Shirley Temple, young film star oppressed

Shirley Temple (1928-2014) was born in in Santa Monica Cal. As a child Temple showed interest in dancing and singing so in 1931, her mother decided to enrol her in a Dance School Los Angeles. There she was scouted by Charles Lamount, Casting Director for Educational Pictures studio. Lamont & producer Jack Hays offered her a contract. They cast in a 1932 series of short films called Baby Burlesks (sic) where preschoolers reenacted famous films & current events and Temple was clearly the star. At 3 Shirley landed a role in her first feature film, The Red-Haired Alibi, 1932.

In 1933 a talent agent recognised her dancing in a hotel lobby and quickly signed her to Fox Film Corporation. Her key film came in May 1934 with Fox Studios' Stand Up and Cheer under producer-director Jack Hays. In Dec 1934, she starred in Bright Eyes with James Dunn. In one scene, Bright Eyes showed the toddler singing her signature song: On The Good Ship Lollipop in a very short babydoll dress, being held and touched by a dozen grown men. For the next few years Shirley made box office hits and was even honoured with a Child’s Acting Oscar. With curly hair and dimples, she captured America’s heart. Shirley made 40+ films in major studios: RKO, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount etc.

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Stand Up and Cheer, 1934

 

Bright Eyes, 1934

Shockingly, parents weren't allowed on the set with their small child. Instead her mother made costumes, gave acting lessons and styled her hair nightly into ringlets. The film topics seemed inappropriate eg one of the first characters she played was named Morelegs Sweet Trick. The overt sexualisation of Hollywood's youngest starlet began immediately. Her role was in the film War Babies where she played a prostitute named Charmaine, aged 3! She wore an off-the-shoulder blouse and a nappy held with a huge safety pin, dancing for other children as soldiers who fought over her and give her lollies. In Polly Tix in Washington 1933, she was a strumpet sent to seduce a senator. She wore a bra and was filing her nails. She later turned up to the senator's office wearing pearls and told the toddler playing the senator she'd been sent to entertain him. Temple noted in her autobiography, Child Star, that the films were a cynical exploitation of her childish innocence, even racist or sexist. 

In Dec 1933, Temple signed with nearly bankrupt Fox Studios! Founded by William Fox in 1915, his Studios thrived in the silent-movie era. But by the early 1930s, it was operating at a loss, owed millions and share prices had plummeted. 2 weeks before signing her contract with the studio, she had been cast in Stand Up and Cheer with James Dunn, who played her father. While their parts were small, the pair was soon cast in more films. Little Rich Girl 1936 also had scenes of Temple being fondled by grown men in normal early-Hollywood paedophilia.

Although Temple was very popular, she was underpaid. Her family fought for her to receive just compensation as a child actor, esp since her brand was used in popular merchandise eg clothes, sheet music, soaps. Stand Up and Cheer’s premise was that depressiveness was the result of a lack of optimism, so auditions were held to find actors to cheer people up. Temple and James Dunn were partners in a dance sequence. Without enough time for her to learn new choreography, she taught Dunn a dance that she knew already, with a potential 7-year extension at $150 a week. They signed the contract in Dec 1933 and her mum was paid to accompany her on set. Shirley’s autobiography noted it was a cloud that hovered darkly over the next 7 years.

Temple & Dunn's next film was Baby, Take a Bow, premiering Apr 1934. She was also loaned out to other studios for thousands of dollars, many times what she was personally paid. But Fox Studios had struggled ever since the 1929 stock market crash, and in 1934, Fox merged with 20th Century Pictures to become 20th Century Fox. Vanity Fair wrote said: They didn't buy the Fox studio; they bought Shirley Temple. In her first year with Fox, she appeared in 10 films.

She was most valued during the nation’s economic crash, Great Depression. Her films’ jovial themes provided Americans with an escape, proving to be a big box-office draw for struggling audiences who wanted to see optimistic films. Pres. Roosevelt said: During the Depression, it was splendid that for just 15c an American went to a movie and looked at a baby’s smiling face.

But Temple was also abused. Rumours spread that she was actually a 30 year old woman posing as a child. Critics pointed to her stocky build & adult teeth, although the teeth came on a dental plate she wore on set to conceal her gaps. Some claimed that her famous blonde curls were a wig. In reality her ringlet curls were maintained by a torturous nightly process and a weekly vinegar soak that burned her eyes. These rumours caused the Vatican to send Fa Silvio Massante to investigate the claims of her being an adult.

The sexualisation of the child was awful on screen, but much worse behind the scenes. During the production of her many films, the child actors endured heaps of both physical and sexual abuse. Years later, in Child Star: An Autobiography, Temple described the Baby Burlesks series as a cynical exploitation of childish innocence. She explained that if any preschool aged children misbehaved on set, they were locked in a windowless booth called the Punishment Box, forced to sit on solid ice for awful periods. And the producers always forced her to work while injured, even after a serious eardrum operation.

In 1940 at 12 Temple met Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer producer, Arthur Freed, where he exposed him-self to her. After seeing her nervously giggle, Freed threw Temple out of his office. This horrid man went on to produce wildly successful films incl Singin' In The Rain, Wizard of Oz, American in Paris and Annie Get Your Gun. Being a known paedophile clearly didn’t harm his professional success.

Famous British novelist, Graham Greene wrote the worst film reviews. Referring to her Captain January 1936, Greene wrote "Her neat & well-developed rump twisted in the tap-dance" An 8 year old?? In a 1937 film review, Greene wrote "Wearing short kilts, she was a complete totsy; watch the way she measures a man with agile studio eyes, with dimpled depravity." Temple & Twentieth Century Fox successfully sued Greene for libel, but what damage was done to the little girl then?

 

Captain January, 1936

At 17, Temple was a victim again when producer David O Selznik of Selznik International Pictures tried to sexually assault her. She escaped him unmolested but this was not the last time she faced with horrid Hollywood men. Off-screen, Hollywood was clearly a sinis/ter place for young actors. Shirley still remembered the predatory behaviour she endured at 12. Her legacy still remains a staple of Hollywood culture, but don’t overlook her pain.

In 1939, California Child Actor's Bill/Jack Coogan Act was passed. Coogan had been an early child star when he appeared with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid, 1921. He earned a fortune, but it was spent by his stepfather. The legal battle led to Calif passing a bill that specified working conditions and ensured that 15% of a child actor's wages were saved in a Coogan account. But because Shirley’s dad became her (bad) business manager, of $3 mill that she’d earned altogether, she had only $44,000 left in her trust account.


Shirley Temple Black served under four presidents,
Politico.

Temple retired from films at 22. Despite once being Hollywood's best paid star, she had to continue working because most of her money had disappeared. Eventually she decided to look elsewhere and by 1967, she considered politics. She joined the Republican Party and stood for Congressional. Although Temple didn’t win, her campaign began a long career in public service. In 1974, she was appointed as US Ambassador to Ghana. Then as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia for Pres Bush where she played a crucial role in international diplomatic relations. She also served on the Board for major organisations eg United Nations Association, National Wildlife Federation, Bank of America and Walt Disney Co. In 1998, Temple was hon-oured at the Kennedy Centre for her role in early film culture. She was honoured by Screen Actors Guild and American Centre for Films for Children, although Temple’s ambassadorships were the best jobs in her whole life. In 2014 she died at 85.

Thanks to BBC, 16th Dec 2024