Little Miss Broadway
Encyclopedia
Little Miss Broadway is a 1938
American musical film
directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay was written by Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen
. The film stars Shirley Temple
in a story about a theatrical boarding house and its occupants, and was originally titled Little Lady of Broadway. In 2009, the film was available on DVD and videocassette.
(music) and Walter Bullock (lyrics). All were performed by Temple.
Other songs appearing in the movie include:
wrote, "The devastating Mistress Temple is slightly less devastating than usual [...] it can't be old age, but it does look like weariness [...] although she performs with her customary gaiety and dimpled charm, there is no mistaking the effort every dimple cost her."
TV Guide
called it "a delightful Shirley Temple vehicle in which she again does what she does best – portray a singing, dancing, pouting orphan girl."
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
American musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay was written by Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen
Jack Yellen
Jack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school...
. The film stars Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
in a story about a theatrical boarding house and its occupants, and was originally titled Little Lady of Broadway. In 2009, the film was available on DVD and videocassette.
Plot
Betsy Brown is released from an orphanage into the care of Pop Shea, her parents' friend who runs a boarding house for theatrical performers. Sarah Wendling, the curmudgeon owner and next-door neighbor of the building, detests "show people" and their noise, and demands Pop pay the $2,500 back rent he owes or move out immediately. Her nephew Roger is in love with Pop's daughter Barbara and files suit against Sarah in order to gain control of the building and his inheritance, with which he plans to stage a show starring the hotel residents. Sarah questions the soundness of Roger's investment in the show, and Betsy convinces the judge to see the production before he decides the case. With the assistance of her friends, the little girl presents a lavish musical revue in the courtroom that so impresses one of the observers he offers the troupe $2,500 a week to star in his International Follies. Having had a change of heart, Sarah insists the show is worth $5,000 and convinces the impresario to double his offer. Roger and Barbara then announce their intent to wed and adopt Betsy.Cast
- Shirley TempleShirley TempleShirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
as Betsy Brown, an orphan - Edward EllisEdward Ellis (actor)Edward Mayne Ellis was an American film actor. He is best known for playing the title role in The Thin Man, as well as in A Man to Remember.-Early life:...
as Pop Shea, Betsy's parents' friend - Edna May OliverEdna May OliverEdna May Oliver was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters.-Early life:...
as Sarah Wendling - Donald MeekDonald MeekDonald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
as Willoughby Wendling, her brother - George MurphyGeorge MurphyGeorge Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
as Roger, Sarah's nephew, Betsy's adoptive father - Phyllis BrooksPhyllis BrooksPhyllis Brooks was an American actress and model. Brooks was born Phyllis Seiler in Boise, Idaho on July 18, 1915. She began her career in films at age 20, and had been known as the "Ipana Toothpaste Girl" due to her work as a model...
as Barbara, Roger's sweetheart, Betsy's adoptive mother - Jimmy DuranteJimmy DuranteJames Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
as Jimmy Clayton, a bandleader - Jane Darwell as Miss Hutchins
- Patricia WilderPatricia WilderPatricia 'Honeychile' Wilder was an American film actress of the late 1930s.Born in Macon, Georgia, Wilder had made her way to Hollywood via New York City by the mid-1930s to pursue a career in acting. She had first worked as a showgirl for Bob Hope while in New York City, in the Palace Theater...
as Flossie - George BarbierGeorge Barbier (actor)-Career:Barbier entered Crozier Seminary to study for ministry but gave it up to go on the stage, beginning in light opera. Spent several years in repertory and stock companies and eventually appeared on Broadway...
as Fiske - Barbra Bell Cross as Carol, an orphan
- El BrendelEl BrendelEl Brendel was a vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect schtick as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical Just Imagine , produced by Fox Film Corporation...
as Ole, an animal trainer
Music
Six songs were written by Harold SpinaHarold Spina
Harold Spina was an American composer of popular songs. His best-known work happened in the early 1930s, when he collaborated with lyricists Johnny Burke and Joe Young on songs such as "Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "You're Not the Only Oyster in the Stew", "My Very Good Friend the Milkman" ,...
(music) and Walter Bullock (lyrics). All were performed by Temple.
- "Little Miss Broadway"
- "Be Optimistic"
- "How Can I Thank You?"
- "We Should Be Together"
- "If All the World Were Paper"
- "Swing Me an Old Fashioned Song"
Other songs appearing in the movie include:
- "When You Were Sweet SixteenWhen You Were Sweet Sixteen"When You Were Sweet Sixteen" is a popular song. It was written by James Thornton. The song was published in 1898. Its chorus:- Early recordings :*George J. Gaskin *Jere Mahoney *Henry Macdonough *J. W. Myers *Al Jolson...
"
Critical reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote, "The devastating Mistress Temple is slightly less devastating than usual [...] it can't be old age, but it does look like weariness [...] although she performs with her customary gaiety and dimpled charm, there is no mistaking the effort every dimple cost her."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
called it "a delightful Shirley Temple vehicle in which she again does what she does best – portray a singing, dancing, pouting orphan girl."