy's house because he has a record??
And it didn't stop there. Besides searching through Eddie's private property, he was destroying stuff, and eating Eddie's food! Worst of all, he was questioning Shirley, a five-year-old, while Eddie was still in the living room.
That part is as much on Eddie as it is on Welch. I can't believe he didn't draw the line with a crooked cop questioning his little girl. It was a wonder if Eddie even knew where his daughter was at any given time.
Now I'm frothing at the mouth. I'm outraged. It's taking all my will power just to continue watching. It would be bearable if it was funny, but IT. WAS. NOT. FUNNY.
Fourth: Eddie can't think straight.
By the time Welch was questioning Shirley in HER ROOM behind a closed door, Eddie had discovered the pearls in his coat pocket. Instead of... I don't know... putting them back in his pocket, he freaked out and couldn't figure out what to do with them.
He eventually hid them in the coffee pot, which became a comedy because Welch helped himself to some coffee and Eddie was worried about them spilling out. He got a chance to remove them from the coffee pot and finally hid them in the carpet sweeper, which was then borrowed by the neighbor, who dumped the contents into the trash outside.
I was freaking out at this point. I wanted to insert sanity and rationality into this movie so badly, yet I sat there, powerless to do anything. I just sat with this impotent fury as I watched this movie devolve into something totally illogical.
Fifth: Eddie allowed his daughter to be alone with a criminal and she had access to sharp objects.
Trigger made his way back to Eddie's place looking for his stolen pearls. Trigger had Eddie at gunpoint and was asking for the pearls. Shirley was God-knows-where at this time. Eddie was able to get the drop on Trigger and tie him up. He then left him in the apartment while he went out to find Larry.
Why did he need to find Larry? Who the hell knows, but get this; Shirley comes back home from her latest adventure to find Trigger tied up on the floor.
"Are you playing the game too?" she asked, because having a grown man tied up on the kitchen floor is totally normal in her world.
"Of course I am... now go on and find something to cut me loose," Trigger answered.
Now I'm yelling, "Go ahead Shirley, cut him loose! I'm sure you can find a good chainsaw because clearly your parents don't care what you do and who you're with!"
First she grabbed a saw.
A SAW!!!!
This five-year-old was able to readily get a saw! I have adult kids and I don't think they could tell you where a saw is!! Why? Because I don't keep saws lying around that's why.
When the thief saw the saw he told her to get a knife, and she EASILY found a knife; and not just any knife. She found Norman Bates' knife that he used to carve up Marian Crane in the movie "Psycho."
Shirley then went on to deftly cut Trigger free which gave him the opportunity to escape and use her as a hostage/shield.
Of course, everything turned out fine. Eddie knocked out Trigger and grabbed his daughter while the police rushed in to make the arrest. On top of that, Eddie was assured that he'd get his job back, Shirley was told she'd get the $5,000 reward for finding the necklace, and Welch was told he was never to bother Eddie ever again. It was a happy ending, but I was already too far gone. I couldn't stomach the sequence of events. The last fifteen minutes was me barely holding on just so I could finish. But what upsets me the most is that they made me hate a Shirley Temple movie. Not cool.
Free on YouTube.