★ 7 / 10
There’s a line here from “Col. Williams” (C
CinemaSerf
There’s a line here from “Col. Williams” (C. Aubrey Smith) when he expresses his hope this his recently arrived daughter-in-law “Joyce” (June Lang) and his…
There’s a line here from “Col. Williams” (C. Aubrey Smith) when he expresses his hope this his recently arrived daughter-in-law “Joyce” (June Lang) and his granddaughter “Priscilla” (Shirley Temple) will soon adapt to military life in the British Army. You just know that after about five minutes, it’s the army that’s going to have to adapt to the charms of this young girl as she effortlessly befriends even the most curmudgeonly of the soldiers, and even their gun-running arch-enemy “Khoda Khan” (Cesar Romero). She is quickly taken under the wing of the regimental sergeant major “MacDuff” (Victor McLaglen) who even procures her a uniform so she can feel more useful in the day-to-day running of their fort. Meantime, her mum takes a bit of a shine to “Lt. Brandes” (Michael Whalen). Once the rebels manage to free their leader from captivity, “Priscilla” - now renamed “Pte. Winkie” sets off to see if she can’t get the two sides to reconcile. What chance? I really did quite enjoy this. As much as with his efforts with Freddie Bartholomew in last year’s “Little Lord Fauntleroy”, Smith expertly handles his rapport with a charming younger star, and she also manages to wrap Romero around her finger, too, as this gentle story of the Raj unfolds. Temple is a natural here and she positively exudes a mischievous charm throughout this adventure film that’s at times quite funny and at times a little sad - usually at the hands of a McLaglen who decides this time he is Scottish rather than his usual Irish. The emphasis on the Scottishness of this Kipling story also manages to reduce some of the colonial pomposity that often accompanied these style of stories, and it’s a good showcase for some engaging acting talent who looked like they enjoyed themselves in their Californian version of India.
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★ 8 / 10
A Passage to India
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…
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.
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★ 8 / 10
Bagpipes and War Guns
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…
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)
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Thanks, I've only had 480p of most of the Shirley Temple movies before