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The Little Colonel

1935, Movie, NR, 80 mins

The Little Colonel: Review

Lionel Barrymore is a Southern colonel, bitter over losing both the Civil War and daughter Evelyn Venable. It's not just that she's getting married--she's eloped with a Yankee! Years later, when the couple becomes financially strapped, Barrymore grudgingly takes in Venable, her husband, John Lodge, and their daughter, Shirley Temple, the little charmer herself. Of course the little girl succeeds, through pluck and determination, in reconciling her grandfather and her parents, and the film ends happily. Temple is an absolute natural, coming across as an honest and sincere child rather than just a movie brat. The film is black-and-white with a "pink party," a technicolor sequence for the happy finale. The film's highlight is the famous "stair dance" between old-time vaudeville hoofer Bill Robinson and his diminutive partner. They are a charming pair and play off each other nicely. Unfortunately, as in most Hollywood films of the era, blacks are reduced to playing comic buffoons or good-natured "darkies." Temple's innocence cuts through the racism somewhat, but today the film may be offensive in some spots. leave a comment