Shirley Temple: America's Sweetheart Collection, Volume 4

Two-thirds of this three-film collection find 20th Century-Fox's “miracle moppet” at the very beginning of her decline as a top box-office draw. Neither Just Around the Corner (1938) nor Susannah of the Mounties (1939) rates among Shirley Temple's best, although they reveal a maturing talent whose now-considerable acting ability enables her to play dramatic scenes with more subtlety and panache. The first re-teams her with Claude Gillingwater (at that time Hollywood's premier Grumpy Old Man), who plays a pessimistic tycoon whom Temple persuades to create jobs for thousands, thereby ending the Depression (well, almost). The second reunites her with Randolph Scott, perfectly cast as a stoic Mountie who adopts the orphaned Temple. Both films are entertaining, if hardly first-rate. But the remaining member of this triumvirate, Captain January (1936), is a charmer that showcases Temple in peak form—singing, dancing, and holding her own against accomplished adult stars. In this remake of a popular silent film, Temple plays the adopted daughter of a grizzled old lighthouse keeper (Guy Kibbee) who fears that social workers will try to take her away from him. Captain January's undisputed highlight is Shirley's oft-excerpted production number, “At the Codfish Ball,” in which her dance partner is a lanky, limber Buddy Ebsen (The Beverly Hillbillies). Presented in an extra-less, affordably-priced, three-disc set (with each film also available separately at $14.98), this fourth volume in the series is recommended. (E. Hulse)