| | | "In Another All-Time Classic Performance, Shirley Temple Stars in John Ford's Superb Family Action Adventure Loosely Based on Rudyard Kipling's Popular Story."
Taken by her mother (June Lang) to live in India a young girl (Shirley Temple) gradually wins the heart of her feisty grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), a colonel at a British army outpost. Before long she captures the heart of his entire regiment as well as his chief enemy (Cesar Romeo), using her considerable charms to prevent a full scale war.
"A first-rate family action picture..." Halliwell's Film Guide
"...you're in for a treat." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
Editor's Note
Shirley Temple considered this the best among her films, a belief seconded by critic Andrew Sarris, who regarded it more highly than director John Ford's contemporaneous masterpiece THE INFORMER. She stars as Priscilla Williams, a young girl traveling with her mother, Joyce, to join her paternal grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), a British army colonel, at the post he commands in northern India. Upon arrival, they witness the capture of Khoda Khan (Cesar Romero), leader of the rebel Indian faction. Priscilla plays at being a soldier and is even given a uniform and allowed to drill by the genial Sergeant MacDuff (Victor McLaglen), but her gruff grandfather disapproves and insists she remain apart from the troops. She eventually charms him, along with everyone else on the post, including Khoda Khan, whom she wins over by returning a talisman he's dropped. When the attractive Lieutenant Brandes (Michael Whalen) deserts his post to take Joyce to a dance, Khan escapes, and Brandes is arrested. As hostilities with the rebels mount, Priscilla and servant Mohammet Dihn (Willie Fung)--actually an Indian spy--take off for Khoda Khan's stronghold. Departing from the Kipling story, Ford places Temple in a military setting with a wonderfully expansive feeling not unlike that of his classic cavalry films. The high production values and excellent supporting cast further illuminate Temple's eternally fresh and ebullient allure in this irresistible gem from Hollywood's golden age. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has observed that the phrase "family entertainment" is an oxymoron, but in the case of this delightful film he's mistaken.
Plot Summary
A young girl travels to India to visit her grandfather in the British army and ends up using her prodigious charms to stem the tide of rising tensions between the Brits and native rebel forces.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital Mono | | Audio: Spanish Dolby Digital Mono | | Dubbed: Spanish | | Includes Black-&-White & Colorized Versions | | Interactive Menus | | Restoration Comaparison | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Fox Home Entertainment |
| Release Date: 4/22/2008 |
| Running Time: 200 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1937 | | Catalog ID: 2251445 | | UPC: 00024543514459 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.37:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew | C. Aubrey Smith | | Cesar Romero | | June Lang | | Shirley Temple | | Alfred Newman, et. al. - Original Music By | | Arthur C. Miller - Cinematographer | | Darryl F. Zanuck - Producer | | David S. Hall - Art Director | | Ernest Pascal - Screenplay | | Gene Markey - Producer | | John Ford - Director | | Julien Josephson - Screenplay | | Rudyard Kipling - Based On Story By | | Walter Thompson - Editor | | William S. Darling - Art Director |
| Awards |
Nominee (1938) | | | Oscar, William S. Darling, David S. Hall, Best Art Direction |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"...Shirley and gruff-but-soft sergeant Victor McLaglen have some very good scenes..." 03/31/1989 p.3DVariety 8 of 10
Shirley Temple is growing up to be a big little girl. The dimple in the cheek is still there but those knees are losing their contour...Darryl Zanuck and 20th-Fox recognized the need of transition. Temple is surrounded but not submerged by Academy prize-winners. She comes up smiling through her tears...The Rudyard Kipling story is an adventure yarn about a young American widow and her daughter who journey to India and the paternal protection of the child's grandfather, a colonel of a Highland regiment stationed on the frontier. The menace of native insurrection and massacre provides melodramatic suspense...When open warfare is threatened, the little girl on a peace-pleading mission is delivered into enemy hands. She is the means of reconciling the two factions...Victor McLaglen as a tough segeant-major creates a splendid characterization of a vigorous warrior whose heart is softened when he becomes the friend and guide of Shirley.
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