Young People (1940)

Shirley's last film on her 20th Century Fox contract (aged 12). Her parents (Oakie Greenwood) decide to retire from show biz so she can have a normal life. They are unwelcome in the small town until a storm lets the family show their stuff. Clips from earlier films fill in Shirley's background.System Requirements:Running Time: 78 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CLASSICS Rating: G UPC: 024543514411 Manufacturer No: 2251441 Product Description

SHIRLEY PULLS A BRITNEY...

This is one of the first movies I have seen where Shirley is this old.
Like in her other movies she tries to make jokes and giggle and she could get away with sitting on older mens laps and holding their hand..in this movie it just does not seem to work.
After her family quits vaudeville they move to a small dumpy town.
Shirley decides to be in the town talent show and gets the other kids involved..the act she decided to perform seems to have come straight from Britney's book.. Complete with provocative dance moves Shirley goes on about how "all you people look at me like I'm a little girl" and how she is all grown up and is looking for fun and a boyfriend etc.

Not my favorite Shirley movie but it is interesting.. August 4, 2008

Awkward Transition for Temple; few extras on DVD

Fox continues to release the Temple films without any real extras; this one appears to be no exception. According to the Fox press release, this film underwent a restoration. The video is pleasing enough as well as the audio. As a departure from the other releases in this series, there is NO colorized version to choose from here. For film buffs, this is a plus!

"Young People" (1940) Story: Wendy (Temple, in her final film at Fox) is adopted as an infant by the husband and wife vaudeville team of Joe and Kit Ballantine (Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood), she grows into childhood as a vital part of their act. As she approaches school age, the couple feels that life on the road is not the best thing for Wendy and decide to settle down on a farm in Vermont. However, the locals openly express their doubts about the morality of show business people. A few pleasing tunes ("On Fifth Avenue" and "Tra La La La") and some solid performances, but it comes off as an enjoyable B-Movie version of the Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney backyard musicals...WITHOUT a Mickey. Shirley shows the awkwardness of a teen; her acting and dance routines do not look natural; they seem very mannered and over-rehearsed. With a higher quality director and better script, Shirley could have had a more successful transition into the teen years (as witnessed by her later films during the Selznick years). Greenwood is great in this film, but Oakie comes off as an oaf. His dancing in the finale ("Tra La La") is plain horrible; instead of dancing, he looks like he is fighting off a bad case of gas. Original black and white film in its original theatrical aspect ratio with English Stereo and English and Spanish Mono and includes English, French and Spanish subtitles and a theatrical trailer that really would have benefitted from a little digital stabilization. 78 minutes.

If you're looking for a value, this film is also sold with "Stowaway" and "Wee Willie Winkie" as Volume 6 in Fox's Shirley Temple series. April 26, 2008

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