Curly Top
1935's Curly Top brought America's Sweetheart, Shirley Temple, back into the spotlight for another round of song, dance and heartwarming sweetness. An adaptation of Jean Webster’s novel Daddy Long Legs, the film cast the precocious youngster as little orphan Elizabeth Blair.
Elizabeth, daughter of vaudeville entertainers, keeps things lively
at Lakeside Orphanage, singing little ditties to keep spirits bright.
This raises some eyebrows at the ultra-conservative orphanage, but
Elizabeth’s older sister Mary is more supportive.
When wealthy Edward Morgan visits the orphanage, Elizabeth’s charm
and Mary’s beauty convince him to get them out of there, showing them
how the other half lives. Once she sees the outside world, Mary starts
falling for another man, but wee miss Cupid Elizabeth has other plans.
The movie was tailor-made to Temple’s irresistible charm, allowing
her to sing and mug her way through such numbers as “Animal Crackers in
My Soup,” “When I Grow Up” and “Curly Top.” A Shirley Temple classic, Curly Top helped the li'l starlet maintain her status as the biggest little thing in the movies.
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