The Little Princess (1939)

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

Frances Hodgson Burnett (novel)
Ethel Hill (writer) ...

Release Date:

10 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical

Plot:

A little girl is left by her father in an exclusive seminary for girls, due to her father having to go to Africa with the army.

Plot Keywords:

Family Member | Scullery Maid | Child's Point Of View | Melodrama | Girls' Boarding School

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Sara Crewe
Richard Greene	...	Geoffrey Hamilton
Anita Louise	...	Rose Hamilton
Ian Hunter	...	Captain Reginald Crewe
Cesar Romero	...	Ram Dass, Lord Wickham's Indian Servant
Arthur Treacher	...	Hubert 'Bertie' Minchin
Mary Nash	...	Amanda Minchin of Minchin Seminary for Girls
Sybil Jason	...	Becky, Servant at Minchin Seminary
Miles Mander	...	Lord Wickham
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Lavinia
Beryl Mercer	...	Queen Victoria
Deidre Gale	...	Jessie
Ira Stevens	...	Ermengarde
E.E. Clive	...	Mr. Barrows
Eily Malyon	...	Mrs. O'Connell the Cook

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | USA:G

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The full name of the book this movie is based on is "A Little Princess, Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Here Told For the First Time" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sara Crewe: Why are they sending so many soldiers, daddy, if it's only going to be a little war?
Captain Reginald Crewe: To make those stubborn Boers take us seriously this time, my darling. When they realize Her Majesty intends to put a stop to their nonsense, they'll quiet down.
Sara Crewe: They'd better. Anyhow, when you get there, you'll stop them. Won't you, daddy?
Captain Reginald Crewe: I'll do my best, dear.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004)

Soundtrack:

Cherry Ripe

Fair-To-Midlin' Temple Movie

I wouldn't rank this in the top half of all the Shirley Temple movies of the 1930s. It's not the worst but it's far from her best, BUT it's definitely better than the insufferably-politically correct 1995 remake.

"Amanda Mirchin" as the owner of a school, is the villain in here and Mary Nash did her acting job well because you hate this woman as the film goes on. Temple, as "Sara Crewe," overacted a bit with the fake teary scenes. She was never too realistic with those parts of a movie, but convincing in every other way.

Also, I prefer Temple's more light-hearted films, of which is not one, although Arthur Treacher was a good guy and fun to watch. He does two song-and-dance numbers with Shirley that help bring some brightness to the story.