Stowaway(1936 film)
Stowaway | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | William A. Seiter |
Screenplay by | William M. Conselman Nat Perrin Arthur Sheekman |
Story by | Samuel G. Engel |
Produced by | Buddy G. DeSylva |
Starring | Shirley Temple Robert Young Alice Faye |
Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
Edited by | Lloyd Nosler |
Music by | Harry Revel Mack Gordon |
Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $500,000[1] |
Box office | $1 million[2] |
Stowawayis a 1936 Americanmusicaldrama filmdirected byWilliam A. Seiter.The screenplay byWilliam M. Conselman,Nat Perrin,andArthur Sheekmanis based on a story bySamuel G. Engel.The film is about a young orphan called "Ching Ching" (Shirley Temple) who meets wealthy playboy Tommy Randall (Robert Young) in Shanghai and then accidentally stows away on the ocean liner he is travelling on. The film was hugely successful,[3]and is available on videocassette and DVD.
Plot
[edit]American orphan Barbara "Ching-Ching" Stewart lives in Sanchow,Chinawith hermissionaryguardians. When bandits threaten the village, she is sent toShanghaifor safety. Accidentally separated from her guide, Ching-Ching finds herself alone in Shanghai with her dog, Mr. Wu. She meets Tommy Randall, a rich American playboy traveling about the world byocean liner.Tommy leaves Ching-Ching in his convertible car while he goes into a hotel to see several friends. When Tommy returns, it appears Ching-Ching is gone, though she actually crawled into the car's trunk when it started raining and has fallen asleep. Tommy's car is loaded into the ship's cargo hold and Ching-Ching accidentally becomes a stowaway. When she is discovered, Tommy provides for her, helped by Susan Parker, a beautiful young woman traveling aboard the ship with her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Hope. They are headed toBangkokwhere Susan is to marry her fiancé, Richard Hope, who works there. As Susan and Tommy grow attracted to one another during the voyage, Ching-Ching playsCupidto ignite a romance. Mrs. Hope, alarmed over Susan's attachment to Tommy, telegraphs Richard to meet them at the next port.
Tommy and Susan learn that Ching-Ching's guardians were killed by the bandits, and that she is to disembark at the next port and go to an orphanage in Shanghai. Tommy wants to stop this by adopting Ching-Ching, but being a bachelor, he cannot. He asks Susan to adopt Ching-Ching when she marries Richard but only until he can himself marry and then adopt her. The Hopes, especially Mrs. Hope, selfishly reject this plan. Disgusted by Richard's callous attitude and his overbearing mother's constant interference, Susan ends her engagement in response. She agrees to marry Tommy in name only so they can adopt Ching-Ching. They agree to divorce upon returning to the US, giving Tommy custody. During the court proceedings, they realize they love each other. They remain married and jointly adopt Ching-Ching.
Cast
[edit]- Shirley Templeas Barbara "Ching-Ching" Stewart, a young American girlorphanedin China
- Robert Youngas Tommy Randall, a playboy and world traveler who wants to adopt Barbara
- Alice Fayeas Susan Parker, who is engaged Mrs Hope's son, Richard
- Helen Westleyas Mrs Hope, Richard's mother and Susan's future mother-in-law
- Allan Laneas Richard Hope, the son of Mrs. Hope and Susan's fiancé
- Eugene Palletteas the Colonel, Tommy's friend
- Astrid Allwynas Kay Swift, Tommy's friend
- Jayne Reganas Dora Day, Tommy's friend
- Arthur Treacheras Atkins, Tommy's valet
- Philip Ahnas Sun Lo, Barbara's friend in Sanchow
- Willie Fungas Chang, Sun-lo's friend and a boatman
- Robert Greigas Captain of SS Victoria
- J. Edward Brombergas Judge J. D. Booth
- Layne Tom Jr.as Chinese Boy in the Musical Band (uncredited)
Production
[edit]Temple learned forty words inMandarin Chinesefor the film, later stating the learning process required six months of instruction. She was taught by UCLA student Bessie Nyi. She encountered problems in her communication with the extras on the set, however, as she found out they were actually speaking a south Chinese dialect. In the film, she impersonatesGinger Rogers(with a life-sizedFred Astairedoll fixed to her toes),Eddie Cantor,andAl Jolsonsinging “Mammy”.In the first take, the elastic band of the dummy, which she named Tommy Wonder, snapped off her foot. In preparation for the Jolson imitation, she had to listen and watch Jolson, something she did not enjoy doing.[4]
Production of the movie was held up for close to four weeks while first Alice Faye then Shirley Temple came down with the flu.[5]
The dog in the film, a miniature Chinese Pekinese which was owned by the wife of a local photographer, was given to Temple and renamed Ching-Ching (after her character in the movie). Temple's mother worked out a trade in which Temple and her father would agree to pose for the photographer in exchange for the dog.[6]
Temple'sIQwas tested during theStowawayperiod and found to be 155,[7]thegenius classification.[8]
Critical reception
[edit]Varietyremarked, “It’s a nifty Shirley Temple comedy with musical trimmings.”[9]Varietycommented, “Whether or not due to Seiter’s efforts, [Shirley] does not appear to have outgrown […] theLittle Miss Markerstage in this one as she had in her last pictures”.[8]
The New York Timesapplauded the film, noting that Temple had “an amusing script behind her, an agreeable adult troupe with her, and a clever director before her.” The reviewer thought the film the best from Temple sinceLittle Miss Marker.[10]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Solomon p 240
- ^Aubrey Solomon,Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial HistoryRowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 217
- ^Windeler,p. 179.
- ^Shirley Temple Black, "Child Star: An Autobiography" (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1988), 149-151.
- ^Shirley Temple Black, "Child Star: An Autobiography" (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1988), 151.
- ^Shirley Temple Black, "Child Star: An Autobiography" (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1988), 158.
- ^Sochen, June (2015-01-13).From Mae to Madonna: Women Entertainers in Twentieth-Century America.ISBN9780813149806.
- ^abEdwards,p. 102.
- ^Edwards,p. 101.
- ^Nugent, Frank S. (1936-12-19),"'Stowaway,' an Engaging Comedy in Which Shirley Temple Talks Chinese, Opens at the Roxy. ",The New York Times,retrieved2009-10-10
References
[edit]- Edwards, Anne (1988),Shirley Temple: American Princess,New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
- Windeler, Robert (1992) [1978],The Films of Shirley Temple,New York: Carol Publishing Group,ISBN0-8065-0725-X