Shirley Temple Little Darling Collection (18 DVD Boxed Set)

I love Shirley Temple. Other kids watched Barney in the 1990s. I hung out with my Depression-era grandparents and watched "Captain January" and "Little Miss Broadway" while eating baked apples, curled up under a hand-knit blanket. Just before Shirley Temple Black passed away I started checking out her films from the library, and I eventually purchased this set to watch with my grandmother. I can't do anything but praise this collection. The films each come on their own DVD ("Wee Willie Winkie" is double sided, one version the original sepia), the folders have clear, big photographs of Shirley in various roles and short film summaries, and each movie (except "Stowaway") is offered in color or black and white. The films are well preserved; there is no dust littering the screen and the dialogue and music is clear. "Little Miss Marker" and "Now and Forever" are not included, but they were made by other studios with Temple on loan-out so perhaps that is why. ("Our Little Girl" does not seem to have been released except on VHS either; it is another serious Shirley Temple role and worth a watch if you can find it.) Many people have noted that some of Temple's films are outright racist. This is true, and there is little point in denying it. The minstrel show at the end of "Dimples" made me cringe, as did the depiction of Frank Morgan's "butler". "The Littlest Rebel" even implies that African Americans enjoyed slavery. However, to toss Temple's movies aside because of these things would be a mistake, and censoring them, as my grandparents did, does a disservice to the intelligence of children. America has a history of racism. Because of Temple's continuing popularity, we forget that these films were made in the 1930s and are products of their time. Yes, you should let your kids watch them because they need to know that at one point (and still today) we treated other people horribly because of their skin color. It is a fact, and one that should be remembered and discussed. And one excellent contradiction to the studio system's inherent racism is Temple's brilliant partnering with the insanely talented Bill Robinson (Will anyone ever again tap dance like Robinson? Likely not.). Temple, placed in films with racist overtones by the studio, was the first white woman to dance with a Black man on screen, and she held his hand. In many ways, Robinson's roles were meant to support how Black men and women were seen by society, but Robinson played his roles with quite a few notes of subversiveness. It's disappointing that he didn't have more screen time. You can avoid the racist issues of several of Temple's films or you can confront it and see the problems as a learning experience. I will not lie and say it is a comfortable experience, but it is one necessary to have. In any case, how wonderful that seemingly simplistic films made with a 1930s child star can reveal so much and inspire such discussion. Note: Shirley Temple Black wrote her autobiography "Child Star" about her time in the movies, and it is hilarious, smart, and heartbreaking. It is sadly out of print but available from many used book sellers and libraries. Definitely worth a read.

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I've always liked Shirley Temple and her classic films. I used to see them on TV when I was younger, and just loved watching her perform. This set takes me back to when I hadn't a care in the world, ah, childhood. Being older now, I have a whole new appreciation for these amazing films. The talent held by young Shirley and her Co-stars is just something to see. Back when a pretty face wasn't what got you cast, you had to sing, dance, act, and everything in-between. I was a bit hesitant to purchase this set as I was really hoping for a B&W set, luckily this set has the option to view in B&W or color! I love the original take as it feels more nostalgic to me, but the color option is there if you want it on most of the films. I did have one DVD that was scuffed up, but it plays just fine so I don't really mind. Overall, this set is absolutely perfect for me, and was exactly what I was looking for.

I have been wanting to see The Blue Bird for so long. When this set was offered at an inexpensive price, I jumped on it. I was a little nervous after reading the reviews and saw that some were having problems with the sets. When mine arrived I inspected each disc. The only one that seemed to have spots was the double sided disc. After watching every single one, I did not have a single problem with any of them. Not all of the movies are colorized but really, why is this an issue? They came out in black and white. I can understand why some might like it better. I choose the colorized versions myself. But watching the ones that are only in black and white are just as enjoyable. It's all about the charm of a darling little girl that stole the hearts of everyone who watched her. With a set like this being released at an affordable price, her legacy will live on forever. With 18 of her movies in this set, there is something for everyone. The cardboard sleeves are adequate and I thought the whole set was nicely done for such a cheap price.

DONT FALL FOR IT! I read so many reviews so I knew it was a risk to order these. It had high stars despite all the warnings I took a chance and I too, got burned. So I am here to tell you, just don’t waste your time or money on these. I have outlined the reasons below. Spend the extra money to get a quality product. 1) Comes in cardboard half sleeves, so I’m not surprised that the discs are all scratched up. That’s a terrible way to package and store DVDS. Some of mine had finger prints on them, clearly used 2) Some kind of substance on a few of the disks. Mine were not sticky as others have had. 3) Poor quality! film restoration/mastery has come a long way in the recent decades. None of that was used here, these are terrible quality, like someone took the VHS tapes and just recorded them to DVD. The picture would jump around on some of the discs 4) I appreciated that each disc claimed to have a widescreen/ full screen version however on most discs the “wide screen” was the same as the full screen sooooo, it was a lie. 5) the sound quality was poor. Again these appear to be VHS tapes that were transferred to DVD.

The disc collection itself is great. Nicely packaged and produced. The only thing that stands out is just how weird the movies themselves are, but that's not the fault of the product itself. Nevertheless, I challenge you to binge-watch 3+ in a row and not find yourself uncomfortable by the casual leering this little girl endured in every picture. "Hey, get on this table and dance for a room of sailors!" "No problem, Sarge, where's my lollipop?"

