Search - The Little Colonel on DVD

Temple, Barrymore, and Bill "BoJangles" Robinson..a Treasure

L. Shirley | fountain valley, ca United States | 03/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This review refers to "The Little Colonel" (VHS/20th Fox Family Feature)...



A very young Shirley Temple holds her own with the likes of Lionel Barrymore, Bill "BoJangles" Robinson and Hattie McDaniel, in this touching Civil War drama.



Little Lloyd Sherman(Temple), has just returned to the South with her mother as they wait the return of her father from duty. They move into a cottage, right next door to the mean old Colonel Lloyd(Barrymore), who happens to be Little Lloyd's grandfather. Years earlier the Colonel told his daughter that the door of their great mansion would never be open to her again, as she ran off to marry the man she loved, a Yankee!



Colonol Lloyd is a stubborn old curmudgeon who's heart has hardened to his daughter. He has met his match though, in our stubborn "Little Colonel", as Shirley works her magic on him(and us), and he slowly warms to his grandchild's charms. But..Shirley's job is not quite done, when the Sherman family is in trouble, little Lloyd must convince her grandfather to come to the rescue.



The film is one that confirms that Temple was one of the best child actresses to ever grace the screen. Her emotions seem authentic and it is a real treat to watch her work her magic on both Barrymore and McDaniel(pre-Gone With The Wind), who were also a joy to watch perform. And if that is not treat enough, Shirley and Bill Robinson do two wonderful tap dance numbers together, that are treasures to watch on their own.



If you haven't seen this one, you should know that there are a couple of scenes of dialouge, between the Colonel and the African Americans that work for him, and some children, that will be offensive. Unfortunatley this was probably though, a very realistic portrayal of the treatment they recieved and is very much a part of this film and history, just as the treament of women in many of the films of this era(including Gone With The Wind)is offensive to us now as well.



This edition is colorized, and I thought the conversion to color was very well done. There was an occasional color(red tones on a black and white checked dress) that looked like it didn't belong, but for the most part, I thought the color brought out many details of the film that might have gone unnoticed. Also having this film colorized may make it easier to share this cinematic treasure with a new generation.



Enjoy...Laurie

"

A great one for Shirley fans to enjoy!

sandy45 | 01/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I loved this movie, as it showcases Shirley's seemingly unending talent, even at such a tender age. However, I resent it when people review this story and rail about how offensive the treatment of African Americans is in it. It makes me angry when people would seek to rewrite history, or worse yet, omit it altogether just because it isn't, in their opinion, "politically correct" for current times. What is depicted in this motion picture simply represents what was going on THEN. Yes, it is sad. But only by exposing our children to representation of historical events such as these and then making the comparison to how far we have come socially and politically now can we hope to ensure that they learn the lesson that this story seeks to convey--that prejudice and racism are always wrong and, if you lead the kind of life you should, you can help to overcome these wrongs. And who better to convey such a lesson than Shirley Temple?"

"Little Colonel"

sandy45 | Texas | 01/11/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Charming Shirley Temple vehicle, with Lionel Barrymore as the irrascible grandfather, gruff and blustering but with a soft spot for Granddaughter, Shirley. Bill Robinson is at his best, or should I say, wonderful as usual as the old faithful family retainer and the dance rountines between him and Shirley are alone worth watching the movie for. Great family fare, touching in spots and easy on the eye as well."

A Cool Shirley Temple Movie!

sandy45 | 02/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a very devoted Shirley Temple fan.When I was in a video store one day, my dad picked out Our Little Girl(Shirley Temple) out for me...and I loved it,( black and white). My seacond Shirley Temple Movie was The Little Colonel. It is a touching warm hearting film that should be treasured in a Shirley Temple fan's video collection.The movie is about a little girl who is be coming friends with her grandfather. Her grandfather has a bad mood to Shirley's mother because she married her true love.Besides it also about two robers who want Shirley's dad's money, then Shirley leads her dad to the scene and those robers go to jail. This is a very clean movie, no stuff of today's world. You should buy this movie- you won't regret it!"