The Little Colonel (1935)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

William M. Conselman (writer)
Anne Fellows Johnston (novel)

Release Date:

22 February 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Family

Tagline:

Hail to the conquerer of ten million hearts.

Plot:

After Southern belle Elizabeth Lloyd runs off to marry Yankee Jack Sherman, her father, a former Confederate colonel during the Civil War...

Plot Keywords:

Colonel | Civil War | Yankee | Grandfather | Estrangement

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Lloyd Sherman
Lionel Barrymore	...	Col. Lloyd
Evelyn Venable	...	Elizabeth Lloyd Sherman
John Lodge	...	Jack Sherman
Sidney Blackmer	...	Swazey
Alden 'Stephen' Chase	...	Hull
William Burress	...	Dr. Scott
Frank Darien	...	Nebler
Robert Warwick	...	Col. Gray
Hattie McDaniel	...	Becky ('Mom Beck') Porter
Geneva Williams	...	Maria
Avonnie Jackson	...	May Lily
Nyanza Potts	...	Henry Clay
Bill Robinson	...	Walker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Earle	...	Colonel's Aide (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | USA:PG (1994) | Australia:G

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The party scene at the end of the movie was the first time that Shirley Temple was filmed in color. Color shooting required Temple to wear makeup for the first time in any of her films.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Swazey and Hull come to see Jack, they stop and speak to Lloyd. During the conversation, Lloyd's hat ribbons alternate between hanging down her back and hanging over her shoulder.

Quotes:

Col. Lloyd: That was your grandmother, dear. And that was her song you just sang.
Miss Lloyd Sherman: I know. My mother teached it to me. Teached isn't right, is it?
Col. Lloyd: No, taught is correct.
Miss Lloyd Sherman: Taught, then. What was my grandmother's name?
Col. Lloyd: Her name was Amanthis.
Miss Lloyd Sherman: Amanthis? That's a beautiful name.
Col. Lloyd: She was a beautiful person. With a beautiful soul.
Miss Lloyd Sherman: I wish she was here now.
Col. Lloyd: You do, dear? Why?
Miss Lloyd Sherman: I know if she was here, she'd go right to my mother and kiss away all of her sorry feelings.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (#6.6)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Oh! Susanna

Taming an old lion of the South

Crusty old Colonel Lloyd (Lionel Barrymore) is used to having his ornery way so when he finds out his daughter Elizabeth (Evelyn Venable) is determined to run off with Yankee Jack Shermon (John Lodge) to be married, he confronts her in a heated exchange and vows never to see her again if she does, and then she leaves.

Several years later Elizabeth, with her husband and their young daughter Miss Lloyd (Shirley Temple), decides to return to a small house that belonged to her mother and which happens to be next door to her stubborn father's home. Obviously there are soon accidental meetings between all concerned, and a few clashes of granddaughter and the elderly Colonel just to see who is the most stubborn!

Troubles descend on the Sherman family through some persuasive dishonest men who are out to rob them of their legal rights, and things start to get serious but grandpa comes to the rescue.

Becky (Hattie McDaniel) and Walker (Bill Robinson) certainly add some amusing dialog during their stroll, as in spelling out "pohos"; and Robinson's tap dancing is superb. Not surprisingly, little Shirley is right in there keeping pace with him as they both tap dance up the stairs. A great moment in film.

Nice family entertainment.