Stowaway (1936)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

William M. Conselman (writer)
Samuel G. Engel (story)

Release Date:

25 December 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Adventure | Family

Plot:

Chin-Ching gets lost in Shanghai and is befriended by American playboy Tommy Randall. She falls asleep...

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Barbara 'Ching-Ching' Stewart
Robert Young	...	Tommy Randall
Alice Faye	...	Susan Parker
Eugene Pallette	...	The Colonel
Helen Westley	...	Mrs. Hope
Arthur Treacher	...	Atkins
Allan Lane	...	Richard Hope
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Judge J.D. Booth
Astrid Allwyn	...	Kay Swift
Robert Greig	...	Captain of SS Victoria
Jayne Regan	...	Dora Day
Julius Tannen	...	Jenkins, First Mate
Willie Fung	...	Chang, Boatman
Philip Ahn	...	Sun Lo
Paul McVey	...	Second Mate

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:Approved | USA:G (re-rating) (1994)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

After filming of this movie was completed, Shirley Temple was given the Pekingese dog that had played her character's pet dog, "Mr. Woo." Temple renamed the dog "Ching-Ching," after her character in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final scene where Ching-Ching sings "That's What I Want for Christmas", Tommy Randall is shown in the opening shot lying on his stomach on the floor. In the next shot, he is sitting on the floor, leaning back in a reclined position.

Quotes:

Barbara Stewart aka Ching-Ching: Susan, close your eyes and put out your hand. I have something for you.
Mrs. Hope: Susan! Where did that come from?
Barbara Stewart aka Ching-Ching: From Uncle Tommy.
Richard Hope: Who?
Susan Parker: Well, I asked him not to buy it.
Barbara Stewart aka Ching-Ching: Look, he bought me a bracelet, too.
Mrs. Hope: That must have cost...
Susan Parker: Three hundred dollars. I saw the price tag.
Mrs. Hope: He wouldn't have spent that much money if he didn't think you were interested in him.
Susan Parker: I don't think I'm even going to answer that.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Innocence (#2.14)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

That's What I Want for Christmas

Egads, Shirley as a street kid in China?

Shirley Temple was, deservedly, the most famous child star ever. She was a natural, endearing actress, with little of the cloying "cuteness" that afflicted so many of her contemporaries (Jane Withers, Darla Hood, e.g.), and an amazingly talented singer/dancer. Normally I don't mind her movies all that much, and a few ("Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm", for example) I even find enjoyable. However, something went wrong here.

It's hard to put a finger on exactly who or what to blame. William A. Seiter was a first-rate comedy/musical director; Nat Perrin was a top comedy writer who wrote for, among others, the Marx Brothers; Robert Young and Alice Faye were solid actors who were more than capable of carrying a picture by themselves. However, absolutely nothing works in this picture. The story (for lack of a better word) is so far out it should be classified as science fiction. Shirley is a street kid nicknamed "Ching-Ching" (!) who befriends Robert Young in China; the two of them wind up on a cruise ship to Hong Kong and Singapore, where Young meets Alice Faye, who is aboard with her fiance's mother. The fiance, as played by Allan "Rocky" Lane--a future Republic Pictures cowboy star--is a wealthy banker who has a mother fixation that would shame Cliff Claven. The film is so full of embarrassing moments it's difficult to pick out just one. Shirley's spouting of witless "Chinese proverbs" at every conceivable opportunity is infuriating; there is a jaw-dropping scene at a Hong Kong version of "The Gong Show" where a Chinese singer does Bing Crosby impressions, and Shirley gets on stage and dances with a life-size (for her) doll that is attached to her shoes. To make a long and idiotic story short, Alice dumps her fiance, she and Young agree to get married so Young can adopt Shirley, then they will go to Reno to get a divorce; however, after the marriage, when they arrive in Reno, Shirley manages to persuade the presiding judge (and Young and Faye) that they actually love each other and should stay married.

There. I've saved you the trouble of sitting through this. You're welcome.