Python Hyena Stowaway (1936): Dir: William A. Seiter / Cast: Shirley Temple, Robert Young, Alice Faye, Helen Westley, Allan Lane: Title not only addresses innocent Shirley Temple accidentally ending upon aboard a cruise ship. It also symbolizes her impact within the hearts of two individuals who only meet with her in the middle ground. Temple is an orphan in China who is wise beyond her years. Robert Young is the young bachelor whom she encounters and eventually accompanies. He is wealthy but good natured and certainly has a tolerance for children. Alice Faye plays the female lead who will predictably end up with young. Problem is that she is engaged to an arrogant guy who is controlled by his mother. Luckily Temple's spirit invades Faye's attention leaving the only link to connect is her to Young. Allan Lane plays Faye's fiancé who has been away until his mother contacts him alerting him to her association with Young. Helen Westley plays Lane's meddling mother who feels threatened with regards to Temple's influence over Faye's affections. Directed by William A. Seiter with a production that works despite a few corny musical numbers that fail to inspire. The one number that does work is Temple's song about smiling and her total confidence as she controls the stage. Not bad for a little tyke. Theme regards the reality of children needing two parents and how they can stowaway love into a promising future. Score: 8 / 10

classicsoncall I have a fond recollection of Shirley Temple movies because when I was in grammar school during the Fifties, the classrooms would be brought to the auditorium once or twice a year to watch one of them. I think we had to pay a quarter to see them, one of the ways the school managed to generate a little income back in the day. It's impossible now to remember which ones they might have been, but as I think about it now, the movies would have already been about twenty years old even way back then! Time is a funny thing.This Shirley Temple picture is particularly delightful, with young Barbara 'Ching-Ching' Sherman (Temple) playing matchmaker for co-stars Robert Young and Alice Faye. Their relationship is jeopardized right from the start as Susan Parker (Faye) is engaged to businessman Richard Hope (Allan Lane), as playboy Tommy Randall's (Young) heart and demeanor does flip-flops in his attempt to woo Miss Parker. Ultimately it becomes a no-contest as Richard's domineering mother overshadows the relationship, and Miss Parker sorts out her feelings over the course of the story.Young Shirley's charisma as a child entertainer shines through in a variety of song numbers, particularly in her rendition of 'You Gotta S-M-I-L-E' during a Chinese talent contest. She then does an effective imitation of Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor, right before shuffling into a dance routine with a Shirley-sized mannequin. If you want to be critical, you'd have to wonder why the theater operator would have had one of those around for Ching-Ching's convenience. You know, they never did say if she won the ten yuan prize, but since there were no other performers, I guess it's a safe bet.The picture offers a humorous sequence in which Young's character walks out of a Shanghai shop with a young Chinese boy by accident instead of Shirley. The authorities are brought into the picture and both Randall and Ching-Ching spend the night in jail! Which led me to reflect on one of Ching-Ching's Chinese proverbs from her mentor Sun Lo quoted in my summary line above. If you expand the meaning of prisoners to include someone stuck in an unsuccessful marriage or relationship, you have a pretty good description of why little matchmaker Ching-Ching had to bring her Uncle Tommy and Aunt Susan together.

vincentlynch-moonoi This is still Shirley Temple's film, but the romance between Alice Faye and Robert Young gets lots of time in this film...making it a bit more balanced and not quite as child-oriented as some of Shirley's films.Shirley is...well...Shirley, with her musical highlight being "Goodnight, My Love", with the song being reprised by Alice Faye.Faye is very good here, and Robert Young is excellent. You really do hope they get married! The supporting cast does their jobs -- Helen Westley is suitably unbearable as the potential mother-in-law. Eugene Palette doesn't get much screen time, but his barrel-voice is always welcome. Arthur Treacher also doesn't get much film time, and does better in other Temple films.This is one of the better Temple films, but far from the best. But the balance with a more adult story line makes it quite enjoyable.

Ron Oliver Fleeing from bandit-ridden China, a cute & incredibly precocious little orphan accidentally becomes a STOWAWAY on a luxury liner. Once aboard, she proceeds to charm (nearly) everyone in sight, while working to bring about the marriage of two lonely Americans.Shirley Temple switches on her megawatt smile & captures the viewers' hearts once more in this pleasant, crowd pleasing movie. Amply displaying the charm which made her Hollywood's box office queen for years, Shirley gets to sing, dance, and even speak quite a bit of Chinese.Robert Young & Alice Faye appear as the romantic leads, and they do a good job, but ultimately they are just so much grist for Shirley's mill. Little Miss Temple always found her stiffest acting competition coming from the character performers and this film features some fine examples: Helen Westley as a dreadful mother-in-law in-waiting; wonderful Arthur Treacher as Young's comic butler; Eugene Palette, boisterous as a perpetually inebriated American; Philip Ahn as a faithful friend of Shirley's family; Willie Fung as the negligent boatman who spirits her to Shanghai; J. Edward Bromberg as a no-nonsense judge; and Robert Greig as the kindly ship captain.20th Century Fox obviously pumped a good deal of money into this film and the production values show it. The scenes in China are particularly well done, although the use of rear projection during Shirley's walk near the Shanghai waterfront is all too obvious.Shirley sings 'Goodnight My Love,' 'That's What I Want For Christmas' & 'You've Gotta S-M-I-L-E To Be H-A-double P-Y'. During the performance of this latter song Shirley mimics Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor & Ginger Rogers. Originally, she also impersonated Mae West but that segment was considered too hot and excised.