hyped garbage

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Although most of the Shirley Temple movies were quite formulaic, most of them had a great deal of charm, and this is probably one of the better ones. One of the things that makes many of the Temple films so great are the supporting casts, and this one has a great cast.Shirley is a tad older here, but still bubbly, although this one doesn't have quite the classic songs that many of the films did. Here she plays an orphan that ends up living with an adoptive family in a show biz hotel. Of course, there is a threat to take Shirley away...that's to be expected.Edward Ellis is very pleasant as "Pop" and manager of the hotel.Edna May Oliver plays the bad "guy" who wants to shut down the hotel and have Shirley returned to the orphanage. If there's anything that doesn't work about this film, it's Oliver. She's simply too lovable to not come around and be an old softie. You know it's coming from the very beginning. Oliver has shined in practically every film she every appeared in -- she was a great scene stealer.Donald Meek, another wonderful character actor, shines here in a role that is just a little bigger than usual, here as the brother of Oliver.George Murphy proves once again that he was a pretty good hoofer and could play roles that were very sympathetic. Here he plays the bridge between his aunt (Oliver) and Temple's family.Jimmy Durante shines as a Broadway trooper with a big heart. Jane Darwell is here as the head of the orphanage. And the wonderful Claude Gillingwater plays the judge.Corny, of course. Heartwarming, of course. And just one more example that Shirley Temple could do what no other child actor ever could before or since. Try watching this film and not find yourself smiling.

Cynical New Yorkers must have rolled their eyes to see the glamorous art deco court room featured in the climax of this Shirley Temple vehicle which turns Chambers Street into 42nd Street when tap-dancing George Murphy goes up against his pickle-pussed aunt (Edna May Oliver) to keep a hotel for actors which they own open. Temple starts off this charming comedy with a few musical numbers by singing "Be Optimistic". Of course, she's got a lot to be optimistic about. She's been adopted by the old man who runs the hotel (Edward Ellis) and his pretty daughter (Phyllis Brooks), not realizing that the crabby old pumpkin next door (Oliver) is furious over bandleader Jimmy Durante's constant interruptions of her desire for quiet and decides to demand the back rent building renter Ellis owes.It's obvious from the start that Oliver's crabby old bat is really a big pile of mush hidden under that fabulous horse face. She threatens to steal the picture just by her name in the title, and her comic genius is evident when she visits the hotel and is visited by a marching penguin and various acrobatic acts. Donald Meek comes close second as her milquetoast brother who secretly performs on the side and stands up to a butler who reports everything to his bossy sister. When he breaks out in a fight dance, it is one of those delicious moments of visual comedy that proved that the character performers were often better than the stars.For one of the few times in his career, "Swedish" comic El Brendel is unobtrusive, commenting on the action with the aforementioned penguin who basically makes his presence in the film more tolerable than his early talkie appearances in the Fox musicals. The musical finale towards the end is of course outrageously ostentatious, turning a courtroom into the equivalent of a Mickey/Judy barn! The reactions from Claude Gillingwater as the judge is worth the price of admission alone, and of course, he applauds with his gavel. One of the oddest bloopers in film history appears in this sequence which shows George Murphy plain as day sitting in the court room in a suit watching Shirley perform, then magically re-appearing moments later swinging open the courtroom doors in tuxedo and tap-dancing his way back in. This "Little Miss Broadway", of course, never appeared on Broadway, but for post depression and pre-war audiences needing escapism, this didn't matter. Pure entertainment is entertainment, no matter how off the wall it ends up being.

What a spectacular Shirley Temple movie I have chosen to see. It is entitled "Little Miss Broadway." I have been, for long, a big lover of musicals.That is especially true for those with little Shirley Temple. She has adored audiences worldwide with her singing, acting, and tap-dancing in the films.This is one of those rare movies that I would automatically give the number 10 to. It has an array of great songs such as the title. Shirley opens her act with the song "Be Optimistic." That is one of those songs where you can learn a life lesson."Little Miss Broadway" -- the song and the film itself -- are indeed heartwarming. That is rare for a musical show or film. Since it is a 1930s filmusical with Shirley Temple, I'd say it is right up there with the rest.

Orphaned Betsy Brown is sent to live in a New York City theatrical boarding hotel and quickly becomes involved in the struggle to keep the sour old landlady from closing down the establishment. By starring as LITTLE MISS BROADWAY in a show staged in a judge's courtroom, the moppet hopes to sway the verdict in her friends' favor.Shirley Temple shines in this pleasant musical comedy. Her youthful spunk and astonishing talent are very much on display. As her leading man, dancer George Murphy is elegant & charming, just what the audience expects from Shirley's knight errant. Murphy's flirtation with Phyllis Brooks is dull stuff; we can't wait for him to dance again with Miss Temple.Along with Murphy, Shirley faces unusually stiff competition from the comics & character actors involved in this film. The inimitable Edna May Oliver is the villainess here, and she doesn't care a fig for the feelings of the little girl; diminutive Donald Meek is her brother who longs for an adventurous theatrical life.The great Jimmy Durante brings his own brand of insanity to the proceedings as a band leader; it's almost criminal that he's given so little screen time with Shirley. Dialect comedian El Brendel has some funny moments and gets to interact with a peculiar penguin. That's Jerry Colonna as one of the band members.Jane Darwell is sweet, as always, in her matronly role as the orphanage director - she would appear in several Temple films in similar roles. Old Claude Gillingwater has fun with his role as the sympathetic judge. George & Olive Brasno, two of Hollywood's famous Little People, appear as themselves.Movie mavens will spot an unbilled Dick Elliott as a cheerful cellist.Shirley warbles `Be Optimistic,' `How Can I Thank You?' & `If All The World Were Paper;' Murphy joins her in singing & dancing through `We Should Be Together' & `Little Miss Broadway.'