''Baby, Take a Bow'' is a 1934

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Harry Lachman Harry B. Lachman (June 29, 1886 – March 19, 1975) was an American artist, set designer, and film director. He was born in La Salle, Illinois on June 29, 1886. Lachman was educated at the University of Michigan before becoming a magazine and bo ...

and is one of the earliest

Hays code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

Hollywood films (its

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certificate marks it as the third ever code-approved film). The screenplay by Philip Klein and Edward E. Paramore Jr. is based on the 1926 play ''Square Crooks'' by James P. Judge.

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

plays the child of an ex-convict ( James Dunn) trying to make a better life for himself and his family. The film was a commercial success and is critically regarded as pleasant and sentimental. A musical number features Dunn and Temple.

Plot

After serving time in

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

, Eddie Ellison ( James Dunn) marries his fiancée Kay (

Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...

) and eventually the two have a daughter they name Shirley (

). Eddie helps his friend, and former

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

, Larry Scott ( Ray Walker), who is engaged to Shirley's dance instructor Jane (Dorothy Libaire), get a job as a

chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...

for his employer, factory owner Stuart Carson (

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

). Trigger Stone (

Ralf Harolde Ralf Harolde (born Ralph Harold Wigger, May 17, 1899 – November 11, 1974) was an American character actor who often played gangsters. Between 1920 and 1963, he appeared in 99 films, including '' Smart Money'' with Edward G. Robinson and ...

), who also served time in Sing Sing, steals Mrs. Carson's (

Olive Tell Olive Tell (September 27, 1894 – June 8, 1951) was a stage and screen actress from New York City. Biography Tell was educated in several cities in Europe. She and her younger actress sister Alma graduated from the American Academy of Dramati ...

) pearl necklace and asks Eddie and Larry to sell it for him, but they refuse. Private investigator Welch (

Alan Dinehart Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. (born Harold Alan Dinehart; October 3, 1889 – July 18, 1944) was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager. Biography Dinehart initially studied to be a priest, but he turned to the theater instead. ...

), the man responsible for Eddie's

conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...

, tells the head of the National Insurance Company he suspects the chauffeurs are guilty of the robbery and informs Mr. Carson about their prison records, prompting him to fire them. Trying to escape from the police, Trigger gives the pearl necklace to Shirley, who believes it is a belated birthday present. As part of a game, she hides it in her father's pocket, and when he finds it while Welch is searching the apartment, he conceals it in the carpet sweeper, but unbeknownst to him, the neighbor's maid Anna (Lillian Stuart) borrows and empties it before returning it. Kay returns home, and when she hears the story, they try to open the sweeper. Welch returns and opens it himself, only to find it empty. After Welch leaves, Eddie, Larry, Kay and Jane search the apartment building for the necklace. When Trigger threatens Eddie with a gun, Eddie subdues him and ties him up, then goes for the police. During his absence, Shirley discovers the necklace in the garbage can downstairs. She brings it to Eddie but instead finds Trigger, who convinces her to let him free. He takes her hostage and climbs to the roof, where he shoots Eddie. Although injured, Eddie manages to capture Trigger. Shirley takes the necklace from Trigger's pocket, and detective Flannigan (

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...

) tells her she will be eligible for the $5,000 reward.

Cast

as Shirley Ellison a 6-year-old girl * James Dunn as Eddie Ellison, Shirley's 32-year-old dad *

as Kay Ellison *

as Welch * Ray Walker as Larry Scott * Dorothy Libaire as Jane Scott *

as Trigger Stone *

as Det. Flannigan *

as Stuart Carson *

as Mrs. Carson

Production

James P. Judge's play ''Square Crooks'' was filmed under that title in 1928 by

Lewis Seiler Lewis Seiler (September 30, 1890 – January 8, 1964) was an American film director. He directed more than 80 films between 1923 and 1958. Seiler was born in New York City and died in Hollywood, California. Partial filmography *''A Bankru ...

. The working titles for the remake were ''Always Honest'' and ''Going Straight''. Both ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' and ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported the film was banned in Germany, although no reason was given by the German

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. The song "On Account-a I Love You" was written by

Sam H. Stept Samuel Howard Stept (aka Sammy Stept; 18 September 1897 – 1 December 1964) was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept – he rarely used his full middle n ...

and

Bud Green Bud Green (19 November 1897 – 2 January 1981) was an American lyricist especially of Broadway musicals and show tunes Early life and family Green was born Moses David Green in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and immigrated to the United Sta ...

and sung by Temple and Dunn. The dress that Temple wore on film while singing this song was part of a 2015 exhibition, ''Love, Shirley Temple''. The exhibition, which toured among several US locations, also included other dresses Temple wore between 1928 and 1941 as well as other memorabilia from this time. Items from the exhibition were auctioned off in July 2015 and this dress sold for $52,000.

Release

The film was one of Fox's biggest hits of the year.

Critical reception

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

called the film a "slender but cute tale" that is "slow for the most part, but a scene on a rooftop where the real baddie uses the tot as a human shield should amuse." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' rated the film two out of four stars and commented, "Forget the plot and enjoy the child star in one of her most entertaining roles."''TV Guide'' review
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Home media

In 2009, the film was available on videocassette and DVD in both the original

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

and in computer-colorized versions. Some editions had special features and theatrical trailers.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baby Take A Bow 1934 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Harry Lachman Fox Film films American comedy-drama films 1934 comedy-drama films American films based on plays Films scored by Samuel Kaylin 1930s English-language films 1930s American films