Poor Little Rich Girl is my all-time favorite Shirley Temple movie, and since I've seen almost all of her movies, that's quite a compliment. It has all the elements of a perfect Shirley vehicle, but it also has tons of extras that make it superb. Often, the difference between a good movie and a great one is the supporting characters. In Poor Little Rich Girl, all the supporting characters are fantastic.
At the start of the movie, Shirley lives in a big beautiful house with housekeeper Jane Darwell and governess Sara Haden. Sara meets with an unfortunate accident while taking Shirley to the train station, and Shirley walks away, determined to have a "vacation" and live as a different person for a while. She bumps into an Italian organ grinder, Henry Armetta, and spends the night in his crowded apartment with his wife and many children. Next up, she meets the singing and dancing duo, Alice Faye and Jack Haley, and becomes part of their entertainment act. In the meantime, Michael Whalen and Gloria Stuart have a romance while working for rival soap companies, and Claude Gillingwater acts as the proverbial crusty old gentleman waiting to be softened by Shirley.
As you might expect, Shirley and Alice are given some great songs and dances to entertain their music-loving public. In a show-stopping number, they're joined by Jack in an adorable tap number, "I Love a Military Man." Shirley and her father Michael listen to "When I'm with You" on the radio, and afterwards, she sings her own version with altered lyrics. No wonder she cured The Depression.
And, for the Rag-winning screenplay, almost every single line of dialogue is funny. The first scene shows how a literal game of "Telephone" gets out of hand. Shirley sneezes, and by the time her father hears about it, she's "seriously ill" and he has to leave work to rush home. Each of the supporting characters have hilarious one-liners, clever set-ups, and memorable parts of the story. Once the movie's over, you'll remember them all fondly, much as Shirley will when she grows up and reflects on the vacation she took as a child.
At the start of the movie, Shirley lives in a big beautiful house with housekeeper Jane Darwell and governess Sara Haden. Sara meets with an unfortunate accident while taking Shirley to the train station, and Shirley walks away, determined to have a "vacation" and live as a different person for a while. She bumps into an Italian organ grinder, Henry Armetta, and spends the night in his crowded apartment with his wife and many children. Next up, she meets the singing and dancing duo, Alice Faye and Jack Haley, and becomes part of their entertainment act. In the meantime, Michael Whalen and Gloria Stuart have a romance while working for rival soap companies, and Claude Gillingwater acts as the proverbial crusty old gentleman waiting to be softened by Shirley.
As you might expect, Shirley and Alice are given some great songs and dances to entertain their music-loving public. In a show-stopping number, they're joined by Jack in an adorable tap number, "I Love a Military Man." Shirley and her father Michael listen to "When I'm with You" on the radio, and afterwards, she sings her own version with altered lyrics. No wonder she cured The Depression.
And, for the Rag-winning screenplay, almost every single line of dialogue is funny. The first scene shows how a literal game of "Telephone" gets out of hand. Shirley sneezes, and by the time her father hears about it, she's "seriously ill" and he has to leave work to rush home. Each of the supporting characters have hilarious one-liners, clever set-ups, and memorable parts of the story. Once the movie's over, you'll remember them all fondly, much as Shirley will when she grows up and reflects on the vacation she took as a child.