Steineded How sad is this?

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

weezeralfalfa 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.

Amy Adler Little Star (Shirley Temple) lives in a lighthouse with the keeper, Captain January (Guy Kibbee). He is her unofficial guardian and has been so for years, after rescuing the little gal from a shipwreck. Her parents drowned. Their is strong love and bond between the crusty older man and the wee girl. Because he wants to keep her in his household, Cap hasn't registered Star for school, even though she is of kindergarten age. Instead, he has taught her at home, giving her arithmetic lessons as they count the steps up and down the lighthouse and so forth. Also on hand to help are Cap's argumentative friend, Nazro (Slim Summerville) and sailor Paul (Budde Ebsen). But, spying Star on the streets, a truant officer insists that Cap put Star in school. Very nervous about this venture, as Star doesn't have any dresses and, more importantly, he considers Star his family and doesn't want it ripped apart, the two move forward. Cap borrows money from a friend to buy Star a lovely dress and the little girl does so well on the entrance exam, she is put in first grade immediately! More trouble arrives. The lighthouse is being replaced by one that doesn't need a keeper and Cap will be out of a job. As his employment is uncertain, Star may indeed be placed in a foster home. But, what about the documents found with Star during the shipwreck? Could they provide information about any relatives Star might still have in the world? Don't fret, happy endings are what our Shirley does best! This beautiful film is a delight in every way. The cast is terrific, with Kibbee, Summerville, Ebsen and the rest supporting the most darling child star ever. Just watch Temple and the young Ebsen dance to the wonderful At the Codfish Ball. The coastal scenery is also nice while the story has plenty of humor and drama to provide captivating entertainment. Be it January, February, March or any other month, get Captain January and know you will be watching one of Shirley's best films ever.

Franklin McAlister III I like this movie because of how it has such a great happy ending. With the way that mean Truant officer wants to take little Shirley away from the people she has loved and known all her life it starts to look sad for her. Then when one of the men finds out she has an Aunt and Uncle still alive and they come and claim her before that mean truant officer can take her away things start looking good. Then when she is sitting in her room at her Aunt and Uncle's house she is just sitting there staring at the wooden doll that Captain Jaunary made for her. Then her Aunt and Uncle realize they need to do something to cheer her up. Then when they take her to a boat they have purchased and start showing her around she says that she likes it but then she is in for the big surprise. When her Aunt and Uncle call out for the Captain of the boat right there is her old friend Captain January and she is so happy to see him again. Then all of her other friends pop out as the crew! Right there is one of the only movies that the ending is so happy that every time I see it or think about it my eyes bust into tears of joy for that little girl.

tmpj Actually, Captain January is one of my favorite Temple flix because of the music. For many years, it was out of circulation, not shown on the tube, and not available on video. I finally got to tape it on AMC several years ago, and it's still fum to watch. The score is especially warm and interesting. It's supposed to be written by Louis Silvers, but it was fine writing by whomever the arranger/ orchestrator was. Not my FAVORITE Temple flick, 'cause she did several that are better than this in terms of substance. The main attractions are the music, her dance episodes with a young Buddy Ebsen ( was there ever such a thing?), and the mushy relationship with the Cap'n. And the whole family can get in on the act !!