Warner definitely seems to have seen Sybil Jason as their answer to Shirley Temple, and this film takes many elements from "Little Miss Marker", which Shirley starred in the year before. But the screenplay spends a good deal of time with the gangsters who are the cause of Sybil's troubles, and there is a very real sense of Depression-era desperation. Director Michael Curtiz makes all this very vivid, framing and lighting the shots to give this urban melodrama a hard edge. Robert Armstrong gives an excellent performance as one of the con men who takes Sybil in. This film may be a little too intense for Shirley Temple fans, but it's a strong melodrama with a solid cast.
Review of Little Big Shot
