Young People is a 1940 American musical drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Shirley Temple and Jack Oakie. This would be Shirley's final film as a child actress.
Contents
Plot
Believing that it is good for their adopted daughter Wendy (Shirley Temple), Joe Ballantine (Jack Oakie) and his wife Kit (Charlotte Greenwood) decide to retire their vaudeville act and move the family to a small New England town. However, despite Wendy's many attempts to charm the locals, the "show folk" are given the cold shoulder. That is, until a hurricane hits the town, and because of the generosity, strength and conviction in the face of disaster, it appears that the troupers just might win over the residents in their new hometown after all.
Cast
Shirley Temple as Wendy Ballantine
Young Wendy is portrayed by an uncredited lookalike; the film incorporates archive footage from Curly Top and Stand Up and Cheer! to depict a young Wendy
Jack Oakie as Joe Ballentine
Charlotte Greenwood as Kit Ballentine
Arleen Whelan as Judith
George Montgomery as Mike Shea
Kathleen Howard as Hester Appleby
Minor Watson as Dakin
Frank Swann as Fred Willard
Frank Sully as Jeb
Mae Marsh as Maria Liggett
Sarah Edwards as Mrs Stinchfield
Irving Bacon as Otis
Charles Haltin as Moderator
Arthur Aylesworth as Doorman
Olin Howard as Station Manager
Harry Tyler as Dave
Darryl Hickman as Tommy
Shirley Mills as Mary Ann
Diane Fisher as Susie
Bobby Anderson as Jerry Dakin
Reception
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "For patrons who can take so much precocity, it should be one of the more charming of the miracle child's films. Mr. Oakie and Miss Greenwood make a couple of amusing hoofers, and there are several nice songs to catch the ear. If this is really the end, it is not a bad exit at all for little Shirley, the superannuated sunbeam. But we rather suspect she'll be back." Variety wrote that the film "makes up in tunefulness and spontaneity what it lacks on the story side ... Miss Temple, relieved of the responsibility of carrying the entire picture on her shoulders, drops neatly into the groove assigned her." Film Daily wrote, "Shirley Temple's latest and last offering for 20th-Century Fox is loaded with entertainment and finds the youngster as appealing and attractive as ever." Harrison's Reports wrote, "Good! Although the story is lightweight, it has plentiful human interest, a few good musical numbers, comedy, and engaging performances." "Miss Temple has obviously retired in the full tide of her powers," John Mosher wrote in The New Yorker. "In 'Young People,' her swan song, so to speak, she shows no weariness, no slacking up, no arthritic pangs."
As with Temple's previous film, The Blue Bird, Young People was a box office disappointment.