JohnHowardReid Copyright 20 June 1934 by Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy, 29 June 1934. U.K. release: December 1934. Australian release: 1 August 1934. New Zealand release: 26 January 1935. New Zealand length: 6,955 feet. 77 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Ex-criminal Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) has a hard time going straight.NOTES: Shirley Temple, acknowledged as the best juvenile performer of 1934, received a miniature statuette from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Awards Ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel, 27 February, 1935.The stage play opened on Broadway at Daly's on 1 March 1926, and ran a surprisingly successful 144 performances. Russell Mack starred as the jittery ex-thief who tries to go straight, although everything conspires to send him back to jail. The play was directed by Albert Bannister, and produced by Bannister in association with Elmer Powell.COMMENT: Although this was Shirley's 23rd film, it was her first starring vehicle at Fox, following her huge success on loan-out to Paramount for "Little Miss Marker". For many years, all prints of this film were thought to be lost as the original negative and master prints were destroyed in a laboratory fire in 1935. However, a projection print in good condition, with only about 3 minutes of footage missing, credit and end titles complete and only a few minor scratches throughout, has come to light and from this a dupe negative has been made. From this unpromising material, the present colorized but otherwise very satisfactory, digitally restored release prints derive.Unfortunately, the film itself does not repay all this trouble, but at least it will not gain a totally undeserved reputation as a lost masterpiece by default. And besides its curiosity value, "Baby Take a Bow" boasts a cast of seasoned players — all of whom over-act atrociously. There is some excuse for this theatricality, however, in view of the melodramatic nature of the script. The whole film resembles an enthusiastic but distinctly amateur stage production. In fact, the script makes few attempts, other than the intriguing opening sequence and the roof-top climax, to open up the action of the original stage play.Harry Lachman's direction, for the most part, is disappointingly routine. Lachman was (and is still regarded as) a most distinguished painter in the post-impressionist tradition, but there is nothing in this movie that betrays an artistic eye. True, L. William O'Connell's photography does bring off a few attractively sinister effects with cross shadows on the faces of Ralf Harolde and Alan Dinehart, but otherwise the film has little visual appeal. In fact, production values generally are rather mediocre. In short, the Shirley Temple presented here isn't half as attractive as she was to become in her succeeding Fox pictures. It's interesting to note that in overseas markets, such as England and Australia, neither this film nor Shirley achieved either a good press or box-office success. However, her next film, "Now and Forever", in which she was billed third to Cooper and Lombard, proved to be a great money-spinner everywhere.

mark.waltz That's what practically everybody is wondering here. Ex-con James Dunn has been sacked from his job as a chauffeur because of a jewel heist at his employer's. But the real thief makes sure that his daughter (Shirley Temple) ends up with them so the police won't catch him with the stolen goods. With obnoxious detective Alan Dinehart on Dunn's trail, this threatens Dunn's freedom. But with "Little Miss Fix It" (Temple) on hand, its only a matter of time before everything is resolved. Having sung the song "Baby, Take a Bow!" in the same year's "Stand Up and Cheer!" (a homage to surviving the depression), Temple rose to top billing with this film. Dunn and his frequent co-star Claire Trevor play her loving parents and are just as good. This film gets a little agitating when Dinehart is on screen; He invades Dunn's house without a search warrant, and they simply let him go about his business. But these types of movies aren't always about reality; After all, this wasn't made at Warner Brothers where gangster films were a lot grittier and New York kids spoke with a tougher edge than Shirley can muster. Dunn and Temple perform a cute little number (a must in one of Shirley's films) that is the highlight of the film.

JoeKarlosi This was my first attempt at watching a Shirley Temple movie, though this film was made before she really hit it big and therefore her screen time isn't as much as it would quickly become. The story instead centers on a likable ex-convict Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) who has harmless fun playing practical jokes on his friends and comes out of jail to marry a loyal woman (Claire Trevor). Six years later, the couple have young Shirley as their daughter and Eddie tries to hold a job. But a bitter and nasty private investigator (Alan Dinehart) is determined to do whatever it takes to ruin Ellison and send him back to the slammer again and tries to nail him for a theft he wasn't involved in. Here is where daddy's little girl helps her father out by trying to foil the real crook.It's easy to sense the potential which shines off Shirley Temple during her scenes with Dunn and Trevor, and the precocious little charmer does delight with some mild dancing and her cutesy antics, but this film is reportedly not one of her best. It's lightweight stuff, though probably a feature that wouldn't be remembered at all today if not for the participation of Miss Temple. ** out of ****

ccthemovieman-1 If this is not considered one of Shirley Temple's more popular movies, it's easy to understand why.First, she isn't the main attraction. James Dunn and Claire Trevor are the stars. This was Temple's first feature film but she was the third, fourth or even fifth person in here, screen time-wise. The powers-that-be must have seen the bright future she had, though, and made two more films with her in the same year (1934), beginning with "Bright Eyes," and she never looked back, becoming a huge box-office attraction on her own. This particular film featured a lot more drama and crime element and that was no longer to be, too, as light-hearted singing and dancing was the ticket...not this sort of fare. "This sort of fare" meant a climactic scene in which Shirley is kidnapped, carried to a rooftop kicking and screaming for help while her father is pursuing and her mother is frantically looking on, screaming herself. Hey, that's not a "Shirley Temple film" as we know it.That doesn't mean this movie is all dark or doesn't offer some typically-cute Temple moments: it does. There is a great song-and-dance number with Dunn, who was good singer in his own right, and a solo earlier in the film. However, the rest is drama about Dunn and his pal trying to go straight after a prison sentence and a few guys who don't want to see that or believe it. Overall, it's a fairly interesting movie, although very dated in spots, but it's not the kind of thing Temple fans are accustomed to seeing....so be forewarned, if you haven't seen this.