''Little Miss Broadway'' is a 1938 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay was written by Harry Tugend and

Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen (Jacek Jeleń; July 6, 1892 – April 17, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the lyrics to the songs " Happy Days Are Here Again", which was used by Franklin Roosevelt as the th ...

. The film stars

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

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's 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

as Betsy Brown, an orphan * Edward Ellis as Pop Shea, Betsy's parents' friend *

Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...

as Sarah Wendling *

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't ...

as Willoughby Wendling, Sarah’s brother *

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

as Roger, Sarah's nephew, Betsy's adoptive father *

Phyllis Brooks Phyllis Brooks (July 18, 1915 – August 1, 1995) was an American actress and model. She was born in Boise, Idaho. Some sources have also inaccurately cited 1914 as her year of birth, but 1915 is the correct year according to Social Security r ...

as Barbara, Pop's daughter, Betsy's adoptive mother *

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

as Jimmy Clayton, a bandleader * Jane Darwell as Miss Hutchins *

Patricia Wilder Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word '' patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United Stat ...

as Flossie *

Robert Gleckler Robert Gleckler (January 11, 1887 – February 25, 1939) was an American film and stage actor who appeared in nearly 60 movies between 1927 until his death in 1939. He was cast for the role of Jonas Wilkerson, overseer of the slaves at Tara in ...

as Detective * George Barbier as Fiske * Barbra Bell Cross as Carol, an orphan *

El Brendel Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel (March 25, 1890 – April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical ' ...

as Ole, an animal trainer * George Brasno as George * Olive Brasno as Olive

Production

Murphy, who was not satisfied with the dance routine in "We Should Be Together," insisted that movie's closing dance number be reworked. Despite Temple's mother's concerns, Temple was on board with it. The dance number proved so popular with the cast and crew that Murphy and Temple gave an encore performance after the cameras stopped rolling.

Music

Six songs were written by

Harold Spina Harold Spina (21 June 1906 – 18 July 1997) 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 Her ...

(music) and

Walter Bullock Walter Bullock (May 6, 1907, Shelburn, Indiana – August 19, 1953, Los Angeles, California) was an American song lyricist and screenwriter. He recorded with his brother, James Russell Lowell Bullock. On April 22, 1930, they released a record on ...

(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 Sixteen "When You Were Sweet Sixteen" is a popular song, written by James Thornton and published in 1898. Inspired and sung by the composer's wife, the ballad quickly became a hit song in vaudeville. It has a long recording history that includes numerous ...

Release

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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 is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' called it "a delightful Shirley Temple vehicle in which she again does what she does best – portray a singing, dancing, pouting orphan girl."

Home media

The film has been released on videocassette and DVD. Some editions have special features and theatrical trailers.

References

{{Darryl F. Zanuck 1938 films American black-and-white films Films about orphans Films directed by Irving Cummings 20th Century Fox films Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck American musical drama films 1930s musical drama films 1938 drama films 1930s American films