As Miss Annie Rooney, we have Miss Shirley Temple officially reaching adolescence in a Hollywood motion picture. The acceptable effort is a production from Edward Small's company distributed through United Artists. Despite the obviousness of its limited budget, the movie has plenty of merit, though its script could easily have undergone a rewrite to remove some of the more blatant stereotypes about the Irish-American culture.
Guy Kibbee is cast as Temple's grand-pop and serves stew along with an authentic-sounding brogue. However, William Gargan, who plays his son and Temple's father curiously does not attempt to convey the Irishness of his character much at all. For that matter, he does not attempt to convey much in the way of acting, either.
There are some charming moments in this film that make up for the occasional inconsistencies. One such moment is a teen party where our blossoming star dances with Dickie Moore, who has also officially reached puberty in this film. Like Temple, he suffers the pangs of young love in between fits of barely decipherable young folk slang.
Guy Kibbee is cast as Temple's grand-pop and serves stew along with an authentic-sounding brogue. However, William Gargan, who plays his son and Temple's father curiously does not attempt to convey the Irishness of his character much at all. For that matter, he does not attempt to convey much in the way of acting, either.
There are some charming moments in this film that make up for the occasional inconsistencies. One such moment is a teen party where our blossoming star dances with Dickie Moore, who has also officially reached puberty in this film. Like Temple, he suffers the pangs of young love in between fits of barely decipherable young folk slang.