Bright Eyes (1934)

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

David Butler (story) and
Edwin J. Burke (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 December 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Plot:

An orphaned girl is taken in by a snobbish family at the insistence of their rich, crotchety uncle, even as her devoted aviator godfather fights for custody.

Plot Keywords:

Orphan | Policeman | Bratty Little Girl | Uncle | Bratty Child

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Shirley Blake
James Dunn	...	James 'Loop' Merritt
Jane Darwell	...	Mrs. Elizabeth Higgins
Judith Allen	...	Adele Martin
Lois Wilson	...	Mary Blake
Charles Sellon	...	Uncle Ned Smith
Walter Johnson	...	Thomas, Chauffeur
Jane Withers	...	Joy Smythe
Theodore von Eltz	...	J. Wellington Smythe (as Theodor von Eltz)
Dorothy Christy	...	Anita Smythe
Brandon Hurst	...	Higgins
George Irving	...	Judge Thompson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wade Boteler	...	Detective (uncredited)
Robert Burgess	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Crilly Butler	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Russ Clark	...	Aviator (uncredited)
Fred Crawford	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Robert Dalton	...	Aviator (uncredited)
David Field	...	Aviator (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Aviator in Raincoat (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Bob, Pilot (uncredited)
Earle Foxe	...	Bond Man (uncredited)
Sam Hayes	...	Radio News Broadcaster (voice) (uncredited)
Rodney Hildebrand	...	Driver - death car (uncredited)
Sunny Ingraham	...	Airplane Passenger (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Ned's Attorney (uncredited)
Gardner James	...	Glendale Airport Radio Operator (uncredited)
Sam Labrador	...	Tony, the Houseboy (uncredited)
Phil Marshall	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
John McGuire	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Harry McKee	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Paul McVey	...	Attorney (uncredited)
Frank Moran	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Lawyer (uncredited)
Thomas Murray	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Dave O'Brien	...	Bill aka Tex, Aviator (uncredited)
Steve Pendleton	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Peter Potter	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Ad Schaumer	...	Driver (uncredited)
Paul Schwegler	...	Aviator and Mechanic (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Terry	...	Rags, Loop's Dog (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	...	Photo of Shirley's Deceased Father, Mr. Blake (uncredited)

Directed by
David Butler

Writing credits
David Butler		(story) and
Edwin J. Burke		(story)
William M. Conselman		(writer)
Henry Johnson		(special sequence) uncredited

Produced by
Sol M. Wurtzel	....	producer

Cinematography by
Arthur C. Miller		(as Arthur Miller)

Art Direction by
Duncan Cramer
Albert Hogsett

Costume Design by
Royer		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ad Schaumer	....	assistant director

Sound Department
S.C. Chapman	....	sound

Stunts
Opal Ernie	....	stunts (uncredited)
Duke Green	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bruce Randall	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Samuel Kaylin	....	musical director
David Buttolph	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)

Other crew
Bob Blair	....	aeronautics advisor
Sammy Lee	....	dance director
Marilyn Granas	....	stand-in: Shirley Temple (uncredited)
Carl Spitz	....	dog owner and trainer: "Terry" (uncredited)
Garland Weaver	....	stand-in: James Dunn (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Fox Film Corporation (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Teakwood Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:PG (re-release)

Filming Locations:

Glendale Grand Central Air Terminal - Grandview Avenue, Glendale, California, USA

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Shirley Temple was presented with the first Academy Award ever given to a child for her role as Shirley Blake. She was then the youngest person to ever be listed in Who's Who, and was also the youngest person to ever be spotlighted on the cover of TIME Magazine.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Shirley is out with Joy giving their dolls buggy rides and Joy wants to operate on Shirley's doll, Shirley says she doesn't want Mary Lou to be operated on. But the doll she actually has is not the small one she named Mary Lou, it's the larger one named Lupee given to her by the aviators.

