Awesome Movie

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

A fairly simple plot, with a good dose of singing and dancing. Captain January(Guy Kibbee) has been living at his Cape Tempest, Maine,lighthouse with Shirley for 4 years, since her parents died in a boat accident nearby. Now, their happy life is threatened by two recent developments: 1)the replacement of a lenient district truant officer with a very strict one, full of herself, who wants to require Shirley to go to school and January to formally adopt Shirley or give her up.2)The upcoming obsolescence of January's job due to replacement by an automatic lighthouse light.Sara Hayden did a superb job of playing the one villain: the nasty, if thorough, truant officer, Miss Morgan. In comparison, June Lang, as the kind schoolteacher and Jane Darwell, as the widow with ambition to become Mrs. January, had easy conventional roles. June would return the next year, as Shirley's widowed mother, in "Wee Willie Winkie". Jane played a subsidiary role in 5 of Shirley's films.. Guy Kibbee(January) was borrowed from Warner, while Buddy Ebsen was borrowed from MGM.The central problem of a prospective jobless and Shirleyless January appears to have a solution in the end. Shirley's discovered relatives hire January to captain their large yacht, with Shirley aboard. In addition, Captain Nazro is hired as first mate, Ebsen as the seaman and Jane Darwell as cook.(What happened to the crew they had when they arrived?). We still seemingly have the problem of Shirley's truancy.Turning to the music: Shirley starts things off with "The Early Birds", as she is awakening. Next, Ebsen dances to "The Sailor's Hornpipe". Then, Shirley starts off with "The Codfish Bowl", with Ebsen later joining in, dancing around the wharf area with Shirley. Many people consider this the highlight of the film. Then, after Shirley dawns a fancy dress, she and Captains January and Nazro informally sing an opera from "Lucia di Lammermore". Then, Shirley has a strange daydream in which she sings the ballad "The Right Somebody for Me". A chorus takes over while she is feeding January, who is in the form of a huge baby in baby clothes. Later, she again sings this song to her favorite doll, which she claims looks rather like her deceased mother. Finally, a reprise of "The Codfish Bowl" by Shirley and the two captains, while aboard the yacht.

Crusty lighthouse keeper Guy Kibbee (as Captain January) gently rouses a sleeping Shirley Temple (as Star) from her slumber. She sings and dances while getting dressed, and washes her cute face while magically putting on her pants and shirt. Little Miss Temple is estimated to be old enough for the third grade, but since she washed up from the Maine coast, Mr. Kibbee can't be sure of the girl's exact age. Local inspector Slim Summerville (as Captain Nazro) is like a surrogate uncle. Temple enjoys song and dance time with rubbery-legged fisherman Buddy Ebsen (as Paul Roberts). He would like to marry schoolteacher June Lang (as Mary Marshall), but the halibut aren't swimming...The fact that Temple lives with Kibbee and doesn't attend school irks newly appointed "truant officer" Sara Haden (as Agatha Morgan). It doesn't help that mean Ms. Haden walks in on Temple's guardians showing off a series of revealing tattoos. A "hula dance" by Temple was cut from the film, lest the star appear sexually suggestive; considering Temple is briefly seen donning her "grass skirt" while talking to Mr. Ebsen, excising the number can be understood. Marriage-minded Jane Darwell (as Eliza Croft) has a good supporting role. Also watch for "know-it-all" nephew Jerry Tucker (as Cyril Morgan) to forget 1492, and future "Bowery Boy" William "Billy" Benedict (as Bud) to deliver some bad news...Everything moves a nice pace, with seeming spontaneity and a sprinkling of whimsy; of course, it's really all very predictable (and a re-working of the 1924 silent starring "Baby" Peggy and Hobart Bosworth). The surreal interlude with Temple and Kibbee exchanging roles is a marvelously inserted piece of magic; it also ends at just the right moment, if you're paying close attention. With a fine soundtrack highlighted by "The Right Somebody to Love" (covered by The Mamas & The Papas as the lead song for their 1968 album) and "At the Codfish Ball", plus a perfect co-starring characterization by Kibbee, "Captain January" is quintessential Temple. She made better movies, but became a more calculating performer...This film is would serve as an excellent first (and possibly last) look at Shirley Temple, especially for young children.********* Captain January (4/17/36) David Butler ~ Shirley Temple, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, Buddy Ebsen

Here's another "cute" Shirley Temple movie with interesting characters and a decent share of good song-and-dance numbers. The story is similar to a few other Temple films in which a nasty person takes Shirley away from the good people but the good guys prevail in the end. It was a tried-and-true formula in the Temple movies.Here, the "villain" is truant officer (Sara Haden) who wants to take Shirley away from good guy "Captain January" (Guy Kibbe). Kibbe and Slim Summerville are fun to watch as peers and friends who squabble all the time. Haden is effective in her role because you just want to slap that woman!Shirley and Buddy Ebsen team up for a very entertaining song-and-dance routine to "The Codfish Ball," the best song in the movie.The film gets a bit uncomfortable when Shirley gets taken away but ends in the normal tearfully-happy Shirley, as always, back with her loved ones and the people who really care about her. Those include the "widow" played by Jane Darwell and the school teacher, acted by June Lang.All in all, it's the normal Temple movie that provides good feelings, something we viewers always need.

Maybe the best all-around movie of Shirley's career in terms of the acting of the entire ensemble and a well-constructed script. Shirley tugs at your heartstrings, of course, but the story never strikes a false note. And some of the scenes of the lighthouse are magnificent. Watch this one with the entire family.