Nash, Mary

Shirley Temple - America's Sweetheart Collection, Vol. 1 (Heidi / Curly Top / Little Miss Broadway)

The Philadelphia Story

Re-creating the role she originated in Philip Barry's wickedly witty Broadway play, Katharine Hepburn stars as the spoiled and snobby socialite Tracy Lord in this sparkling 1940 screen adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, one of the great romantic comedies from the golden age of MGM studios. Applying her impossibly high ideals to everyone but herself, Tracy is about to marry a stuffy executive when her congenial ex-husband (Cary Grant), arrives to protect his former father-in-law from a potentially scandalous tabloid exposé. In an Oscar-winning role, James Stewart is the scandal reporter who falls for Tracy as her wedding day arrives, throwing her into a dizzying state of premarital jitters. Who will join Tracy at the altar? Snappy dialogue flows like sparkling wine under the sophisticated direction of George Cukor in this film that turned the tide of Hepburn's career from "box-office poison" to glamorous Hollywood star. --Jeff Shannon

Katharine Hepburn reprises her triumphant Broadway role as a spoiled heir on the verge of marrying a snoot...but not if her ex-hubby (Cary Grant) and smitten reporter (James Stewart) can help it!

Heidi

One thing Shirley Temple did extremely well (besides sing, dance, and act) was turn the cranky cuddly. She'd done it effectively, two years prior, in 1935's The Little Colonel with grandfather Lionel Barrymore. Now in Heidi she turns her reclusive grumpy grandfather, Adolf (Jean Hersholt), into the loving sort she knows he really is. Heidi is an orphan, dumped into the Swiss Alps by self-centered Aunt Dete (Mady Christians) onto a grandfather she's never known, but they soon learn to love each other. Heidi's mercenary aunt returns and sells (!) Heidi to a cruel woman, appropriately named Fraulein Rottenmeier (Mary Nash). Adolf sets out on a quest to find his granddaughter. Meanwhile, Heidi charms Klara Sesemann (Marcia Mae Jones), the wealthy handicapped girl in Fraulein Rottenmeier's care. Look for a delightful Arthur Treacher as the Sesemann butler. There's a cute fantasy production number, "In Our Little Wooden Shoes," featuring Temple in various period costumes. Throughout Heidi, Temple is, as always, wonderfully joyful. This is perhaps the best-known rendering of the popular children's story by Johanna Spyri (it's been filmed some 10 times). --N.F. Mendoza

Shirley Temple in a role that seems custom-made for her, portrays the spirited young heroine of the popular children's novel, giving her a rich emotional depth and infinite charm. When her aunt tires of caring for her, orphan Heidi is taken into the Swiss mountains to live with her gruff grandfather (Jean Hersholt), a hermit who comes to adore her. But the aunt returns to steal Heidi away, selling her to a family whose invalid daughter (Marcia Mae Jones) needs a companion. Bullied by an evil governess (Mary Nash), Heidi still charms the entire household and never stops trying to return to her beloved grandfather.

The Little Princess

Shirley Temple stars in this 1939 version of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel about a little, motherless girl left in the care of a girls boarding school by her soldier father, and then made into a servant there when he's missing in action during World War I. The fine tear-jerking film is a good vehicle for the famous moppet, and director Walter Lang (The King and I) makes a memorably lavish production of the Victorian milieu. The final scene, in which our Shirley is helped by one of the most famous women in history, brings down the house. --Tom Keogh

The Philadelphia Story (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Sophisticated romantic comedy achieved its pinnacle in this timeless classic voted one of the Top 100 American Films of all time by the American Film Institute. Katharine Hepburn Cary Grant and Best Actor Academy Award winner James Stewart star in the masterful comedy (directed by George Cukor) about a faultfinding bride-to-be socialite who gets her come-uppance. (Writer Donald Ogden Stewart won the film's second Oscar for adapting Philip Barry's play.)Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 012569699021