Quotes:

Uncle Ned Smith: You're that aviator, aren't you? Well, I don't like airplanes.
James 'Loop' Merritt: Well, I don't like wheelchairs.
Uncle Ned Smith: You stay in those airplanes long enough, and you'll end up in one! What's he doing here?
J. Wellington Smythe: You see, Uncle Ned, he thinks it would be a good idea for Shirley to go and live with him.
Uncle Ned Smith: What? He wants to take Shirley away? Are you married?
James 'Loop' Merritt: No, I'm not.
Uncle Ned Smith: How much do you make?
James 'Loop' Merritt: Enough to support myself.
Uncle Ned Smith: Where do you live?
James 'Loop' Merritt: At the airport.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Arsenal of Freedom (#1.20)" (1988)

Soundtrack:

The Man on the Flying Trapeze

The Custody of Shirley

BRIGHT EYES (Fox, 1934), directed by David Butler, stars child actress Shirley Temple in the last of her many 1934 movie releases, and the first to be categorized as a formula "Shirley Temple film," though her earlier LITTLE MISS MARKER over at Paramount comes close to that format. Whether playing an orphan or a child with a living parent, in BRIGHT EYES, Shirley has a mother whose aviator father "cracked up" some time ago. She is loved and admired by everyone except her mother's employers. This also marks a rare case in which Shirley is pitted against another little girl, a complete opposite to her angelic character, as well as the introduction to Temple's signature song, "On the Good Ship Lollipop" by Richard Whiting and Sidney Clare, singing it to the fellow aviators on an airplane as it taxis on the runway, and her catch phrase of "Oh, my goodness!"

The story, set during the Christmas season in California, revolves around Shirley Blake (Shirley Temple), a charming 5-year-old living in a mansion with her widowed mother, Mary (Lois Wilson), employed as a maid for the snobbish and selfish Smythe family: Anita (Dorothy Christy), J. Wellington (Theodore Von Eltz) and their unruly daughter, Joy (Jane Withers). Also under their wing is the cranky Uncle Ned Smith (Charles Sellon), a wheel-chair bound old man, and Mr. and Mrs. Higgins (Brandon Hurst and Jane Darwell), a middle-aged couple working as butler and cook, who all have a soft spot for little Shirley. One of Shirley's greatest pleasures is heading over to the American Airlines Airport where she spends time with her godfather, James "Loop" Merrill (James Dunn), a pilot whose best friend was Shirley's deceased father. When Shirley's mother is struck by a passing vehicle on her way to attend her a Christmas party at the airport, the child, now an orphan, becomes a charity case for the Smyths, who in reality take her in and her dog, Rags, too, only to please their Uncle Ned. Because Loop is a bachelor, he's unable to take in Shirley. He even refuses the help of Adele Martin (Judith Allen), a society girl staying with her cousin Anita's home for Christmas, because he refuses to forgive her for jilting him at the altar years ago. When it's learned that Uncle Ned intends on adopting "Bright Eyes," this not only finds the Smythe family in fear of losing their inheritance after he dies, but Loop to risk his life flying his airplane in uncertain weather to obtain enough money for an attorney to fight for the custody of Shirley against the old man in court.

BRIGHT EYES is one of the few Temple movies where she's nearly overshadowed by her co-stars, namely Charles Sellon and Jane Withers. Sellon's performance predates that of Lionel Barrymore years before cranky old men in wheelchairs became fashionable. Aside from coming down the stairs in his wheelchair, Sellon's Uncle Ned has some truly funny lines as well as a great moral message about selfishness and love. Withers, in the first important screen role, plays a spoiled brat to perfection. She not only has tantrums, rips apart dolls, and wanting to play train wreck with Shirley, but is the only little girl in history to want a wheelchair as a Christmas present. Fortunately her unlikable performance didn't put an end to her career. In fact, it started a whole new cycle of Jane Withers movies. While Temple remains the most famous child star in history, Withers, whose career at 20th-Fox lasted longer than Temple's, is virtually forgotten, and due to her only association with Temple, BRIGHT EYES would become the only Withers film from the 1930s in circulation today.

Great moments of BRIGHT EYES include Shirley's mother telling her a Christmas story with chorus singing "Silent Night" in the background, and a tender loving scene where Dunn's character, in a choked-up manner, having to tell Shirley that her mother has gone to Heaven. Shirley's response, "You mean, my mother cracked up, too?" This alone is classic Temple, with Dunn constantly asking her throughout the story, "How much do you love me?" He even gives her his "magic ring" to send to him whenever she's in trouble. All this sounds corny in print, but actually plays better on the screen.

Formerly available on video cassette and currently on DVD either in black and white and colorized process, BRIGHT EYES has played on numerous cable TV stations throughout the years: The Disney Channel (1980s), American Movie Classics (1996-2001),Turner Classic Movies (2002-03) and even The Fox Movie Channel. In spite of its age, BRIGHT EYES is sure to delight adults, children and optometrists alike. Be sure not to miss the good ship lollipop. (***1/2)