The next year, she served as a United States commissioner for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 1972, she was appointed a representative to the UN Conference on the Human Environment and also served as a representative on the Joint Committee for the USSR-USA Environmental Treaty. Her work at the United Nations led to a second career for Shirley Temple Black. In 1969, she was appointed to serve as a representative to the United Nations (UN), a multinational organization aimed at world peace. This was only the beginning of her involvement in public service, however. She ran for Congress in 1967 and was defeated. In 1950, after the marriage, Temple's concern over domestic social problems caused her to realize that life as a private citizen could not satisfy her desire to make the world a better place. Film audiences would simply not allow the adorable girl who had sung "On the Good Ship Lolly Pop" and "Animal Crackers (in My Soup)" to grow up. She tried to maintain her acting career through the 1940s, but never again did she come even close to the stardom of her childhood. When The Blue Bird (1940) proved unpopular at the box office, and the next film she starred in fared poorly as well, Twentieth-Century Fox devised a means of getting rid of the "property" that had saved the fledgling studio from bankruptcy. By 1940, she had appeared in forty-three feature films and shorts, and an entire industry had sprung up with products celebrating the glories of Shirley Temple: dolls, dresses, coloring books, and other merchandise.īy the decade's end, Temple was no longer quite a child. The first of these is especially notable because it was her first starring role.īy the end of the 1930s, however, Temple's popularity had begun to wane, and her last big hit was The Little Princess (1939). She appeared in eight other full-length films that year, including Little Miss Marker and Bright Eyes. It was another Fox release of that year that made her a star: Stand Up and Cheer. The first full-length feature that she appeared in for Fox was Carolina (1934). She appeared in a short movie entitled Baby Burlesks, followed by a two-reeler, Frolics of Youth, that would lead to her being contracted by the Fox Film Corporation at a salary of $150 per week. Shirley Temple's first contract was with Educational Pictures Inc., for whom she worked in 19. Here’s a nice shot of Shirley as we all love to remember her.(age 85) Santa Monica, California, United States In all fairness to her acting skills as an adult in this feature, she’s passable but with Barry Fitzgerald along for the ride she is handicapped from the outset. This was the last year that Miss Temple would appear in films leaving a legacy that lasts to this day. Butler would also direct a number of Doris Day’s earlier musicals before settling into television shows like Leave it to Beaver. This film from Warner Brothers was directed by David Butler. I am pretty sure this is another one of those distorted Hollywood versions that bends the truth to make for a pleasurable viewing. I am well aware of the name of Seabiscuit in the arena of horse racing but can’t swear to the true story and how the behind the scenes of his training played out. Even today we still get the odd one turn up including the Tobey Maguire Seabiscuit of 2003. Horse racing has always been a wonderful backdrop for Hollywood since movies began. This is really a by the numbers horse racing entry with a bit of romance added in to keep the film a pleasant offering for audiences of the day. There are plenty of horse races to enjoy here including mixing some original black and white footage of the real deal into this technicolor offering. Think about it, Barry is probably the only actor that was ever capable of holding his own with Cheetah the chimp in the Tarzan series. This of course allows Barry the opportunity to play cupid allowing him plenty of opportunities to display his acting tricks. Shirley has trouble committing to Lon due to the death of her brother in a horse racing accident. Overpowering Shirley’s heart is Lon McCallister as the jockey who will be taking the reigns of the famed racing horse as he begins his run to prominence. A horse that he feels will overpower the racing world. It is here that Barry sees a young Seabiscuit. Temple is playing his niece who has come to America to continue her training as a nurse. They have arrived in Kentucky where Barry has been brought over from the old country to select top racing horses for further training. What would film history be like without the charm of Barry Fitzgerald? Can’t you just see Barry polishing his Oscar saying “I shudder to even think such thoughts.”Īs Shirley Temple’s career was coming to a close she was teamed here with the supreme scene stealer in Fitzgerald.
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