Wee Willie Winkie (1937)

Priscilla Williams, a young girl living with her widowed mother and paternal grandfather at the post he commands in northern India, becomes enamored of military life and embroiled in brewing rebellion against the crown in the early 1900's.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Ernest Pascal (screen play), Julien Josephson (screen play)

Stars:

Shirley Temple, Victor McLaglen, C. Aubrey Smith

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shirley Temple	...	Priscilla Williams
Victor McLaglen	...	Sgt. MacDuff
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Col. Williams
June Lang	...	Joyce Williams
Michael Whalen	...	Coppy - Lt. Brandes
Cesar Romero	...	Khoda Khan
Constance Collier	...	Mrs. Allardyce
Douglas Scott	...	Mott
Gavin Muir	...	Capt. Bibberbeigh
Willie Fung	...	Mohammet Dihn
Brandon Hurst	...	Bagby
Lionel Pape	...	Maj. Allardyce
Clyde Cook	...	Pipe Major Sneath
Bunny Beatty	...	Elsie Allardyce (as Lauri Beatty)
Lionel Braham	...	Maj. Gen. Hammond

Storyline

Priscilla Williams is a young girl traveling with her mother, Joyce, to join her paternal grandfather, a British army colonel, at the post he commands in northern India. Upon arrival, they witness the capture of Khoda Khan, leader of the rebel Indian faction. Priscilla plays at being a soldier and is even given a uniform and allowed to drill by the genial Sergeant MacDuff, but her gruff grandfather disapproves and insists she remain apart from the troops. She eventually charms him, along with everyone else on the post, including Khoda Khan, whom she wins over by returning a talisman he's dropped. When the attractive Lieutenant Brandes deserts his post to take Joyce to a dance, Khan escapes, and Brandes is arrested. As hostilities with the rebels mount, Priscilla and servant Mohammet Dihn --actually an Indian spy--take off for Khoda Khan's stronghold.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | wee willie winkie character | nickname as title | three word title | sergeant | 

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Taglines:

TEN-SHUN! Shirley is a peacemaker and matchmaker in Rudyard Kipling's most famous story (Print Ad- Nashua Telegraph, ((Nashua, NH)) 7 August 1937)

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Genres:

Adventure | Family

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original story by Rudyard Kipling was about a boy, Percival Williams, but this was changed to a girl, Priscilla Williams, in order for Shirley Temple to play the role.

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Quotes

Priscilla Williams: Coppy, I'm kinda worried.
Coppy - Lieut. Brandes: You are? About what?
Priscilla Williams: I've gotta be a solider and I don't know where to start.
Coppy - Lieut. Brandes: Who put that idea into your head?
Priscilla Williams: The Colonel. You see, the colonel never had any little girls around. All he understands in soliders. So I've decided to be one. Then he'll like me. How do I start, Coppy?

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Alternate Versions

Some reissue prints run 77 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in The Hollywood Collection: Shirley Temple - America's Little Darling (1993)

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Soundtracks

Wha Wanda Fecht for Charlie
(uncredited)
Traditional
Music Arranged by Alfred Newman and Herbert W. Spencer

User Reviews

At 100 Mnutes, Too Long For Shirley

This was okay but Shirley Temple made enough better movies that this wasn't a "keeper"in the end. I still have at least a half dozen of her other films which, I thought, were far more appealing.

They were also shorter, too. At 100 minutes, this is too long a movie for the normal Temple fare. It was her longest movie as a child actor. The major fault, which also involves the time, is that is simply wasn't that interesting.

It has its cute moments as all Temple films did and the cinematography was good. The fact John Ford directed it may have something to do with the better-than-average photography. I also enjoyed Victor McLaughlen in here. He played the best character.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

La mascota del regimiento

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White (sepiatone with blue tinted sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1