The Little Princess *** (1939, Shirley Temple, Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Cesar Romero, Mary Nash, E E Clive) – Classic Movie Review 5187

Director Walter Lang’s 1939 musical comedy family drama stars Shirley Temple, who bursts into colour for the first time in films – and glorious Technicolor at that! – and that seems to have inspired one of her sweetest movies.

Ethel Hill and Walter Ferris’s screenplay is based on the 1911 classic novel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (also the author of Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden).

Shirley plays privileged Victorian child Sara Crewe. But, when Shirley’s British army captain father (Ian Hunter) is despatched to fight in the Boer War, she is sent to Mrs Amanda Minchin (Mary Nash)’s strict private boarding school for girls and forced to be a servant.

The title is justified by a dream ballet, where Shirley is crowned, and the film’s other highlights are some numbers with Arthur Treacher, as Bertie Minchin.

Also in the cast are Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Cesar Romero, E E Clive, Beryl Mercer, Marcia Mae Jones, Miles Mander, Sybil Jason, Deirdre Gale and Ira Stevens.

The songs are by Walter Bullock and Samuel Pokrass.

It runs 91 minutes, is made and distributed by 20th Century Fox, is written by Ethel Hill and Walter Ferris, is shot by Arthur Miller and William Skall, is produced by Gene Markey and scored by Louis Silvers.

It was remade by Alfonso Cuarôn as A Little Princess in 1995.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5187

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Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of A Little Princess, Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden.