The thing that really struck me about this short comedy is that it is all about a guy who makes a radio commercial for a local donut shop because he actually cares about the well-being of its owner, a woman named Dora with whom he is clearly romantically interested (and who is clearly romantically interested in him as well). In a time when we are bombarded with obnoxious advertisements and endless streams of commercials, it is indeed interesting to look back to a time when it would be acceptable to make a movie about making a commercial.
Today, commercials have become so widespread that they're like a cancer on society, you can't go anywhere anymore without being advertised at, they even show commercials before the previews start at the movie theaters now. And I thought I spent $10 to get in so I could get AWAY from the commercials.
Shirley Temple is not the star of this short film, although it's easy to see why she is so good at coming to the forefront, because as is to be expected, she steals every scene that she's in, even though she is the only person who doesn't fit in at all. The film concerns a school band taught by a charming teacher named Andy, although all of the students appear to be about junior high school age, except for 5 year old Shirley.
Unfortunately, the movie loses its way completely in the second half, with the thin script being abandoned completely at about the time that people start fighting. An improvised one-man performance of Little Red Riding Hood is thrown in out of nowhere, and then we are treated to a couple of pie throwing sight gags (which are not entirely without effect) before the movie makes short work of solving the crisis that it introduced about Dora's struggling bakery, as well as the budding romance between her and Andy. It wastes a lot of time in the last act and is hardly up to par with the short comedies of the time, but is still a charming little film.
Today, commercials have become so widespread that they're like a cancer on society, you can't go anywhere anymore without being advertised at, they even show commercials before the previews start at the movie theaters now. And I thought I spent $10 to get in so I could get AWAY from the commercials.
Shirley Temple is not the star of this short film, although it's easy to see why she is so good at coming to the forefront, because as is to be expected, she steals every scene that she's in, even though she is the only person who doesn't fit in at all. The film concerns a school band taught by a charming teacher named Andy, although all of the students appear to be about junior high school age, except for 5 year old Shirley.
Unfortunately, the movie loses its way completely in the second half, with the thin script being abandoned completely at about the time that people start fighting. An improvised one-man performance of Little Red Riding Hood is thrown in out of nowhere, and then we are treated to a couple of pie throwing sight gags (which are not entirely without effect) before the movie makes short work of solving the crisis that it introduced about Dora's struggling bakery, as well as the budding romance between her and Andy. It wastes a lot of time in the last act and is hardly up to par with the short comedies of the time, but is still a charming little film.