Hellen
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
SanDiegoMovieViewer
I enjoyed this movie. Actually, the part I liked least was Shirley Temple's acting. It seemed to consist mostly of tilting her cute little head one way, and looking coyly upwards the opposite way. Mild Spoiler: but, she pretty much made up for it in the scene where she finds her father - I got kind of teary-eyed. I thought Sybil Jason, who played Becky, the servant girl, was much more natural and believable - unlike Shirley, she didn't look like she was acting. Why does IMDb insist on ten lines of text? I said everything I wanted to say. That's one reason I enjoy short stories - unlike novels, they don't have to pad the story with unnecessary stuff to reach some arbitrary word count.
TheLittleSongbird
For a more faithful adaptation, look for the 1986/7 version. However, if you are the kind of person who tries to judge movie adaptations on their own merits and likes their movies to be beautiful and with emotional impact, the 1995 Alfonso Cuaron film and this will have you satisfied. The costumes and sets are very elegant, and the gorgeous Technicolour and cinematography help. The music is both sensitive and catchy, and the choreography is suitably nifty. The script is mostly engaging, the film is beautifully directed by Walter Lang(who I remember best for the 1956 musical The King and I) and while darker in tone(I did miss some of the fascinating imagination aspects from the book admittedly) the story is still charming, with a fun song and dance interlude with Shirley Temple and Arthur Treacher and the ending is very moving. I have not seen enough of Shirley Temple's films to judge whether The Little Princess is among her best or worst, but while a couple of the more emotional moments were a little forced her adorable appearance and charm makes for a delightful Sara overall. Sybil Jason is a sweet Becky also, although I find the chemistry between Becky and Sara more believable in Cuaron's film and in the book. Mary Nash's Miss Minchin is suitably nasty, while a young Cesar Romero is handsome and quietly composed as Ram Das, Ian Hunter in what he has is a loving father figure and as Bertie Arthur Treacher(whose scenes with Temple are among the best of the film) has an easy-going charm. Beryl Mercer is appropriately dignified in her cameo as Queen Victoria. All in all, a lovely film. 8/10 Bethany Cox
bkoganbing
The Little Princess finds Shirley Temple put in an exclusive boarding school by her father Ian Hunter who is a soldier and about to be posted to the Boer War. He's also a person of some substance and the schoolmistress Mary Nash is just glad to have her seeing all those pound note signs in front of her eyes. However when Hunter is reported killed at Mafeking, Nash has not a whit of sympathy for her. She takes Shirley out of her really nice room and puts her to living in a small attic room with another girl, Sybil Jason in a similar financial predicament. Why doesn't she just throw her out altogether you may ask? Simply because it wouldn't do the school's reputation any good to throw out the child of a war hero and Nash is all about a respectable image. The woman is a true Grinch.But as it is in Shirley Temple's world, the good grownups way outnumber the bad ones and they include young lovers Richard Greene and Anita Louise, Nash's brother Arthur Treacher who is an old music hall performer though Nash doesn't like that getting out, not respectable you know. Miles Mander who is Greene's crusty, but deep down kindly grandfather and his Indian servant Cesar Romero. And finally she gets help from none other than Queen Victoria herself in the person of Beryl Mercer in setting things right.Treacher was a great deal looser in his performance than he normally is in those butler roles. As for Romero this is the second time he played an Indian in a Shirley Temple picture, the first being Wee Willie Winkie where he also befriends Shirley.But you really got to hand the film to Nash who is such a mean old thing with her exaggerated ideas about propriety and etiquette as long as you can pay for it.The Little Princess holds up very well and is still fine family entertainment for a young audience.
wes-connors
When her widower father is called to military service, cutely-curled Shirley Temple (as Sara Crewe), her pony, and her doll "Emily" are deposited at an expensive boarding school. The other girls call Ms. Temple "The Little Princess" due to her daddy's extensive wealth. Then, sad news arrives - Temple's father is reported dead; moreover, he's left her penniless. Go figure. As Temple can no longer pay her tuition, wicked headmistress Mary Nash (as Amanda Minchin) puts the golden-locked lass to work as an attic-dwelling house slave. Next, Temple startles ruffian friend Sybil Jason (as Becky) and others by insisting that her father is still alive.Darryl F. Zanuck's Twentieth Century Fox went all-out for their little money-maker with this one. And, as it turned out, the effort was made in the nick of time. After four years as American exhibitors' #1 box office star, 1939 found Temple slipping. There are times, in this film, where she seems overwhelmed, awkward, or self-conscious. All kids are natural actors, but with adolescence, you need to re-learn acting; due to super-stardom, this began earlier for Temple. Still, she retains enough of that cuteness and charm, herein, to make it work. The Fox regulars, Technicolor, and material (bastardized Frances Hodgson Burnett) are top-notch.****** The Little Princess (3/10/39) Walter Lang ~ Shirley Temple, Mary Nash, Arthur Treacher, Cesar Romero
