Micransix Crappy film

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 20 June 1934 by Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy, 29 June 1934. U.K. release: December 1934. Australian release: 1 August 1934. New Zealand release: 26 January 1935. New Zealand length: 6,955 feet. 77 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Ex-criminal Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) has a hard time going straight.NOTES: Shirley Temple, acknowledged as the best juvenile performer of 1934, received a miniature statuette from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Awards Ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel, 27 February, 1935.The stage play opened on Broadway at Daly's on 1 March 1926, and ran a surprisingly successful 144 performances. Russell Mack starred as the jittery ex-thief who tries to go straight, although everything conspires to send him back to jail. The play was directed by Albert Bannister, and produced by Bannister in association with Elmer Powell.COMMENT: Although this was Shirley's 23rd film, it was her first starring vehicle at Fox, following her huge success on loan-out to Paramount for "Little Miss Marker". For many years, all prints of this film were thought to be lost as the original negative and master prints were destroyed in a laboratory fire in 1935. However, a projection print in good condition, with only about 3 minutes of footage missing, credit and end titles complete and only a few minor scratches throughout, has come to light and from this a dupe negative has been made. From this unpromising material, the present colorized but otherwise very satisfactory, digitally restored release prints derive.Unfortunately, the film itself does not repay all this trouble, but at least it will not gain a totally undeserved reputation as a lost masterpiece by default. And besides its curiosity value, "Baby Take a Bow" boasts a cast of seasoned players — all of whom over-act atrociously. There is some excuse for this theatricality, however, in view of the melodramatic nature of the script. The whole film resembles an enthusiastic but distinctly amateur stage production. In fact, the script makes few attempts, other than the intriguing opening sequence and the roof-top climax, to open up the action of the original stage play.Harry Lachman's direction, for the most part, is disappointingly routine. Lachman was (and is still regarded as) a most distinguished painter in the post-impressionist tradition, but there is nothing in this movie that betrays an artistic eye. True, L. William O'Connell's photography does bring off a few attractively sinister effects with cross shadows on the faces of Ralf Harolde and Alan Dinehart, but otherwise the film has little visual appeal. In fact, production values generally are rather mediocre. In short, the Shirley Temple presented here isn't half as attractive as she was to become in her succeeding Fox pictures. It's interesting to note that in overseas markets, such as England and Australia, neither this film nor Shirley achieved either a good press or box-office success. However, her next film, "Now and Forever", in which she was billed third to Cooper and Lombard, proved to be a great money-spinner everywhere.

bkoganbing Baby Take A Bow is based on a Broadway play called Square Crooks and ran a respectable 150 performances in 1926 and also was a silent film in 1928. But noting in the credits of both the Broadway cast and the silent film I noted all the names save for an equivalent of Shirley Temple.Fox films showed some good judgment in grafting Shirley Temple's child character into this version. A couple of guys played by James Dunn and Ray Walker are trying to go straight and are succeeding. Both are employed by a wealthy family as chauffeurs. Dunn and Walker are married to Claire Trevor and Dorothy Libaire respectively. But Dunn and Trevor have that little bundle from heaven named Shirley Temple.Both these guys face a pair of menaces. A recently released con played by Ralf Harolde who tries to get them back in the life. And Alan Dinehart who is a private detective who would like to become a real cop, but they won't have him. His role model in law enforcement is Inspector Javert and he hounds Dunn and Walker especially after a jewel heist is pulled on their employer.Of course it's Shirley who in her innocent way gets Dunn and Walker out of a potential jackpot. Dunn and Trevor both have trouble keeping up with her.Fans of the eternal moppet will be pleased.

JoeKarlosi This was my first attempt at watching a Shirley Temple movie, though this film was made before she really hit it big and therefore her screen time isn't as much as it would quickly become. The story instead centers on a likable ex-convict Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) who has harmless fun playing practical jokes on his friends and comes out of jail to marry a loyal woman (Claire Trevor). Six years later, the couple have young Shirley as their daughter and Eddie tries to hold a job. But a bitter and nasty private investigator (Alan Dinehart) is determined to do whatever it takes to ruin Ellison and send him back to the slammer again and tries to nail him for a theft he wasn't involved in. Here is where daddy's little girl helps her father out by trying to foil the real crook.It's easy to sense the potential which shines off Shirley Temple during her scenes with Dunn and Trevor, and the precocious little charmer does delight with some mild dancing and her cutesy antics, but this film is reportedly not one of her best. It's lightweight stuff, though probably a feature that wouldn't be remembered at all today if not for the participation of Miss Temple. ** out of ****

atlantean54 **Some Possible Spoliers**It was 12pm in the afternoon, and the announcer happened to indicate that a film with Shirley Temple was to come up next. My mother told me to tape the film since she thought that any film with Shirley Temple is a sure winner.I was reluctant, but once the film started going i was rather intrigued. The story is rather good, and the actors are not so bad. Yet the adult actors tend to be a little too rigid in some moments of the film.Shirley has to be without a doubt, the person who steals the show in this movie. Being cute and full of charm, she has the potential to just blow other actors right off the screen.Although sometimes you wish she hadn't done things, like cut Mr Stone loose, she still remains as the best actress on screen. The last scene of the film on the rooftop was a reassuring one. There was some pretty good acting by Claire Trevor (Kay) which made the scene believeable. And the ending was rather sweet and happy (predictable).I really enjoyed watching this film, and the scene with the coffee pot and the beads always gets me nervous. Anyone who likes old fashioned comedy, you'll be in for a treat. Shirley's charm surely makes this film worth watching.Rating: 8/10