Search - Shirley Temple & Friends on DVD

Richard L. (Dickie-Doo) from FERNANDINA, FL
Reviewed on 7/30/2009...

This dvd includes some really good full length films with other young actresses and short films , a lot with the Our Gang kids which go back to the 1930's. One full length film is in color ,the rest in black and white. A good dvd for someone interested in nostalgia or for someone who is curious about the Shirley Temple era of films.

3 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Marleen M. from WHEELING, WV
Reviewed on 6/6/2009...

If you enjoy shirley temple = this is brand new, still in wrap.

3 of 9 member(s) found this review helpful.

Shirley it could be better

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 07/06/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Each of the four single-side recorded discs that comprise MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT's SHIRLEY TEMPLE & FRIENDS comes stored in a black paper envelope that has a back closing flap and large glassine window in front (for convenient viewing). There's no literature included in the sturdy snapcase plastic box. Program contents are listed on its back cover.

Here, a potentially interesting collection is badly hampered by a great deal of flawed source material.

DISC ONE--
Audio on THE LITTLE PRINCESS is top shelf, but colors are washed out. A small border appears around the image, thus the entire picture is visible
LAW OF VENGEANCE starts at low volume, but that improves within a minute. Film stock used is quite degraded with many break splices. Evidence here of a dub from VHS
In RED-HAIRED ALIBI, Shirley is last-billed. Lots of film breaks here, but sound is clearer


DISC TWO--
Seven of these eleven shorts run under 10 minutes
#1 DORA'S DUNKIN' DOUGHNUTS - Multi-generational blurry dub with muffled sound that's slightly out of sync
#2 GLAD RAGS TO RICHES - Re-release with new title card and flown-in intro music
#3 KID 'N' AFRICA - Another murky dub in every respect
#4 KID 'N' HOLLYWOOD - Sounds OK but looks awful-- blurry, unsharp, edits
#5 MANAGED MONEY - The same as #4
#6 MERRILY YOURS - Far better condition here-- the best of the disc
#7 PARDON MY PUPS - Back to blurry, multi-generational dub
#8 THE PIE COVERED WAGON - Original titles. Too much contrast here
#9 POLLY TIX IN WASHINGTON - OK sound, poor video. Really blurry!
#10 WAR BABIES- Dark and unsharp image with muffled sound
#11 BIGGEST LIL STAR OF THE '30S - Newsreel snippets look decent but are heavily filtered


DISC THREE--
Good sound and decent video on NANCY DREW, REPORTER
The short, WHAT'S TO DO? looks out-of-focus and sounds tinny
BEAR SHOOTERS and OUR GANG FOLLIES OF 1938 have 60 hz hum under the audio track
WALDO'S LAST STAND is of average quality

DISC FOUR--
A BOY, A GIRL AND A DOG - Decent transfer
THE GREEN PROMISE - Watchable, sounds a bit distorted
MICKEY - Bleached-out Cinecolor looks almost b&w. Lots of edit repairs early on
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET - Hour-length TV show from the '50s looks and sounds OK"

Half Temple and Half "Friends"

Susan Z. Swan | Dubai, UAE | 06/27/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This set of 4 DVDs is a fair enough buy if you can get it on sale for 4 or 5 dollars; it is NOT a good value at $14.99. It is a pleasant enough collection -- and no worse in quality than what would have been shown on TV 40 years ago. It is not, however, all Shirley Temple, nor is the Shirley Temple presented the best of Shirley Temple. It seems to be whatever could be scrabbled up in the public domain. And, not all of the information given on the list of films is accurate. It does have the advantage of being region free, which is a benefit for those of us who, contrary to the notions of companies releasing DVDs, live in a world larger than one region.

Disc 1 has 3 features: "The Little Princess," 1939 (one of Temple's gems); "Law of Vengeance," 1933 (aka "To the Last Man"), with Temple in a tiny part; and "The Red-Haired Alibi," 1932 (with Temple in a small but interesting role).

Disc 2 has 11 short films. Thankfully, it includes "Dora's Dunkin' Doughnuts," 1933, which is a charmer. Most the rest are pretty wretched, with the Baby Burlesques even a bit disturbing with tots in over-sized diapers playing adult roles.

Disc 3 has 4 shorts and 1 feature. Temple appears in only one of these films, the short "What's to Do." Our Gang appears in the other 3 shorts though, which is a treat. The feature included is a 1939 "Nancy Drew, Reporter", with a likable, lively Bonita Granville as Nancy.

Disc 4 has 4 feature films, none of which include Temple. Fortunately, they are actually worth watching. "A Boy, a Girl and a Dog", 1946 is cute as it can be. "The Green Promise", 1949, has a precocious young Natalie Wood paired with the crusty Walter Brennan. "Mickey", is a surprisingly watchable coming-of-age tale of tomboy, Mickey Kelly (the beautifully voiced Lois Butler), as she tries to match make for her widowed father (with Bill Goodwin, Irene Hervey, and the incomparable Hattie McDaniel). The final feature, "Miracle on 34th Street" is not THE 1947 version, but rather a 1955 made-for-TV version. It is still well worth a watch with Sandy Descher as the little girl whose belief in Santa changes lives, Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, and a marvelous Thomas Mitchell as Kris Kringle."