JohnHowardReid Copyright 16 October 1936 by 20th Century Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 9 October 1936. 7,108 feet. 79 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Bowery street waif becomes Broadway star, despite opposition - "You know how I hate the theatre and all it stands for. If you leave this house you may never expect to come back to it."COMMENT: A compendium of every cliché known to Victorian melodrama, but I liked it. At least one of the worst sequences of unbridled sentiment is missing from the current TV version and one cannot but applaud its removal. The film is somewhat light on songs and one could have wished for at least another production number to cap or offset the agreeable minstrel-type finale. Casting is well-nigh perfect (Mr Fetchit's part is not nearly as obnoxious as usual) and the script provides meaty parts for Frank Morgan and Helen Westley. Direction and photography are pretty ordinary, however, and the sets and costumes have to contend against their current presentation in an indifferent TV print. Still, the sound has been re-recorded and it comes across to-day with a fidelity and clarity (thanks to peerless original recording) that must make Douglas Shearer and M-G-M squirm with envy.OTHER VIEWS: 2018 prints are still missing 5 or 6 minutes (including all of Herman Bing and Arthur Aylesworth) but all the songs have now been pleasingly restored, thus giving the melodramatic story a balance which greatly improves the entertainment value of the whole. In fact the skill of such support players as Frank Morgan and Helen Westley helps carry the story. Berton Churchill has a characteristic part too and if the hero and his heroine are a bit wet (Astrid Allwyn makes an agreeably tempting siren but her part is tiny) their parts are small enough to make little difference. John Carradine plays a confidence man with his usual affable rascality, while Stepin Fetchit is mildly amusing as Morgan's servant ("Pour? Pour what?").

MartinHafer For a wide variety of reasons, "Dimples" is among the poorest of Shirley Temple's full-length films. The characters are often quite unlikeable and there are MANY segments that simply made me cringe due to the film's racial insensitivity.Dimples (Temple) lives with her no-good grandfather (Frank Morgan). Grandpa makes his living cheating people and picking pockets--yet somehow we are expected to somehow care about him. An old lady (Helen Westley) thinks Dimples is simply adorable (as did all of America in 1936) and wants to buy her from Grandpa! Now Grandpa tries to change his evil ways and care for her but he soon loses Allen Drew's money he entrusted to him and ends up considering the old lady's offer! In the meantime, there is a show to put on--and seeing all the black-faced folks putting on a minstrel show is quite a treat! And, it's sure to cause some viewers to have heart attacks.While the minstrels and the addition of Stepin Fetchit are NOT unique to this Temple film (in "The Littlest Rebel" Shirley herself is in black-face and Willie Best does his best Fetchit imitation), it's made worse by a cast of characters you simply cannot like. All in all, a clear misfire by the studio and a far from satisfying family film.

mark.waltz Can you imagine Shirley Temple as one of the Bowery Boys? Well, here in 1852, she plays a ragamuffin street entertainer being raised by a pickpocket grandfather (lovable Frank Morgan). Dimples gets the attention of an aging society matron (equally lovable Helen Westley) who, for some reason, has a hatred of the theater and everything that it stands for. Her nephew (Robert Kent) wants to put on a Broadway production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and use Dimples for the role of Little Eva. Desperate for money after being cheated into buying a fake watch for $800 of the show's money, Morgan agrees to let Westley take Temple in for $5000.00. Eventually, he sells HER the fake watch for $1000 and stays on with her to be with Shirley. The show goes on but when Westley finds out that the watch was fake, she tries to have Morgan arrested. But then she sees Temple on stage dying as Little Eva and has to face both her hatred towards the theater and her decision to imprison Temple's grandfather.It's a predictable story with a few musical moments, including a minstrel show at the end that might raise a few eyebrows. But that was life in Hollywood in the 30's, and producers didn't think about who they might offend then, let alone the future. Add Stepin Fetchit as Westley's servant, and you have double the offense for some audiences.Minus this socially unaware concept fortunately gone (but available to be seen to show how wrong it was), "Dimples" is a cute little film that was made during Temple's heyday as Box Office gold. She's always been a little too cutesy pie for my tastes, but I can understand how late depression audiences could take her into their hearts as a sign of hope for the future. I much prefer the talents of the veterans here, Frank Morgan and Helen Westley, who manage to avoid being background furniture when sharing scenes with her. They are adorable. Here, they are the type of grandparents many audiences could relate to or desire for their own. Morgan, rascally yet undeniably charming, and Westley, somewhat cranky, but oh, that heart of gold, are well paired here. Both had very long careers in films, and Westley seems to have been overlooked as a major character player. She could play gruff characters like Parthy in 1936's "Show Boat" or be lovable like the blind grandmother opposite Temple in "Heidi". Try not to fall in love with her here or in the 1937 Loretta Young screwball comedy "Cafe Metropole". She's also wonderful in the 1934 version of "Anne of Green Gables".While not outstanding, "Dimples" is still quite likable in spite of its shortcomings. Overlook the bad taste of black-face and stereotypes and a cute little film emerges.

smaniaci What a charming musical! Shirley Temple is absolutely adorable. I love when she sings "Get on Board" as Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Her character is dressed in white. I love plenty of song and dance. It does not make me tired at all. What it does, is make me so very happy. The title alone, Dimples, is very charming. Shirley Temple herself as a child has had what the title says. That was for quite a long time. I have been very glad of that. It is a very old movie, but then again I like old ones. Whatever age you are, it is a must that you like good movies. This especially holds true for most of Temple's films. They are absolutely irresistible. Maybe someday I'll put on a song-and-dance myself. Who knows? The number "Miss Dixie-Anna" at the end makes it a great movie. Would I dare to say anything else about the ending? I really don't know for sure. No one wants to know that in advance. They want to see for themselves, thank you. Please let everyone enjoy this really good vehicle of Little Miss Temple.