JohnHowardReid Copyright 30 July 1937 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 23 July 1937. U.S. release: 30 July 1937. Australian release: 6 January 1938. 9,615 feet. 107 minutes.SYNOPSIS: The adventures of a little girl at an 1890's British Army post in Rajpore, India, where her grandfather is Colonel. In addition to finding a most suitable husband for her widowed mother; softening the unsociable, irascible, by-the-rule-book old colonel's heart; making friends with a reluctant drummer-boy; and wheedling herself into the good graces of the hard-bitten sergeant-major; she charms a bandit war lord into signing a peace treaty.NOTES: Darling and Hall were nominated for Hollywood's major annual award for their Art Direction, losing to Lost Horizon. Number ten at the U.S./Canadian box-office for 1937.COMMENT: Ford's admirers seem surprised that he took on this assignment. Perhaps he did it reluctantly, they suggest. No, tells them most emphatically, he really enjoyed making Wee Willie Winkie. And why shouldn't he? Evidently he was given a free hand to have the writers expand McLaglen's material, and this is exactly the sort of horseplay in which Ford delights. And thanks to particularly astute and ingratiating acting by Temple, McLaglen, Smith, Scott — and in lesser parts Collier, Cook and Braham ("The rascals are pulling your leg!") — it comes across most effectively. Although she has only a snatch of song (at least in the 1995 version under review), Miss Temple is at her best. It was entertainingly ingenious of the writers to change the six-year-old boy hero of Kipling's short story (which is no more than a mere four or five thousand words in length) to a spunky little girl instead. In the original, the lad is the son of the 195th's colonel. Making the colonel a grandfather provides a great part for Sir C. Aubrey Smith who is able to act out an amusing variation of his Lord Fauntleroy role. It's also a joy to see so many of Hollywood's English colony in support parts, especially (besides those already mentioned) Gavin Muir, Brandon Hurst, George Hassell ("My word!"), and Victor's real- life brother, Cyril.In Kipling's story, the always-getting-into-trouble/mischief Winkie breaks arrest to ride after Coppy's fiancée (Miss Allardyce) across the forbidden river. This simple plot is cleverly expanded to provide many delightful turns and routines, plot twists and character conflicts. One of the most colorful twists turns Hollywood's stock "funny" Chinaman character (superbly played by Willie Fung, giving the performance of his life here) into a devious, murdering spy.Handsomely photographed and set — the film was originally released with sepia and blue tinted sequences — Winkie fully deserved its box- office success.OTHER VIEWS: My favorite role. I liked everybody in the cast, especially C. Aubrey Smith and Victor McLaglen. I also remember gratefully the gentleness of director John Ford. Outwardly he's a rugged person; but inside he's kindly and even sentimental. — Shirley Temple.The "colorisation" vandals have been at this one — and a very poor job they have done of it too! I don't know why the original tinting wasn't restored. Instead the Goths have done their best to wreck the beauty of the camera-work, the artistic qualities of the award- nominated sets, the "color" of the period costumes, and even the stylishness and emotional impact of Ford's direction.Rudyard Kipling's very short story (about 15 pages of large type) bears extraordinarily little resemblance to this film version which should be credited as "suggested by" rather than "based on". In the first place, Wee Willie Winkie is a six-year-old, mischievous boy named Percival William Williams who lives with his father, Colonel Williams. He names Lieutenant Brandes (spelt "Brandis" by Kipling) "Coppy" because of the color of his hair, a detail which the screenwriters neglect to mention. In the original story "Coppy" romances Miss Allardyce who appears but briefly in the film. In the original story, there are no equivalents of the characters played by June Lang (the pretty but not particularly memorable heroine), Victor McLaglen (whose scenes with Shirley are virtually the film's raison d'etre), Cesar Romero (always so much more believable as a suave villain as here than as a romantic hero in which he was so often miscast) and many of the minor characters such as Gavin Muir's smooth but having-little-to-do Captain Bibberbeigh. Miss Temple is in excellent form though her fans will be disappointed she has no songs or dances. C. Aubrey Smith is inclined to over-do his gruff soldier mannerisms but Willie Fung is perfect in the most important role of his career as the slimy, treacherous Mohammed Dihn. John Ford's direction is not particularly evident and even McLaglen's funeral parade while fairly lavish is routinely handled. "Wee Willie Winkie" is probably the most uncharacteristic of all Ford's films and it cannot be wholly argued that the script was to blame. For although it is dated and follows a wholly conventional pattern, it does allow some opportunities for the sort of dramatization Ford usually excels in and revels in, rather than handle in the competent but routine manner here. Arthur Miller's photography reflects his usual high standard, the costumes are attractive, some of the sets impressive and when all is said and done there are scenes that linger in the memory.

