Dimples

Get ready to see another Shirley Temple vehicle where she's an orphan who melts down a crotchety old man and proves she's "very self-reliant." In Dimples, she gives a pseudo-take on Oliver Twist with Frank Morgan as a pseudo-Fagin. He's called "The Professor" and he runs a gang of homeless kid street performers who sometimes pickpocket. In the middle of the Great Depression, it makes sense to see Shirley as a little Ragamuffin begging on the streets; however, it would feel a little creepy for her to live with The Professor while he leads her down a life of crime - save but one tiny detail that separates it from Charles Dickens's classic: Frank Morgan is Shirley's grandfather.

Included in the plot is Helen Westley, a staple in Shirley Temple movies. She's a wealthy patroness who helps produce a theatrical of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" starring Shirley. As this is such a large focus of the movie and it's performed in blackface, Dimples isn't often a favorite among modern audiences. It's not a favorite of mine because of Frank's character. Oftentimes in Shirley's movies, love is shown to be of greater importance than money (because they were made during the Depression), but in this case, I agreed with Helen's character. Shirley would be better off living a life of luxury than living in a filthy shack begging on the streets, even if it means being parted from her beloved grandfather. In Shirley's other movies, the lovable old man is shown to have some good influence on the little girl, but I couldn't find any from Frank Morgan.