This collection of (20th Century) Fox films is what saved the studio during the great depression. I'm not sure what the negative reviewers were looking at, but it was not this set. Most of the original black and white films have been colorized from restored footage. All are clean for the era, although some jittering is noticeable for some of the credits (not unusual for films this old - even recent films often have jittering credits). The following films are included: Baby Take A Bow (1934) B&W original and colorized versions The Blue Bird (1940) Color original only -- filmed in Technicolor Bright Eyes (1934) B&W original and colorized versions Captain January (1936) B&W original and colorized versions Curly Top (1935) B&W original and colorized versions Dimples (1936) B&W original and colorized versions Heidi (1937) B&W original and colorized versions Just Around the Corner (1938) B&W original and colorized versions The Little Colonel (1935) B&W original and colorized versions Little Miss Broadway (1938) B&W original and colorized versions The Little Princess (1939) Color original only -- filmed in Technicolor The Littlest Rebel (1935) B&W original and colorized versions Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) B&W original and colorized versions Stand Up and Cheer (1934) B&W only -- Note: This is the edited 69 minute version, not the full 81 minute original. Stowaway (1936) B&W original only -- Note: This film was the center of a lot of controversy for plagiarism when it was released. Susannah of the Mounties (1938) B&W original and colorized versions Wee Willie Winkie (1938) B&W original and sepia tinted versions Young People (1940) B&W original only A Number of Shirley's films were not included in this set: Change of Heart (1934) - Usually not included in any collection -- Shirley played a minor supporting role Little Miss Marker (1934) - A Paramount film, not included in Fox collections Now I'll Tell (1934) - Usually not included in any collection -- Shirley played a supporting role behind Spencer Tracy, Alice Faye and others Now and Forever (1934) - Another Paramount release, not included in Fox collections. Stars Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. Our Little Girl (1935) - For some reason, this film is not currently being sold new or available in any collection. Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) - A Fox release that was not included. Shirley has top billing, so its absence is curious. The two Paramount films are available in a separate collection that also includes "The Runt Page", a short from 1932 and Temple's first screen appearance. This set is packaged in three heavy stock tri-folds, which hold the discs securely in slots. The three "volumes" are in a slip case, which adds to the protection and gripping quality of the individual volumes, which hold six discs each. (Note: The volumes are sold separately, and it is possible that the complaints about loose discs came from these.) The discs are not packaged in chronological order, just as the early VHS set was not ordered chronologically, even though they were numbered. Comparing the two (VHS against the DVDs in this set), the DVDs have a better picture and sound (which is to be expected). They were originally shot in 35 millimeter stock, and the restoration has eliminated many of the "age" problems that plagued the original stock. They are not HD quality, just as very few films that were originally shot on 35 mm stock are ever that quality. Compared against the Blu-ray Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland), these measure up in terms of picture quality, which occasionally shows some graininess (not noticeable, except on HD 1080 displays). Two Fox films are missing from this collection: Our Little Girl and Poor Little Rich Girl. I'm not sure why they were omitted, but they were. Both have been colorized and aside from not being included in this package, they are restored and available in both B&W and Color. I have serious doubts about the negative reviews came from people who received the set I received. The discs are securely held, had no problems playing in any DVD or Blu-ray player (computer or stand-alone), did not exhibit any of the "coating" that many complained about, and were as good as any commercially-produced DVDs from Fox. Those who complained about the discs not playing should invest in a disc player cleaning disc or a new player. It is also possible their player is slightly out of alignment. Four stars, mostly for being an incomplete set of Fox films from the era. Had the two missing films (Our Little Girl and Poor Little Rich Girl), the full 81 minute original release of Stand Up and Cheer been included, and colorized versions of the three B&W only films and Wee Willie Winkie, provided, this would have been an excellent addition to anyone's collection and worthy of five stars.

I have wanted a number of these movies before, but the cost to collect them individually was always prohibitive. And sometimes a good movie would be coupled on a disc or within a set with a lot of stuff I frankly had no interest in - stuff for the particularly devoted Shirley Temple fans and not just for people fond of particular films. I bought this set because it had *every* movie I wanted to own, including the sometimes hard-to-find "The Blue Bird" which I have loved since I was a child. It also had some movies I'd not seen, but which are still "canonical" like "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." Now, I confess I haven't watched every disc yet, though "The Blue Bird" was as excellent as I'd remembered it and the film quality was great. But I am very pleased that this appears to be a quality collection, with real thought and care put into the selection, assembly, and production. I'd recommend this to anyone - certainly any family - that wants quality entertainment and fun old Hollywood films.

Me gusto

I love Shirley Temple and it cost more than I wanted to spend but I least I have 18 of her movies brand new in the box.

I bought this dvd collection as it was sold by Amazon and I thought that would be a guarantee. However Amazon did not specify the region of this dvd. Because of all the seemingly european reviews I thought it would be all right Turns out the collection is actually only for dvd players that can read region 1 (or those that are multiregion). I will still keep it as it is such a rare collection to find nowadays and will just watch it on my computer with those godblessed softwares that can read any dvd. For these interested: languages and subtitles present are english and spanish and both black and white and coloured versions are present (all this at least on the 2 discs I checked).

In the whole collection, there isn't any movie you could dislike. My granddaughter loves her movies and now my nieces are watching her to. The all love her movies!

I loved watching these movies as a young girl and I love watching them with my daughters.