Amazon.com essential video: Forget about its potentially politically incorrect subject manner. Shirley Temple, America's sweetheart by the time this film was made (1935), utterly charms as Virgie Cary, a plucky baby belle during the Civil War. Virgie is the treasured daughter of a Confederate officer, Capt. Herbert Cary (John Boles). Captain Cary ventures back to his decaying plantation for but a glimpse of his beloved family. Meanwhile, Virgie has managed to captivate a Union officer, Colonel Morrison (Jack Holt). Colonel Morrison becomes sympathetic enough to their plight that he assists Captain Cary's escape, only to have them both caught and set for execution. Trust plucky Virgie--who enlists the help of Abraham Lincoln (!)--to help get them out of their scrape. As with any Temple film, there's a message of familial love and perseverance. And even though there's a celebration of the Old South's genteel ways, Virgie's affection for her family's slaves comes through, as Temple and Bill "BoJangles" Robinson (as loyal Uncle Billy) happily dance together. The film is based on a 1914 silent film of the same name. --N.F. Mendoza
Customer Reviews
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Rating: - Spun Sugar
A sweet, heart-warming film about a brave little girl who remains cheerful and optimistic despite her tragic circumstances. It's like watching a children's version of Gone With The Wind, and possibly one ... Read More
Rating: - Charming but substantive
This one is full of the famous Shirley Temple charm, and Bill Robinson's unequaled tap routines, against the backdrop of the South at the outbreakof the Civil War. The part played by Mr. Robinson is played ... Read More
Rating: - "The Littlest Rebel (1935) ... Shirley Temple ... 20th Century Fox (2006)"
20th Century Fox presents "THE LITTLEST REBEL" (released: 22 November 1935) (73mins) (B&W/Color Versions) - Under David Butler (Director), Buddy G. DeSylva (Producer), Edwin H. Burke (Screenwriter), Edward ... Read More
Rating: - Temple at the top of her game
One of Shirley Temple's first movies for the newly-amalgamated Twentieth Century-Fox Pictures in 1935 was THE LITTLEST REBEL (based on an earlier play by Edward Peple).
Rating: - Cute Shirley Temple Charms North and South
Critics and analysts have used reams of paper to describe the Shirley Temple phenomenon. To summarize that analysis: Shirley Temple appealed to a nation going through economic upheavals because of her cheery ... Read More
- Spun Sugar
- Charming but substantive