lugonian WEE WILLIE WINKIE (20th Century-Fox, 1937), directed by Academy Award winning John Ford, stars Shirley Temple in possibly her most prestigious film of her career. Capitalizing on the current trend of military themes as THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (Paramount, 1935), THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (Warners, 1936), and later the most popular, Rudyard Kipling's GUNGA DIN (RKO, 1939), WEE WILLIE WINKIE, also authored by Kipling, fits well into this category. In spite of Temple's presence, high production values, fine support of Academy Award winning actor Victor McLaglen (RKO's THE INFORMER, 1935), and a well-scripted but leisurely-paced screenplay (by Ernest Pascal and Julian Josephson), WEE WILLIE WINKIE comes close to being overlooked item from cinema history.With Temple's previous screen efforts typically casting her as an orphan or child of a widowed parents who occupies screen time solving problems with feel good intervals of song and dance, WEE WILLIE WINKIE is a welcome change of pace. While Temple doesn't have any real musical interludes, she does acquire one heartfelt moment worth mentioning where she sings "Auld Lang Syne" to a dying soldier. Of her two 1937 releases, HEIDI, based on the literary work by Johanna Spyri, appears to be most admired mainly because it gears mostly towards the interest of children while WEE WILLIE WINKIE appears to be more of a story for adults. Being the longest (99 minutes, though road show version was reportedly at 105 minutes) of Temple's feature length films of the 1930s, WEE WILLIE WINKIE contains more ingredients of a John Ford movie than Temple's. Regardless, the chemistry of both blends in nicely into the scenario. Temple would work under Ford again in FORT APACHE (RKO, 1948) with McLaglen in the supporting cast.   Plot summary: The year is 1897. Joyce Williams (June Lang), a young widow unable to support herself and her daughter, Priscilla (Shirley Temple), in America, are sent by her father-in-law, Colonel Williams, to live with him on his British Army Base. Arriving by train to Raj Pore station in Northern India, they are greeted by Sergeant McDuff (Victor McLaglen) to escort them via coach to their destination. Before departure, Priscilla witnesses the arrest of Khonda Khan (Cesar Romero), the rebel leader responsible for the smuggling of guns belonging to her grandfather's regiment. Having dropped his sacred charm, Priscilla runs over return "the necklace" back to him. Khan, dangerous and handcuffed, shows gratitude towards this "strange child" as he is taken away by authorities. During her stay at the post, Priscilla meets Branders (Michael Whalen), a young lieutenant she calls "Coppy" (whose hair, as she described, shines like a copper penny). Feeling her grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith) doesn't like her McDuff, at Coppy's request, shows Priscilla the procedures on becoming a good soldier. Providing her a junior-sized uniform, much to the dismay of drummer boy, Mott (Douglas Scott), McDuff renames his little soldier, "Wee Willie Winkie." With an uprising leading to the prison escape of Khonda Khan and the death of Sergeant McDuff, war is officially declared, causing "Wee Willie Winkie" to try and make peace before any more men are killed.While Temple dealt with grumpy grandfathers before, Lionel Barrymore being her best encounter in THE LITTLE COLONEL (1935), C. Aubrey Smith fits the bill as her military-minded grandfather with little time for his grandchild. Cesar Romero, believable as Konda Khan, gives a remarkable performance. He would assume another recognizable, but less threatening role, opposite Temple once more in THE LITTLE PRINCESS (1939). Military formation and the lives of British soldiers take precedence over the romantic subplot between June Lang and Michael Whalen that has been kept to a minimum. Others in the cast include Constance Collier (Mrs. Allardyce); Lauri Beatty (Elsa Allardyce, her daughter); Willie Fung (Mohammed Dihn); Brandon Hurst (Bagby); Lionel