Recruit Willie Winkie
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Recruit Willie Winkie |
| Original title | Wee Willie Winkie |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1937 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script |
Julien Josephson Ernest Pascal |
| production |
Gene Markey Darryl F. Zanuck |
| music | Alfred Newman |
| camera | Arthur C. Miller |
| cut | Walter Thompson |
| occupation | |
| |
Recruit Willie Winkie (OT: Wee Willie Winkie ) is an American adventure film from 1937 by John Ford , based on the short story of the same name by Rudyard Kipling .
action
Little Priscilla Williams set off for India with her destitute mother Joyce in 1897 to visit her grandfather, Colonel Williams. Joyce, who has never met her father-in-law, is picked up with her daughter at the train station by Sergeant Donald McDuff. While Joyce and the sergeant stow their luggage, Priscilla witnesses the arrest of the rebel leader Khoda Khan. She picks up a talisman that the Khan lost when he was arrested.
Joyce and Priscilla arrive at the Colonel's fortified camp, who has so far had nothing to do with women and children. Priscilla is afraid that her grandfather doesn't like her, so she decides to become a soldier. She seeks the help of Private Mott, but he contemptuously rejects her. Then she turns to Lieutenant Brandes, who in turn refers her to McDuff. McDuff nicknames Priscilla Wee Willie Winkie after a Scottish poem and licks Mott's uniform off.
Priscilla visits the captured Khan and hands him the talisman. Then McDuff orders that his troops drill a special shift so that Priscilla learns to march. The Colonel believes McDuff is kidding and punishes him and the gang. He demands from Joyce that she and Priscilla stay away from the soldiers.
The days go by, mother and daughter stay to themselves. One day, Mohammet Dihn, the Colonel's servant, brings Priscilla a message to hand over to Khoda Khan. Meanwhile the Colonel has succumbed to the girl's charm. Priscilla asks him on the evening of a company party if he would like to accompany her mother to the dance. However, neither of them know that Joyce is accompanied by Brandes, who has left his post.
The celebration is cut short when the rebels attack and free Khoda Khan. The Colonel has Brandes arrested and does not allow himself to be softened by Joyce's request, who now wants to leave with Priscilla. Although he has grown fond of both, he accepts their journey home. However, neither of them can leave because the telegraph lines to the city have been cut. The same morning a patrol returns that has been ambushed. McDuff is wounded and near death and receives a visit from Priscilla. She gives him some flowers and sings the song Auld Lang Syne for him when he dies.
On the evening of McDuff's funeral, Priscilla asks her grandfather about the meaning of the war. He tells her that Khoda Khan was the cause of the war. Later, Priscilla sneaks to the horse stable to meet Dihn, who takes her to the Khan. When the soldiers miss Priscilla and Dihn the next morning, they ride to the Khan's fortress on the Khyber Pass. Khan is happy to have the commander's granddaughter hostage. Priscilla asks him to discuss the problem with her grandfather and is laughed at.
Colonel Williams sends word that his company will attack if Khan does not release the girl. Khan replies that he welcomes the attack. But to the astonishment of the rebels, only the Colonel comes to the fortress alone. One of the rebels shoots him. Priscilla escapes her guard and rushes to him. Khan doesn't want anything to happen to Priscilla and follows her. The three return to Khan's fortress, where the leaders agree to a peaceful solution to the conflict.
The company holds a parade to celebrate. Mott tells Priscilla that McDuff would be proud of her. She happily goes to the parade with her grandfather.
Reviews
"Emotional conversation with 1930s child star, Shirley Temple, based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling."
Awards
William S. Darling and David S. Hall were nominated for an Oscar for Best Production Design in 1938 .
background
The premiere took place on June 25, 1937 in Los Angeles . In Germany it first appeared in cinemas on December 29, 1937.
The short story the script is based on is about a boy named Percival Williams. The script was rewritten to allow the then famous child star Shirley Temple to star.
Graham Greene , who wrote a review of the film for English magazine Night and Day , was sued by production company 20th Century Fox for branding Shirley Temple as rejected and describing her fans as middle-aged men and clergy, accusing the studio of being pedophiles to support in their inclinations. The judge in charge, Hewart, called the criticism a scandal and sentenced Greene and the magazine to pay Shirley Temple £ 2,000 and the studio £ 1,500.
Web links
- Recruit Willie Winkie in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Recruit Willie Winkie. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Message in the Motion Picture Daily from March 23, 1938 on TCM (English)