The Littlest Rebel

Last updated
The Littlest Rebel
The Littlest Rebel 1935 film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Butler
Screenplay by Edwin J. Burke
Harry Tugend
Based onThe Littlest Rebel
1909 play
by Edward Peple
Produced by Darryl Zanuck (producer)
Buddy G. DeSylva (associate producer)
Starring John Boles
Jack Holt
Karen Morley
Bill Robinson
Shirley Temple
Cinematography John F. Seitz
Edited by Irene Morra
Music by Cyril Mockridge
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • December 19, 1935 (1935-12-19)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,431,000 (U.S. and Canada rentals) [1]

The Littlest Rebel is a 1935 American musical drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Edwin J. Burke was adapted from a play of the same name by Edward Peple.

Contents

Cast

Plot

Virgie (Temple) and her father, Confederate Army captain Herbert Cary (Boles) are a slaveowning family in the Antebellum South. During her sixth birthday party, Cary learns that the American Civil War has begun and that he must immediately report for duty, leaving Virgie at home. Worried about her father, Virgie asks her slave, Uncle Billy (Robinson), about the war, and he tells her that he has heard that a man up North wants to free the slaves, but that he does not know what that will mean.

Shortly after Cary's departure with the other enlisted Confederate men, Union soldiers arrive at the Cary plantation and Virgie hits their leader, Colonel Morrison, with her slingshot, a move he admires for its audacity but warns her not to try again. In response, she tauntingly sings "Dixie" as he leaves. Cary is nearly caught behind enemy lines by Seargant Dudley (Williams) on a clandestine visit to his family, since the plantation is now in Union-controlled territory. Dudley's men loot the plantation house of hidden food and valuables, and Virgie puts on blackface out of fear of what Union soldiers might do to whites, causing Dudley to chase her through the house and push her mother down a set of stairs in the struggle. At the end of the scuffle, Morrison arrives, and makes Dudley apologize to Virgie and her mother, assigns him lashes as punishment, and makes his men return what they looted. Virgie hits him with another rock from her slingshot as he leaves.

As active combat approaches the house, Mrs. Cary and Uncle Billy leave with Virgie through the woods during a heavy rainstorm, and Mrs. Cary covers Virgie with her cloak to protect her, allowing herself to become soaked and become ill. Despite sheltering in Uncle Billy's cabin for a month after the plantation house was burned down, she is on her deathbed and Uncle Billy sends for Cary. Upon being assured that Cary will look after Virgie, she dies. Union troops arrive shortly after the funeral, forcing Cary to hide in an attic, but he is quickly discovered by Colonel Morrison. Morrison originally believes Cary is on a scouting mission, but Cary explains he is trying to take Virgie to his sister in Richmond, Virginia, swaying the colonel who has a daughter the same age. Morrison writes a pass allowing their safe travel and furnishes Cary with a Yankee uniform, and Cary makes a promise to Morrison that he and Virgie will not tell anyone what they see in Richmond. Virgie is recognized by Sgt. Dudley as they're being questioned in a Union camp, and Cary whips him before being surrounded by soldiers. Cary and Morrison are court-martialed and sentenced to hanging, but a sympathetic officer attempts to secure them a pardon by giving Uncle Billy a letter to bring to Washington, D.C. Having no money for the train ticket, Uncle Billy and Virgie dance in the town square to raise funds. The D.C. judge is so moved by the letter that they are seen by President Abraham Lincoln, and Virgie recounts their story, convincing the President that her father and Morrison are not spies after he learns of her father's promise. Lincoln orders a pardon for the two men to be issued immediately. Virgie sings "Polly Wolly Doodle" with the Union soldiers upon her return to the barracks and hugs her father and Morrison.

Production

Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson perform a street dance Press photo of Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson in The Littlest Rebel (front) (cropped).jpg
Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson perform a street dance

The slingshot scene was written into the movie by screenwriter Edwin Burke after he learned of Temple's natural ability to use the slingshot. She was perfectly on target and needed only one take for the scene. Temple made international headlines when in the context of trying to keep noisy doves on the prison set (which the director explained did not belong in war) she asked "Why doesn't someone make Mussolini stop?" Someone overheard her comment and it made it into the newspapers, angering Mussolini. [2]

Critical reception

Upon release

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a mildly poor review, explaining that he had "expected there [would be] the usual sentimental exploitation of childhood", but that he "had not expected [Temple's] tremendous energy" which he criticized as "a little too enervating". [3]

Modern criticism

Bill Gibron, of the Online Film Critics Society, wrote: "The racism present in The Littlest Rebel, The Little Colonel and Dimples is enough to warrant a clear critical caveat." However, Gibron, echoing most film critics who continue to see value in Temple's work despite the racism that is present in some of it, also wrote: "Thankfully, the talent at the center of these troubling takes is still worthwhile for some, anyway." [4]

Adaptations

The Littlest Rebel was dramatized as an hour-long radio play on the October 14, 1940, broadcast of Lux Radio Theatre , with Shirley Temple and Claude Rains. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Temple</span> American actress and diplomat (1928–2014)

Shirley Temple Black was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was named United States Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia, and also served as Chief of Protocol of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Robinson</span> American dancer and actor, AKA Bojangles (1878–1949)

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology. His career began in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville, Broadway theatre, the recording industry, Hollywood films, radio, and television.

