Stowaway (1936)

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:

Sun Lo: I hope you will always remember the sayings of our wise men.
Barbara Stewart aka Ching-Ching: I will, because you taught them to me.
Sun Lo: It was an honor to instruct the child of my friends, your honorable father and mother.
Barbara Stewart aka Ching-Ching: Friendship is like a shelter from the rains of trouble.
Sun Lo: And so it is my wish to protect you from trouble that may be here very soon. Bad men are on their way here. There will be looting and destruction. I have arranged for Chang to take you to the home of my honorable brother in Shanghai.
Barbara Stewart aka Ching-Ching: Shanghai? Oh, that's wonderful! I remember all the stories my daddy used to tell me about it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Hollywood Christmas (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

You Gotta S-M-I-L-E To Be H-A-Double-P-Y

She Had a GREAT Mandarin Coach !!!

I had been living in China about a year, when I saw this DVD. (It's a very popular title in the People's Republic: there are original dialog versions, Chinese dubbed versions, colorized versions, even a sing-along version where you follow the lyrics as Shirley or Alice Faye warble.

I was humbled that a 7-year-old, under the tutelage of a Mandarin coach, could get her mouth and lips around some of the words she was using. She spoke pretty good Chinese!! Much better than mine was after living for 12 months in the country.

Aside from that, *Stowaway* is a good product of the studio system. The tunes are hummable; Alice Faye is gorgeous and has the dreamiest contralto voice; Eugene Palette is gruff yet lovable; the plot twists are fun. Plus there's a little darkness in it, because Shirley is orphaned and then abandoned after her money is stolen from her. So the first reel is anything but sweetness and light.

A fun movie.