Sun girl
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Sun girl |
| Original title | Dimples |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1936 |
| length | 78, 82 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | William A. Seiter |
| script |
Arthur Sheekman Nat Perrin |
| production |
Darryl F. Zanuck Nunnally Johnson |
| music |
David Buttolph Cyril J. Mockridge R. H. Bassett |
| camera | Bert Glennon |
| cut | Herbert I. Leeds |
| occupation | |
| |
Sonnenmädel , is an American tragic comedy from 1936 by William A. Seiter with Shirley Temple in the title role. At her side, Frank Morgan plays her rascal grandfather.
action
New York, mid-19th century. Little Sylvia Appleby, who everyone just calls “dimples” because of her captivating facial features, performs with her own band, which consists of street musicians' children, and performs vocal interludes herself. She lives with her grandfather, "Professor" Eustace Appleby. He is an aging actor who now teaches acting, singing and bird calls and keeps his head above water with small pickpockets, which Dimples refuses to believe for a long time. An incident occurs when they are performing at the estate of the renowned theater director Allen Drew. Several furs have disappeared and as street children they are of course immediately suspected. Dimples is held while trying to run away. When old Appleby, who once again was your thief, finds out about it, he returns with the furs and reports that he had fought valiantly against a thief in order to take the furs from him and give them back to the rightful owner. Everyone is let go, but when you leave the property, Dimples sees her grandfather steal a cuckoo clock.
The next day, ashamed, she returns the watch to the owner, Caroline Drew, and says that she stole it herself. During the conversation, Mrs. Drew is told that her favorite nephew Allen broke off his engagement to Betty Loring, daughter of Mrs. Drew's friend Colonel Loring, because Allen discovered a new flame in actress Cleo Marsh. Shocked, Mrs. Drew, who hates the theater profusely, calls on everyone to end her liaison with Cleo. Allen refused and announced that he would rather leave his aunt's house. After he leaves, Dimples sees Mrs. Drew crying. The aunt brings Dimples back to her and her grandfather's shabby neighborhood, the Bowery , and asks the professor to let Dimples live with him so that she can offer the little ones a better life. Dimples learns that Mrs. Drew is offering the professor $ 5,000. After she leaves, Dimples tearfully begs her grandfather not to sell her, whereupon he swears he would not do it for any money.
Although he no longer has anything to expect financially from his aunt, Allen has enough savings to put on a performance of the slave drama Uncle Tom's Hut . He lets the talented Dimples audition for the central role of "Eva" and hires the professor as his assistant. After old Appleby lost Allen's last $ 800 to a gang of con artists, Allen's creditors threaten to send someone to jail if the theater company doesn't pay their bills. In order to save her grandfather, Dimples agrees to live in Mrs. Drew's house for the promised $ 5,000. When the professor asks Ms. Drew for the money, he sees Dimples crying because she will feel lonely without her grandpa. This goes to the heart of the old crook, and with a heavy heart he returns the check to the generous lady. Before he goes with Dimples, however, he convinces Mrs. Drew, who doesn’t seem to be averse to his old man’s charm, that a really worthless watch that he had received from the tricksters has been given to Napoleon Bonaparte by Empress Josephine. He can then relieve the bona fide lady by at least $ 1,000.
The premiere of Uncle Tom's Cabin begins, but without the calculating Cleo Marsh, who Allen had left immediately when she realized that because of his break with Aunt Caroline, there would be nothing left to get from him. Dimples plays Cupid and can guide Betty Loring, who has been dropped by everyone, into the theater. Dimples would like to reconcile the two young people. In the meantime, Colonel Loring has inspected Appleby's supposedly Napoleonic watch and determined that it was a cheap imitation. Now Mrs. Drew has had enough: With Loring and the police in tow, you go to the theater to finally put an end to the aging petty crook. But he goes underground and disguises himself as "Uncle Tom" so that you cannot recognize him under the black make-up. When the actor who was actually intended for this role appears on stage in Uncle Tom's costume, the cover of the false professor has "burst". He is arrested on leaving the stage, but the police, Mrs. Drew and Colonel Loring agree to stay until the end of the play so as not to disrupt the performance. Moved to tears by Eva's deathbed scene, which shows Dimples heartbreakingly, Mrs. Drew also has to acknowledge that the theater can be a wonderful thing and asks the police to let the professor go.
A year later, Allen Drew, who is now back with Betty Loring, announced the performance of a minstrel show in which Dimples would play the lead role.
Production notes
Sonnenmädel was written between the beginning of May and mid-June 1936 and was premiered on October 9, 1936 in New York. The film opened in Austria in mid-1937, a German premiere is currently not discernible.
Nunnally Johnson was the production manager, William Darling designed the film structures, Thomas Little took care of the equipment. Louis Silvers was musical director. Gwen Wakeling designed the costumes.
There is also a colored version of this film.
music
The following songs can be heard:
- "Hey, What Did the Blue Jay Say", "He Was a Dandy", "Picture Me Without You" and "Dixie-anna". Music and text by Jimmy McHugh and Ted Koehler
- "Wings of the Morning" (Spiritual). Music by Jimmy McHugh.
Reviews
The Österreichische Film-Zeitung wrote: “The latest Shirley Temple film shows the little artist in a much more advanced position. This time, in addition to numerous cheerful and humorous moments, she even has the opportunity to show in a serious scene from 'Uncle Tom's Hut' that her talent also includes this area: She plays the dying scene of the little girl and touches hearts with her simple portrayal. (...) She has also learned many complicated new stepping steps, which she performs with astonishing dexterity and a strong sense of rhythm. "
" First class Shirley ."
Halliwell's Film Guide commented, “ Excellent temple vehicle with good flavor from the time. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Sun Girl". In: Österreichische Film-Zeitung , June 18, 1937, p. 2 (online at ANNO ).
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 276
Web links
- Sun girl in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dimples in the American Film Institute catalog