Search - Shirley Temple: Smiles and Curls Collection on DVD

Off-Temple

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 08/17/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In mid-2009, MILL CREEK's SHIRLEY TEMPLE: SMILES AND CURLS COLLECTION was doubled in size and issued with the same artwork as SHIRLEY TEMPLE & FRIENDS. The "14 Features" claim on this product's cover is incorrect. The set consists of 3 features and 11 shorts. 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"