Pape (Major Allardyce); Mary Forbes (Mrs. MacMonachie), and John Ford regular, Jack Pennick, as one of the soldiers.A successful film in its day, WEE WILLIE WINKIE was later reissued at 77 minutes, the print most commonly used on commercial television prior to 1985. It wasn't until around 1987 when WEE WILLIE WINKIE was available close to its theatrical length when distributed on home video. In recent years, the 99 minute version became available on numerous cable stations, including The Disney Channel (colorized, 1990s); American Movie Classics (1996-2000), The Fox Movie Channel and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: July 13, 2015). It's availability on DVD contains the choice of both colorized and black and white formats.While Temple may seem to be an unlikely candidate on a military base in far away India wanting to become a good little soldier, she's certainly one who hasn't lost her appeal in the rank as "Wee Willie Winkie." (***1/2)

jotix100 Rudyard Kipling's story serves as the basis for this excellent John Ford film. Mr. Ford, one of America's best directors of all times, got probably a fantastic budget to get this movie made. It paid well as we are given a great account of Mr. Kipling's novel by the man who knew about how to make movies come alive.This was obviously a Shirley Temple vehicle. Ms. Temple was one of the best child actress of all times. Whenever she is in front of the camera, this little girl has a way of stealing the viewer's heart. In all the films we have seen, this seems to be her best, and in fact, Ms. Temple always speaks about her fond memories about this movie.Of course, this film wouldn't have worked the way it did, had it not been by the amazing performance by Victor McLaglen, who as Sgt. MacDuff, befriends the little girl that has come to live at the headquarters where he is serving. His roughness are tamed by the love he feels toward young Priscilla.John Ford got excellent performances from everyone, but of course, Shirley Temple and Victor McLaglen run away with the film and our admiration. C. Aubrey Smith, the distinguished actor makes a great appearance as the Colonel in charge of the outpost in India. Cesar Romero is also good as the rebel Khoda Kahn. June Lang plays Priscilla's mother and Michael Whalen is "Coppy", the man who falls for the young girl's widowed mother.This is a film that will delight anyone, young or old, because it is a timeless classic, thanks to John Ford.

Neil Doyle SHIRLEY TEMPLE has always said that WEE WILLIE WINKIE was her own personal favorite among her childhood films because it gave her a chance to indulge herself as a tomboy. And because it has a good script, fine all around performances and moves along at a nice clip, it's one of the best Temple vehicles, showing exactly why she was such a popular young child star.The story is a simple one, with Shirley and her mother (June Lang) arriving at a British military outpost in India under the gruff but lovable protection of the colonel (Sir C. Aubrey Smith). Temple immediately wants to join in the marching and soldiering and McGlaglen is assigned to teach her the ropes. Therein lies the film's strongest bits of interplay between Temple and a co-star of equal scene-stealing abilities. There is genuine bathos in their ultimate scene together, with Shirley rendering a sweet rendition of Auld Lang Syne while the soldier lies on his deathbed.There are John Ford touches everywhere, so it's no surprise that the picture still holds up pretty well today. Temple fans will not be disappointed. Shirley fits the role of the tomboyish Priscilla with abundant good humor and a considerable amount of innocent charm.In secondary roles, there is an unobtrusive romance between Michael Whalen and June Lang and a surprising comedy bit by Constance Collier as a snooty matron urging her daughter to be less "anemic" so she can catch the eye of a soldier. Willie Fung as a spy adds some additional comic relief although the PC crowd will probably cringe at his antics.Ideal family entertainment.