At her Richmond birthday party, six-year-old Shirley Temple (as Virginia "Virgie" Cary) is delighted when dutiful dancing slave Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (as "Uncle Billy") entertains on cue. The towering tap-dancer doesn't understand slavery. And yet, Mr. Robinson is one of the smarter servants in the cast. The others, led by Willie Best (as James Henry), can most politely be described as mentally challenged. The outbreak of the US Civil War disrupts Ms. Temple's happy life. Handsome father John Boles (as Herbert Cary) is called to duty, and "The Littlest Rebel" must see President Lincoln himself, to set things right...
Unless some subversive statement is being made by having the confederate "Curly Top" leading a group of Black children in white-coned caps, the motive is strictly to entertain. However, the story features abhorrently rampant racism. Here, the slaves are happy to serve the obviously superior white folks - and why shouldn't they? They wouldn't know how to say, "Emancipation Proclamation," let alone understand slavery. Other racially problematic films have some depth to the characters, attempt to honestly reflect the times, or advance film as an art. You have little of that, here. Temple and Robinson dance appealingly together, however.
*** The Littlest Rebel (12/19/35) David Butler ~ Shirley Temple, Bill Robinson, John Boles, Willie Best
Unless some subversive statement is being made by having the confederate "Curly Top" leading a group of Black children in white-coned caps, the motive is strictly to entertain. However, the story features abhorrently rampant racism. Here, the slaves are happy to serve the obviously superior white folks - and why shouldn't they? They wouldn't know how to say, "Emancipation Proclamation," let alone understand slavery. Other racially problematic films have some depth to the characters, attempt to honestly reflect the times, or advance film as an art. You have little of that, here. Temple and Robinson dance appealingly together, however.
*** The Littlest Rebel (12/19/35) David Butler ~ Shirley Temple, Bill Robinson, John Boles, Willie Best