WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

kidboots "Our Little Girl" was what the movie going public of the mid 1930s thought of Shirley Temple, but it didn't have quite the success of her earlier films. She wasn't required to burst into song and dance everyone's troubles away, she was needed to be a Little Miss Fixit but only as a little girl caught up in the affairs of wayward adults (Nova Pilbeam was far more convincing in "Little Friend"). This must be one of her only films that give her both a father and a mother, with nothing dire happening to either one of them along the way.Donald Middleton (Joel McCrea) is a small town doctor who let domesticity get in the way of his dreams but he is more than making up for it with countless important "experiments" taking him away from Elsa (Rosemary Ames) and little Molly. Trouble is brewing early on when Don almost misses "May Saturday", a picnic at idyllic "Heaven's Gate" where Don and Elsa first met and it is there that they meet new neighbour Ralfe Brent (Lyle Talbot). Donald, being as obtuse as he is, keeps throwing Elsa and Ralfe together, even though Ralfe comments "I wouldn't like to leave my wife with me" etc and Nurse Boynton (Erin O'Brien Moore) is only too eager to console Don.Of course Shirley Temple is the star so there are lots of cute scenes of Shirley testing a cake, playing with Sniff, patting little foals and enjoying the park. But strangely enough no singing except for a pretty mournful lullaby to her doll. By the time "September Saturday" comes around the parents are headed for the divorce court and daddy ends up taking Molly to the circus but, as usual, is called away to the hospital and in the confusion Molly decides to take Sniff for their own "Heaven's Gate" picnic. Along the way she meets a philosophical tramp (J. Farrell MacDonald) who ends up giving Don a lecture on what is important in life!!Joel McCrea was between contracts in 1935 hence his appearance in "Our Little Girl" (apparently Shirley developed a big crush on him) but he was seen to better advantage as yet another overworked doctor in "Private Worlds". Rosemary Ames was promoted as Fox's big new star in "I Believed in You" (1934) but it was a disaster and Fox believed no more in Rosemary.

ccthemovieman-1 Shirley Temple was in a few - not many - movies that just were not appealing. In most of her films, she overcomes a bad start in life (orphanages, etc.) or overcomes an evil, nasty person (usually Edna Mae Oliver or someone similar) but is seen happy most of the time and singing and dancing here and there. It's when the negative elements of the story are overemphasized (i.e. Blue Bird, Baby Take A Bow) that her films often lose appeal. That's the case in this movie."Our Little Girl" is simply too depressing, a negative storyline in which Shirley's parents are ready for a divorce. Her mother has an affair with a friend and the father is away all the time on business, ignoring the family.When Temple ("Molly Middleton") is happy or cute, she's too cute in here, her sugary personality overdone. Meanhwhile, there is only one song and no dance numbers. People buy or rent Shirley Temple movies to feel good, not to get depressed or weighed down with broken-family soaps. There are plenty of other movies like that.

Ron Oliver OUR LITTLE GIRL struggles valiantly to understand why her loving parents can no longer love each other.Little Shirley Temple, Hollywood's greatest star at the time, enlivens what might without her have been just another soap opera. With smiles & tears, she beguiles the audience into completely identifying with her joys & tribulations. Even in a minor picture such as this, her abundant charm & talent still bare testimony to her utterly unassailable niche in American film history.As her parents - and it's rare for Shirley to have both throughout an entire film - Rosemary Ames & Joel McCrea both nicely underplay their roles, providing strong assistance to Shirley but without overshadowing her, as is proper. McCrea's medical researches & Miss Ames' horseback riding are mere contrivances used to move the plot along - they are never allowed to eclipse the Tiny Tot.Lyle Talbot & Erin O'Brien-Moore deftly play the significant others in the lives of Shirley's parents; thankfully, each is presented gently, leaving the story without any unnecessary abrasion. Wonderful character actor J. Farrell MacDonald sparks the end of the film with his sympathetic portrayal of a wise, friendly tramp.

Michael-110 Unusual for its time, "Our Little Girl" is about the disintegration of a marriage as seen through the eyes of a little girl. Dad's a busy and preoccupied doctor and medical researcher who is oblivious to his family and his adoring nurse. Mom's bored and lonely at home and Dad won't hear of her coming back to work in the office. Rolfe, a rich horsey neighbor, takes her riding and you know the rest. What's interesting, however, is how the breakup of the marriage impacts the life of the little girl. She is baffled and disoriented and she blames herself for destroying her parents' happiness. She can't warm up to Rolfe who tries unsuccessfully to buy her friendship. Ultimately, she runs away from home. Things are whitewashed by an implausible feel-good happy ending but up to that point the treatment of the catastrophic effects of divorce on a small child is done very well. Shirley, of course, is adorable as always.