Shirley Temple was America’s daughter, and this was the first time the nation got to see their daughter in color! The Little Princess is a dazzlingly sweet Technicolor classic, surely one of Temple’s finest feature length productions. A period piece set at the turn of the tail end of the twentieth century, Temple finds herself lonely as her widowed father goes off to war. She isn’t, however, uncared for: her father’s estate provides every comfort. Things turn hard when the poor girl gets a letter informing her of her father’s death. She’s forced to attend a boarding school for girls with a strict headmistress. The despond child plucks up and keeps hope, leading to the touching end. The sentimentality in The Little Princess is heavy – as any good Shirley Temple movie should be. But supported by a good cast and beautiful color scenery, this is an exception Shirley Temple film.
