Dimples (film)
Encyclopedia
Dimples is a 1936 American musical film
directed by William A. Seiter. The screenplay was written by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The film is about a young mid-nineteenth century street entertainer (Temple) who is separated from her pickpocket grandfather (Morgan) when given a home by a wealthy New York City widow (Westley). The film was panned by the critics. Videocassette and DVD versions of the film were available in 2009.
busker living with her pickpocket grandfather "Professor" Eustace Appleby. She is hired to entertain at a soiree in the Washington Square Park
home of wealthy widow Caroline Drew. Mrs. Drew is so charmed by Dimples she opens her home and heart to the child, providing her a life of comfort and plenty.
Mrs. Drew's nephew Allen, a theatrical producer, abandons his sweetheart Betty Loring for haughty actress Cleo Marsh. His family is scandalized, but Allen pursues his goal of staging a brand-new play, Uncle Tom's Cabin
, with Dimples portraying Little Eva.
During rehearsals, Dimples longs for her grandfather and returns to his humble dwelling, refusing to budge without the old man in tow. Mrs. Drew traces Dimples to the Bowery and a solution is found to the impasse. Allen realizes he loves Betty and is reunited with her. The film ends with Dimples appearing in New York City's first minstrel show
.
and lyricist Ted Koehler
. The dances were choreographed by Bill Robinson
who appeared with Temple in four films and partnered her for the famous staircase dance in The Little Colonel
.
Sony Computer Entertainment
later used the song Get On Board for a PlayStation 2
advertisement entitled "Mountain".
that the film was "not the best Temple, nor the worst” and thought her performance as Little Eva in Allen's play "sheer bathos".
Louella Parsons
wrote, “The Golden Temple baby is growing up—both taller and broader—but her million-dollar personality remains the same fortunately and she needs it for Dimples (Edwards 101).
Temple scholar Robert Windeler notes that Temple was upstaged for the first time in one of her pictures. Frank Morgan played Temple’s “Micawberesque
grandfather with such energy and fun as to render Shirley […] faltering and hollow (Windeler 175).
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
directed by William A. Seiter. The screenplay was written by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The film is about a young mid-nineteenth century street entertainer (Temple) who is separated from her pickpocket grandfather (Morgan) when given a home by a wealthy New York City widow (Westley). The film was panned by the critics. Videocassette and DVD versions of the film were available in 2009.
Plot
Dimples is a BoweryBowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
busker living with her pickpocket grandfather "Professor" Eustace Appleby. She is hired to entertain at a soiree in the Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
home of wealthy widow Caroline Drew. Mrs. Drew is so charmed by Dimples she opens her home and heart to the child, providing her a life of comfort and plenty.
Mrs. Drew's nephew Allen, a theatrical producer, abandons his sweetheart Betty Loring for haughty actress Cleo Marsh. His family is scandalized, but Allen pursues his goal of staging a brand-new play, Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
, with Dimples portraying Little Eva.
During rehearsals, Dimples longs for her grandfather and returns to his humble dwelling, refusing to budge without the old man in tow. Mrs. Drew traces Dimples to the Bowery and a solution is found to the impasse. Allen realizes he loves Betty and is reunited with her. The film ends with Dimples appearing in New York City's first minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
.
Cast
- Shirley TempleShirley TempleShirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
as Sylvia 'Dimples' Dolores Appleby, a street entertainer in New York City circa 1850 and Professor Appleby's granddaughter - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Professor Eustace Appleby, a pickpocket and Dimples's grandfather - Helen WestleyHelen WestleyHelen Westley was an American character actress.-Career:Born as Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney, Helen Westley was a member of the original board of the Theatre Guild, and appeared in many of their productions, among them Peer Gynt, and some of their productions of plays by George Bernard...
as Mrs. Caroline Drew, Allen’s aunt and Dimples’s patroness - Robert KentRobert Kent (actor)Robert Kent , born Douglas Blackley, Jr, was an American film actor. His career included starring roles in several film serials of the 1940s, including The Phantom Creeps, Who's Guilty?, and The Phantom Rider....
