(73 min) Released 1935-12-19
Director: David Butler
Stars: Shirley Temple, John Boles, Jack Holt, Bill Robinson
Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | War
I looked at my prior rating of 8 in 2015 and raised a skeptical eyebrow. But "sho' 'nuf," this is very good, and I had my (Union) cap set on disliking the South being portrayed favorably.
Yes, it has some cringe-worthy ideas and images, but Willie Best has played much worse elsewhere. Robinson is called Uncle Billy, and brings dignity to his character; the family treats their slaves with respect and the slaves are less subservient than paid servants in movies of that time. Uncle Billy explains to Virgie (ST) that the war is about the North wanting to free the slaves. Virgie asks what that means, and he answers that he doesn't know. And really, isn't that most likely true, at least in the short term?
The movie focuses on one Southern homefront, the impact of distant war and the encroachment of Union soldiers. But the thing that makes this so likable is the 2 rival officers coming together as fathers/husbands to set the war aside to transport Virgie to safety. When their complicity is caught, they are both convicted, so Virgie and Uncle Bill seek President Lincoln's intervention for their capital crimes.
We finally get more than one dose of dancing, in fact, triple that: scenes 3, 17, and 22 of 24. ST and BR are the only dancers (other than the minuet by children), and their music is diegetic banjo, harmonica, or human sounds. Strange that we have John Boles as ST's father, but we don't hear him sing; this is his 3rd and last ST film.
Looks like the merger of Fox and 20th has happened.
Twentieth Century Fox, dir. Butler; 8
