Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Littlest Rebel

  • 19351935
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 13m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
Shirley Temple in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
Clip: Slingshot
Play clip1:36
The Littlest Rebel
1 Video
32 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Family
Shirley Temple's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his family and is arrested. A Yankee takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the off... Read allShirley Temple's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his family and is arrested. A Yankee takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the officers are to be executed. Shirley and "Bojangles" Robinson beg President Lincoln to interc... Read allShirley Temple's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his family and is arrested. A Yankee takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the officers are to be executed. Shirley and "Bojangles" Robinson beg President Lincoln to intercede.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • David Butler
  • Writers
    • Edwin J. Burke(screen play)
    • Edward Peple(from the play by)
    • Harry Tugend(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Shirley Temple
    • John Boles
    • Jack Holt
Top credits
  • Director
    • David Butler
  • Writers
    • Edwin J. Burke(screen play)
    • Edward Peple(from the play by)
    • Harry Tugend(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Shirley Temple
    • John Boles
    • Jack Holt
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 33User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Littlest Rebel
    Clip 1:36
    The Littlest Rebel

    Photos32

    "The Littlest Rebel" Shirley Temple, Frank McGlynn 1935 Twentieth Century Fox
    Shirley Temple and Frank McGlynn Sr. in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    John Boles and Jack Holt in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Jack Holt in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Bill Robinson in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Shirley Temple in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Shirley Temple, John Boles, and Jack Holt in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Shirley Temple and John Boles in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Shirley Temple and John Boles in The Littlest Rebel (1935)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Shirley Temple
    Shirley Temple
    • Virgie Caryas Virgie Cary
    John Boles
    John Boles
    • Capt. Herbert Caryas Capt. Herbert Cary
    Jack Holt
    Jack Holt
    • Col. Morrisonas Col. Morrison
    Karen Morley
    Karen Morley
    • Mrs. Caryas Mrs. Cary
    Bill Robinson
    Bill Robinson
    • Uncle Billyas Uncle Billy
    Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
    Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
    • Sgt. Dudleyas Sgt. Dudley
    • (as Guinn Williams)
    Willie Best
    Willie Best
    • James Henryas James Henry
    Frank McGlynn Sr.
    Frank McGlynn Sr.
    • Abraham Lincolnas Abraham Lincoln
    Bessie Lyle
    • Mammyas Mammy
    Hannah Washington
    • Sally Annas Sally Ann
    Essie Andrews
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    Aurora Ardanaz
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    Marilyn Crumly
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    Kathleen Hayes
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    Junior Hodnett
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    Virginia Hodnett
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    Joe LaGue
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    Bernice Musselwhite
    • Birthday Party Guestas Birthday Party Guest
    • Director
      • David Butler
    • Writers
      • Edwin J. Burke(screen play)
      • Edward Peple(from the play by)
      • Harry Tugend(screenplay) (uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Little Colonel
    7.0
    The Little Colonel
    Curly Top
    6.8
    Curly Top
    Bright Eyes
    7.2
    Bright Eyes
    Poor Little Rich Girl
    7.0
    Poor Little Rich Girl
    Captain January
    6.9
    Captain January
    Wee Willie Winkie
    6.9
    Wee Willie Winkie
    Heidi
    7.2
    Heidi
    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
    7.0
    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
    Dimples
    6.6
    Dimples
    The Little Princess
    7.1
    The Little Princess
    Stowaway
    7.1
    Stowaway
    Just Around the Corner
    6.5
    Just Around the Corner

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Both John Boles and Bill Robinson nearly drowned while trying to cross a raging, 15-foot river for an escape scene that was cut from the film.
    • Goofs
      When the Union soldiers are caught looting, the commanding officer orders them to be flogged. The US Army according to the "History of the United States Army" stopped flogging at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861--this scene is obviously later in the war as Union forces are occupying the south.
    • Quotes

      Virginia 'Virgie' Cary: [singing] Oh, I wish I was in Dixie Land! Hooray, hooray! In Dixie Land I'll take my stand, I'll live and die in Dixie Land! Away down south Dixie! Away, away!