as Allen Drew, a theatrical producer and Caroline Drew's nephew - Astrid AllwynAstrid AllwynAstrid Allwyn was an American stage and film actress.She studied dancing and dramatics in New York and later joined a stock company. Allwyn made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. On the strength of her performance in Once in a Lifetime, she was given film work...
as Cleo Marsh, a haughty actress and Allen's sudden romantic interest - Delma ByronDelma ByronDelma Byron, born Brook Byron was a dancer and actress, born in 1913 and died in 2006.-Career:She ran away from home to join a revue as a dancer. She had no professional experience but had studied dancing from the age of ten. She toured the southern states then later took a job modeling clothes....
as Betty Loring, Allen’s betrothed and the daughter of Colonel Loring - Berton ChurchillBerton ChurchillBerton Churchill was a Canadian actor.Born in Toronto, Ontario. As a young man interested in the theater, he appeared in stock companies as early as 1903 and later headed to New York City where he began an acting career that soon put him on the Broadway stage...
as Colonel Jasper Loring, Betty’s father - Julius TannenJulius TannenJulius Tannen was a comedian – or monologist, as those of his era were known – who had a long and successful career in vaudeville. He was known to stage audiences for his witty improvisations and creative word games...
as Emery T. Hawkins, a swindler - John CarradineJohn CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
as Richards, a swindler - Stepin FetchitStepin FetchitStepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
as Cicero, a servant - Billy McClain as Rufus
- Jack Clifford as Uncle TomUncle TomUncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
, a character in Allen’s new play - Betty Jean Hainey as TopsyTopsyTopsy may refer to:* Topsy, Oklahoma* Topsy and Eva , a film based on Uncle Tom's Cabin* Topsy , a circus animal* Topsy and Tim, a children's book series* Mitsubishi Ki-57, an aircraft* A character in the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin...
, a character in Allen’s new play - Paul StantonPaul StantonPaul Frederick Stanton is a former professional ice hockey player.Drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1985 as a high school senior, Paul chose to play for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and was named an NCAA West All-American in 1988.He played his first NHL game in the 1991 season for the...
as Mr. St. Clair, a character in Allen’s new play - The Hall JohnsonHall JohnsonHall Johnson was one of a number of American composers and arrangers—including Harry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett, and Eva Jessye—who elevated the African-American spiritual to an art form, comparable in its musical sophistication to the compositions of European Classical...
Choir as Choir
Music
The film's songs – "Hey, What Did the Blue Jay Say", "He Was a Dandy", "Picture Me Without You", "Get On Board", "Dixie-anna", and "Wings of the Morning" – were written by Jimmy McHughJimmy McHugh
James Francis McHugh was a U.S. composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs...
and lyricist Ted Koehler
Ted Koehler
Ted L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
. The dances were choreographed by Bill Robinson
Bill Robinson
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the frenetic manner of the jitterbug in favor of cool and reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on busy, inventive feet, and an expressive...
who appeared with Temple in four films and partnered her for the famous staircase dance in The Little Colonel
The Little Colonel
The Little Colonel is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by William M. Conselman was adapted from a novel of the same name by Annie Fellows Johnston, and focuses on the reconciliation of an estranged father and daughter in the years following the American...
.
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
later used the song Get On Board for a PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
advertisement entitled "Mountain".
Critical reception
Frank Nugent wrote in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
that the film was "not the best Temple, nor the worst” and thought her performance as Little Eva in Allen's play "sheer bathos".
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her...
wrote, “The Golden Temple baby is growing up—both taller and broader—but her million-dollar personality remains the same fortunately and she needs it for Dimples (Edwards 101).
Temple scholar Robert Windeler notes that Temple was upstaged for the first time in one of her pictures. Frank Morgan played Temple’s “Micawberesque
Micawber
Micawber can refer to:*Wilkins Micawber, a character in David Copperfield, a novel by Charles Dickens*A noun, meaning "One who is poor but lives in optimistic expectation of better fortune," from the Dickens character...
grandfather with such energy and fun as to render Shirley […] faltering and hollow (Windeler 175).