“I’m not too proud”: the 1947 film Shirley Temple called the only good movie she made as an adult
When Shirley Temple was just a toddler, she was thrust into the limelight with little knowledge of just how iconic she would become.
Making her screen debut when she was only three years old in 1931, she’d become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, adored for her curly ringlets and sweet smile, always bringing joy to the movies she was cast in.
Of course, there was a dark side to her fame, with much of Temple’s success coming from her role in Baby Burlesks, a series of short films which saw her star alongside other very young children in roles satirising adult ones, wearing nappies over adult costumes. The storylines were often rather problematic, laced with racism, sexual innuendo, and other inappropriate themes for children, but of course, Temple couldn’t have known any better.
She was a prolific star of the Depression Era, and it seemed that her childish innocence and her joyous dancing and singing served as a slight remedy to the hardships many Americans were facing at the time, as clearly, this was the kind of simple, happy thing many people wanted to indulge in, not gritty dramas or heartbreaking romances.
By the 1940s, Temple could still be found acting, but as she transitioned into more mature roles, she eventually realised that Hollywood was no longer for her. Turning 18 in 1946, she appeared in eight movies as an adult, but she wasn’t really that happy with many of them. Credits included the charming Cary Grant screwball comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby Socks and the horse-themed The Story of Seabiscuit, while she even appeared in John Ford’s Fort Apache opposite John Wayne.
When she discussed her later career roles, she once said, “I’m not too proud of the movies I made as a grown-up except for That Hagen Girl, which nobody remembers but which gave me a chance to act”.
Ignoring the popular movies she appeared in during the period, she cites the one that made it into the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time as her favourite. Why she didn’t acknowledge the fact that she appeared in some genuine classics before packing in the towel and instead chose to highlight one that received terrible reviews is anyone’s guess.
Appearing in That Hagen Girl as a teenager whom locals assume to be the illegitimate daughter of a character played by Ronald Reagan, it was the future president’s strong dislike of the movie which actually affected how many people have seen the film. Despite it featuring major stars, when Reagan was running for president, the movie suddenly, and oh-so-mysteriously, became incredibly hard to find prints of.
Temple actually became good friends with Reagan during filming, and when she gave up acting in 1949 with A Kiss for Corliss, she actually followed in his footsteps and began working for the Republican Party (why, Shirley, why?). She became a diplomat and even served as the United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, leaving her Hollywood days long behind her.