Re-creating the role she originated in Philip Barry's wickedly witty Broadway play, Katharine Hepburn stars as the spoiled and snobby socialite Tracy Lord in this sparkling 1940 screen adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, one of the great romantic comedies from the golden age of MGM studios. Applying her impossibly high ideals to everyone but herself, Tracy is about to marry a stuffy executive when her congenial ex-husband (Cary Grant), arrives to protect his former father-in-law from a potentially scandalous tabloid exposé. In an Oscar-winning role, James Stewart is the scandal reporter who falls for Tracy as her wedding day arrives, throwing her into a dizzying state of premarital jitters. Who will join Tracy at the altar? Snappy dialogue flows like sparkling wine under the sophisticated direction of George Cukor in this film that turned the tide of Hepburn's career from "box-office poison" to glamorous Hollywood star. --Jeff Shannon

The Rains Came

A trio of great performances and Academy Award-winning special effects recommend this saga of sin, scandal, and redemption based on Louis Bromfield's novel. George Brent stars as Tom Ransome, the reputation-tarnished son of an English earl who has found refuge from the world's ills in Ranchupur, India. Myrna Loy, cast against type, costars as his former lover, now the Lady Edwina Esketh, whose elderly husband (Nigel "Dr. Watson" Bruce) is more interested in the Maharaja's horses and money than her. "Dying of galloping boredom," she sets her sights on Major Rama Safti (Tyrone Power), a dedicated and selfless doctor, but nature calls with a devastating earthquake and flood that will open her jaded eyes. Drenched with atmosphere, The Rains Came further benefits from such venerable character actors as Maria Ouspenskaya (The Wolf Man) as the Maharani, Jane Darwell (The Grapes of Wrath) as Tom's missionary aunt, and Henry Travers (Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life) as his uncle. The Rains Came was released in 1939, considered by some to be the movies' best-ever year. While it is not in the same class as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, or Stagecoach, this is a stellar example of old-school Hollywood. --Donald Liebenson

In the town of Ranchipur, four people find their lives become entwined by unexpected feelings and events they cannot control. Tom Ransome (George Brent), son of an English earl, is living a painter's life. He is pursed by Brenda Joyce, a flirtatious young English girl who adores him. Lady Esketh (Myrna Loy) is a beautiful bored sophisticated and Tom's former girlfriend. And Major Rama (Tyrone Power) is the dedicated Hindu surgeon who captures her heart. When a catastrophic earthquake and flood bring disaster to India, all their lives are forever transformed by the striking clash between good and evil, duty and forbidden love.

Come and Get It

A luminous Frances Farmer stars in this "superb" (The Hollywood Reporter) romantic drama based on the novel by Edna Ferber.Co-starring Edward Arnold Joel McCrea and Water Brennan in an Oscar®-winning* performance this tale of ruthless ambition and reckless passion is an unforgettable classic with the "power to charm spellbind and stir" (Variety).Lumberman Barney Glasgow (Arnold) abandons saloon girl Lotta (Farmer) to marry a timber heiress only to fall for Lotta's beautiful daughter (also played by Farmer) twenty years later. But this time Barney has a rival for the young woman's love: his own son (McCrea)!*1936: Supporting ActorSystem Requirements: Running Time 99 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 027616886514 Manufacturer No: 1004610

Wisconsin lumberman Barney Glasgow (Edward Arnold) makes his fortune by marrying his business associate's daughter to cinch a lucrative partnership, thereby sacrificing the one he truly loves, Lotta Morgan (Frances Farmer). Lotta marries Barney's close pal Swan Bostrom (Walter Brennan) and they beget Lotta Bostrom (also Frances Farmer) who bears a striking resemblance to her mother. Years later, when the elder Lotta is no longer with us, Barney and his son (Joel McCrea) both fall for the young Lotta, causing Barney to work out his troubling sense of loss. This rousing loggers melodrama was the one and only true showcase for the talents of Frances Farmer, who is superb in the dual role of the mother and daughter Lottas (and for a fledgling actor, that's a lotta Lottas), and who would later be made more famous by the biopics based on her life. Co-directed by Howard Hawks (who discovered Farmer, and was ousted from the film when he was rude to producer Samuel Goldwyn) and William Wyler. --Jim Gay