    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a computer colorized version.
    • Connections
      Featured in Of Black America: Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed (1968)
    • Soundtracks
      Polly Wolly Doodle
      (1880) (uncredited)

      Traditional

      Modified Music by Sidney Clare (1935)

      Modified Lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva (1935)

      Sung by Shirley Temple with Bill Robinson

      Reprised at the end by Shirley Temple

    User reviews33

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    A Child of War
    THE LITTLEST REBEL (20th Century-Fox, 1935), directed by David Butler, another agreeable and rewarding motion picture featuring child star, Shirley Temple, teams her once again opposite 1935 co-stars John Boles (CURLY TOP) and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (THE LITTLE COLONEL). Capitalizing on the success of THE LITTLE COLONEL, set after the Civil War, THE LITTLEST REBEL, taking place during the war between the states, finds Temple as a little girl winning the hearts of those around her, especially a tough Yankee soldier (Jack Holt) and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (Frank McGlynn Sr.), with whom she shares his apple. An old chestnut by Edward Peple that was first staged and  later filmed during the silent era in 1914, this edition, Temple's last for 1935, further demonstrates her as a fine child actress who equally handles her lighter and dramatic scenes with conviction and sincerity.

    The story is set on a Southern plantation where Herbert Cary (John Boles) and his wife, Helen (Karen Morley) honor their child, Virginia, better known as Virgie (Shirley Temple), with a birthday party where she and her little guests are gathered together with ice cream and cake along with tap dancing entertainment by Cary's slave/ butler, Uncle Willie (Bill Robinson). Shortly afterwards, the party is disrupted by startling news that war has been declared between the states. Enlisting in the Army, Cary leaves his wife and child under the care of Uncle Willie. With Yankee scouts invading their property, Virgie, while playing soldier, sling shots Colonel Morrison (Jack Holt), addressing herself as a "confederate." In spite of their differences, Morrison, a father himself, takes an immediate liking to Virgie, later rescuing her from the threat of the villainous Sergeant Dudley (Guinn Williams) for not revealing the whereabouts of her "daddy." After the Cary estate is burned to the ground, causing Mrs. Carey to fall ill and die within three weeks time, Cary leaves his post to take Virgie over to Richmond where she's to be placed in the care of her Aunt Caroline. Complications arise when Carey is recognized and captured, separated from his daughter, imprisoned along with Morrison for helping him, each charged with treason and sentences to be executed.   

    With 20th-Fox specializing in Southern stories set during, before or after the Civil War, THE LITTLEST REBEL is a fine example capturing Southern hospitality and flavor with the reconstruction of plantations and notable songs from that era including "Swanee River" (by Stephen Foster) sung during opening credits; "Turkey in the Straw" (tap dance by Bill Robinson); "Those Endearing Young Charms" (sung by Shirley Temple); "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (by Thomas Moore and Matthew Locke); "Polly-Wolly Doodle" and "Polly-Wolly-Doodle" (sung by Temple and reprized during closing titles).

    Of its cast members, Bill Robinson and Willie Best provide lighter moments to their traditional servant roles. Best's performance as a shiftless and comical slave gives the impression that his role as James Henry was actually intended for Stepin Fetchit. While Best doesn't imitate Fetchit's comical methods to the extreme, he works well alongside Robinson as his comic foil doing a brief takeoff in the popular "Amos and Andy" radio show tradition in the question and answer session where Best asks Robinson: "Why is a shoe called a shoe?"  Although portraying their roles through stereotypes, Robinson comes through as an intelligent, caring and sensible slave with a talent for dancing. He's very convincing and sincere through his interacting with Temple, which is why they work so well together. John Boles satisfies as the easy-going father turned soldier and accused spy while Karen Morley, despite of her screen limitations, makes due with her role.

    Due to controversy in how the black performers are portrayed, cable television revivals of THE LITTLEST REBEL in recent years have been limited, though shown frequently at some point on American Movie Classics (1996-1999), the Fox Movie Channel, and availability since the 1980s on home video and afterwards DVD either in black and white or colorized formats. In May 2006, THE LITTLEST REBEL was one of the films chosen as part of its subject matter of "Black Images on Film" theme co-hosted by author Donald Bogle, where he and host Bob Osborne discussed the film, performances of Robinson and Best, as well as a scene where Temple gets herself corked up to avoid Yankee soldiers.

    THE LITTLEST REBEL, along with THE LITTLE COLONEL, were intended as screen entertainment with no intention to offend, yet something to consider as a reflection of the times, and how a Civil War story such as this is seen through the eyes of Virgie Carey, the littlest rebel. (***)
    helpful•9
    6
    • lugonian
    • Nov 30, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 27, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La pequeña rebelde
    • Filming locations
      • 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 13 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Shirley Temple in The Littlest Rebel (1935)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for The Littlest Rebel (1935)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in July
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Hollywood Romances: Our Favorite Couples
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.