War Babies (1932)

Director:

Charles Lamont

Release Date:

18 September 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

A group of soldiers in a café watch a dancer as she entertains them, but later two of them become rivals over her. |

Plot Keywords:

Dancer | Soldier | Café | Spoof | Poverty Row Film

Cast

Shirley Temple

...

Charmaine

Also Known As:

Shirley Temple: War Babies (Australia)
What Price Gloria? (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:11 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G

Company:

Jack Hays Productions

Trivia:

Shirley Temple's parents, George Temple and Gertrude Temple, took their daughter to see this movie at a local theater; Gertrude later recalled, "The picture lasted ten minutes. Shirley merely flitted across the screen a few times and said only two lines. But my head swam and the goose flesh popped out on my arms. I think I cried a little. George squeezed my hand. We were proud. It was our little girl doing something wonderful, like saying her first words, and we were happy."

Quotes:

Sergeant Quirt: Hello, beautiful! Now I guess it's just me and my baby, huh?
Captain Flagg: Hey, where'dya get that your baby stuff? She's my gal!
Sergeant Quirt: Says you!
Captain Flagg: [giving Charmaine a lollipop] We'll settle this right now! C'mon, baby, who's the king?

Movie Connections:

Spoofs What Price Glory (1926)

Very odd little film

[I saw this movie once late on a public tv station, so I don't know if it's on video or not.]

This is one of the "Baby Burlesks" (sic) that Shirley Temple did in the early 1930s. It is hard to believe that anyone would let their daughter be in this racy little film which today might just be considered this side of "kiddie porn".

Shirley Temple stars in a cast which probably has an average age of 5. They are all in diapers, and are in a saloon which serves milk instead of alcohol. The "cash" is in the form of lollipops.

Shirley playing a "femme fatale" sashays up to the bar and talks to soldiers who make suggestive comments about her (!). But Shirley doesn't need really their lollipops/cash because her purse is full of ones from other "men".

Meanwhile a little black boy does a suggestive dance on a nearby table (!).

What a strange film . . . infants using racy dialogue playing adult roles in a saloon. Who thought up this stuff any way?