The Shirley Temple Collection
Easily the most famous child star of all time, Shirley Temple kept America entertained through the darkest days of the Great Depression. This delightful collection of rare shorts and features spanning the 1930s showcases Shirley's astonishing talents.DVD #1Volume #1 showcases many of Shirley Temple's earliest short films. In Glad Rags To Riches , from 1932, Temple plays burlesque star Diaperina at the Lullaby Lobster Palace nightclub. But she gets over her head when forced to choose between the wicked club owner's proposal of marriage or the love of her poor country-boy Elmer.Also from 1932 is the military spoof War Babies . Shirley Temple plays a hip-swingin' French dancer delighting the hearts of war-torn soldiers as they come into Buttermilk Pete's Café for their midday milk break.In Pie Covered Wagon from the same year , we find the adorable Shirley Temple battling both little Indians and petite cowboys as she travels in a wagon train across the High Plains.From 1933 comes Dora's Dunking Doughnuts , one of the funniest Shirley Temple shorts ever made. Also starring Andy Clyde as a befuddled schoolteacher who takes his students into the big city to perform on a live radio show to promote his sweetheart Dora's Dunking Doughnuts.DVD #2Volume #2 is the second collection of Shirley Temple's short films from the early 1930's. Starting the program is Polly Tix In Washington , in which four year-old Temple plays high-priced prostitute Polly Tix. And when corrupt bureaucrats pay her to influence the vote of a backwoods politician, Temple must choose either fortune or justice in this film short from a more innocent time.Next is 1932's Kid In Hollywood, where Shirley Temple, alongside her usual cast of toddlers, stars as an aspiring actress who's given her big shot at fame when the star of the movie doesn't feel like performing.From the same year comes Kid In Africa , where Temple plays cannibal-converter Madam Cradlebait, who goes to Africa to tame the savages but ends up nearly becoming their dinner. It's up to the Tarzan toddler to not only save Temple but save the day in this early short that would by most accounts be considered politically-incorrect by today's standards.In 1934's Managed Money , little Shirley stars as Mary Lou who, with her older brother Sonny, decide to try prospecting for gold in the desert in an attempt to gain enough money for Sonny to get into the military academy. But when they run into a stranded stranger with bags of fool's gold, the shenanigans ensue.DVD #3Starting Volume #3 of the Shirley Temple Collection is 1934's Merrily Yours , where we find mischievous little Temple trying her best to steal the spotlight from her older brother at every turn.Pardon My Pups from 1934 finds Sonny on his birthday, receiving the one gift that he fears the most: a dog. It's up to little Shirley Temple to save the day and help her older brother conquer his fears in what turns out to be the most surprising birthday gift he could ever have hoped for.In 1932's What's To Do? Shirley Temple must help her older brother Sonny out of a predicament that involves the whole family having to move out of town when he becomes the high school's class president.DVD #4In Shirley Temple's first color film, The Little Princess , Temple plays the adorably rich Sara Crewe, who must leave her exclusive boarding school when news returns that her father has been killed in combat.The evil headmistress then forces Sara Crewe (Shirley Temple) to work in the kitchen during the day to earn her keep and spend her nights locked in the attic. Not wanting to believe her father is dead, Sara braves the streets of London at night in hopes of one day finding him amongst the wounded in the military hospitals.Directed by Walter Lang in 1939, The Little Princess displays Shirley Temple's blossoming talent in heavy dramatic feature-length roles as well as her adorable antics that audiences have come to love.DVD #5Kid Stuff: Inside Hollywood 's Child Stars is an affectionate and revealing look at some of the greatest child stars of the large and small screen. We'll hear about some of the dizzying highs and tragic lows of being a kid in Hollywood from former child stars such as Ron Howard ("The Andy Griffith Show"), Roddy McDowall ("How Green Was My Valley"), Margaret O'Brien ("Meet Me In St. Louis"), Tommy "Butch" Bond ("Our Gang"), and Johnny Whitaker ("Family Affair").Plus, in this DVD compilation is Shirley Temple Rarities - a collection of film highlights and rare footage from the life and career of Shirley Temple. You'll see little Temple receiving a miniature Oscar at the 1934 Academy Awards, home footage taken at her 6 th birthday party, Shirley singing ‘Happy Birthday' to then President Roosevelt, and extremely rare footage of a not-so-little Shirley Temple at her star-studded wedding, plus much, much more, including many of her original theatrical trailers in their entirety.