The Little Princess

Shirley Temple stars in this 1939 version of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel about a little, motherless girl left in the care of a girls boarding school by her soldier father, and then made into a servant there when he's missing in action during World War I. The fine tear-jerking film is a good vehicle for the famous moppet, and director Walter Lang (The King and I) makes a memorably lavish production of the Victorian milieu. The final scene, in which our Shirley is helped by one of the most famous women in history, brings down the house. --Tom Keogh

Based on the famous novel by writer Frances Hodgson Burnett, Shirley portrays Sara, the pampered daughter of a British officer. Left in boarding school when her father goes off to war, Sara's world is turned upside down when he is reported dead. Destitute, Sara is made a servant st the school, yet she refuses to let her spirit be broken. She also refuses to believe her father is really gone and begins searching the army hospitals to find him.

Till The Clouds Roll By

Hollywood's 1940s craze for composer biographies did not yield many masterpieces, and Till the Clouds Roll By is one of the weaker efforts in the bunch. Robert Walker tries gamely to suggest the decency of Jerome Kern but is defeated by a sluggish story line pairing him with a crotchety mentor (Van Heflin). As a collection of freestanding production numbers devoted to Kern's songs, however, the movie has appeal. It begins with almost 20 minutes of Showboat (including Lena Horne's plaintive reading of "Can't Help Lovin' That Man") and the hits just keep on coming. Judy Garland, who appears in a few scenes as stage star Marilyn Miller, contributes "Look for the Silver Lining" and a Gatsby-esque production number on "Who?" Her songs were staged by then-hubby Vincente Minnelli. Other highlights include a young Angela Lansbury, still with baby fat, singing "How'd You Like to Spoon with Me?" Lucille Bremer, a leggy starlet who never quite caught on, plays Kern's protégé. She spins a delightful duet with Van Johnson on "I Won't Dance," two redheads capering with gusto. It all ends with another splashy theatrical montage, climaxing in Frank Sinatra's take on "Ol' Man River." That might sound like a strange idea, but Ol' Blue Eyes clearly loves the song (he would return to it often in his career) and is in beautiful voice. Despite being a lavish MGM production, Till the Clouds fell out of copyright and into the public domain, so print quality (and even running time) can be variable. --Robert Horton

Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: Showboat.

Till the Clouds Roll By

Hollywood's 1940s craze for composer biographies did not yield many masterpieces, and Till the Clouds Roll By is one of the weaker efforts in the bunch. Robert Walker tries gamely to suggest the decency of Jerome Kern but is defeated by a sluggish story line pairing him with a crotchety mentor (Van Heflin). As a collection of freestanding production numbers devoted to Kern's songs, however, the movie has appeal. It begins with almost 20 minutes of Showboat (including Lena Horne's plaintive reading of "Can't Help Lovin' That Man") and the hits just keep on coming. Judy Garland, who appears in a few scenes as stage star Marilyn Miller, contributes "Look for the Silver Lining" and a Gatsby-esque production number on "Who?" Her songs were staged by then-hubby Vincente Minnelli. Other highlights include a young Angela Lansbury, still with baby fat, singing "How'd You Like to Spoon with Me?" Lucille Bremer, a leggy starlet who never quite caught on, plays Kern's protégé. She spins a delightful duet with Van Johnson on "I Won't Dance," two redheads capering with gusto. It all ends with another splashy theatrical montage, climaxing in Frank Sinatra's take on "Ol' Man River." That might sound like a strange idea, but Ol' Blue Eyes clearly loves the song (he would return to it often in his career) and is in beautiful voice. Despite being a lavish MGM production, Till the Clouds fell out of copyright and into the public domain, so print quality (and even running time) can be variable. --Robert Horton