<i>The Little Colonel</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by David Butler

The Little Colonel is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by William M. Conselman was adapted from the children's novel of the same name by Annie Fellows Johnston, originally published in 1895. It focuses on the reconciliation of an estranged father and daughter in the years following the American Civil War. The film stars Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore, Evelyn Venable, John Lodge, Bill Robinson and Hattie McDaniel.

<i>The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer</i> 1947 film by Dore Schary, Irving Reis

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a 1947 American screwball romantic comedy-drama film directed by Irving Reis and written by Sidney Sheldon. The film stars Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple in a story about a teenager's crush on an older man.

<i>The Blue Bird</i> (1940 film) 1940 film by Walter Lang

The Blue Bird is a 1940 American fantasy film directed by Walter Lang. The screenplay by Walter Bullock was adapted from the 1908 play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck. Intended as 20th Century Fox's answer to MGM's The Wizard of Oz, which had been released the previous year, it was filmed in Technicolor and tells the story of a disagreeable young girl and her search for happiness.

<i>North and South</i> (miniseries) Three American television miniseries

North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North and South, remains the seventh-highest rated miniseries in TV history. North and South: Book II (1986) was met with similar success, while 1994's Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III was poorly received by both critics and audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Boles (actor)</span> American actor (1895–1969)

John Boles was an American singer and actor best known for playing Victor Moritz in the 1931 film Frankenstein.

<i>Family Classics</i> 1962 American TV series or program

Family Classics is a Chicago television series which began in 1962 when Frazier Thomas was added to another program at WGN-TV. Thomas not only hosted classic films, but also selected the titles and personally edited them to remove those scenes which he thought were not fit for family viewing. After Thomas' death in 1985, Roy Leonard took over the program. The series continued sporadically until its initial cancellation in 2000.

<i>Wee Willie Winkie</i> (film) 1937 film by John Ford

Wee Willie Winkie is a 1937 American adventure drama film directed by John Ford and starring Shirley Temple, Victor McLaglen, and Cesar Romero. The screenplay by Julien Josephson and Ernest Pascal was based on a story by Rudyard Kipling. The film's story concerns the British presence in 19th-century India. The production was filmed largely at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, where a number of elaborate sets were built for the film. This film was the first of three in which Shirley Temple and Cesar Romero appeared together, second was Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) and The Little Princess (1939).

<i>Dimples</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by William A. Seiter

Dimples is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by William A. Seiter. The screenplay was written by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The film was panned by the critics. Videocassette and DVD versions of the film were available in 2009.

<i>Curly Top</i> 1935 American film

Curly Top is a 1935 American musical romantic comedy film starring Shirley Temple, John Boles and Rochelle Hudson.

<i>Our Little Girl</i> 1935 film by John S. Robertson

Our Little Girl is a 1935 American drama, in which Shirley Temple and Joel McCrea play the leading roles. The film was the final work of the veteran director, John S. Robertson.

<i>Devotion</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Devotion is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic drama film starring Ann Harding and Leslie Howard based on the 1930 Pamela Wynne novel A Little Flat in the Temple. Its plot involves a woman who disguises herself and gains employment in the home of the man she loves.

<i>Kiss and Tell</i> (1945 film) 1945 film by Richard Wallace

Kiss and Tell is a 1945 American comedy film starring then 17-year-old Shirley Temple as Corliss Archer. In the film, two teenage girls cause their respective parents much concern when they start to become interested in boys. The parents' bickering about which girl is the worse influence causes more problems than it solves.

<i>Can This Be Dixie?</i> 1937 film by George Marshall

Can This Be Dixie? is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and featuring child star Jane Withers along with Slim Summerville and Helen Wood.

<i>Secret Service</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Secret Service is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by J. Walter Ruben and written by Bernard Schubert. The film based on a play by William Gillette, stars Richard Dix, William Post Jr., Shirley Grey, and Nance O'Neil. The film was released on November 14, 1931, by RKO Pictures.

Margaret Johnson Erwin Dudley (1821-1863) was a Southern belle, planter and letter writer in the Antebellum South. The owner of Mount Holly from 1854 to 1863, she was one of the largest slaveholders in Mississippi. She freed her slaves in 1858, prior to the beginning of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miranda Bonansea</span> Italian actress and voice actress (1926–2019)

Miranda Bonansea was an Italian actress and voice actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Washington</span>

Hannah Washington was a former child actor who was active in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s. A fixture in short comedies — often as a character named Oatmeal — she was one of the few Black child actors in movies at the time. She also had roles in 1927's Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1933's King Kong, and 1935's The Littlest Rebel, where she appeared alongside Shirley Temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viola Savoy</span> American actress (1899 – 1987)

Viola Savoy was an American actress of the silent era remembered today for her early film interpretation of the title role in Alice in Wonderland (1915).

References

Footnotes
  1. Cohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All Time Film Rental Champs". Variety . p. M-170. ISSN   0042-2738.
  2. Shirley Temple Black, Child Star: An Autobiography (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1988), 122-123.
  3. Greene, Graham (24 May 1936). "The Robber Symphony/The Littlest Rebel/The Emperor's Candlesticks". The Spectator . (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome . Oxford University Press. pp.  77–78. ISBN   0192812866.)
  4. "Little Girl Lost". PopMatters.com. 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  5. "Radio Theater Tonight Presents Shirley Temple". Toledo Blade (Ohio). 1940-10-14. p. 4 (Peach Section). Retrieved 2020-11-22.
Works cited
Bibliography