Search - Shirley Temple Collection, Vol. 1: Curly Top / Heidi / Little Miss Broadway on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/5/2024...

She has her moments!

Quit complaining about the trailers, enjoy the films

Real Music-Not Rap | Washington USA | 09/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wish the people complaining about the trailers would stop being so trivial and take the time to enjoy the films themselves. Sheesh! We ought to be grateful that Shirley Temple is now being appreciated by the studio and her films are appearing on DVD in small bunches, and even better, in RESTORED form! "Heidi" which was previously reissued on DVD a couple of years ago, wasn't THAT bad on DVD, but now it's even better and improved, albeit in some scenes it's hard to tell the difference.



I've already commented before about how Shirley is a national treasure and it's a shame that it's taken this long for her films to be taken seriously and be released on DVD. Hopefully, ALL of her films are eventually going to be restored for DVD."

The Perfect Classics

ilovemydog | TX, USA | 12/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am so glad that they decided to bring Shirley Temple FINALLY to DVD- and this time the quality is amazing on the DVD considering how old the films are. Both versions are available to watch on the DVD- black and white or the new colorized version based on your own liking....



There is a wide range of Shirley from those adorable years when, Shirley was nothing more than a bundle of joy that sung and dance her way into America's heart to those tween years when Fox was trying to show her off as a real actress. Still there is not a BAD movie in this set.



In Curly Top you see all that remarkable charm as she performs that classic "Animal Crackers In My Soup" and does that sweet tap dance on the piano at the end to the title song. The movie plays out as Shirley is an orphan at orphanage- beloved by all there... well, when she catches the eye of an investor of the orphanage when he visits. He falls in love with Shirley and decides to adopt her. Only problem- her older sister will not allow the adoption to take place unless he adopts her as well. Well, he makes the decision to adopt them both-only secretly even making up a character "Hireman Jones"- so that they both can come to expect the pleasures in life. Well, when he starts falling for Mary- Shirley's sister things get complicated. But, finally work their way out so that they can become one big happy family. "Curly Top" showcases off some amazing tap numbers and a ton of charm when Shirley was just a youngster starting out.



"Little Miss Broadway" is full of song and dance- and has my personal favorite tap dance scene at the end to the title number. Filmed during those difficult tween years for Shirley. The movie is set in NYC Shirley is a recently adopted orphan who now, lives at a hotel full of under-appreciated actors. Well, their landlord is not thirlled with the colorful characters working at the hotel from a band, to a magician who has a pet penguin, to a miget dance trio... Well, the land lady who Shirley refers to as "Ms. Pumpkin" trys to close down the hotel and throw out all the actors on the street she is one for one HUGE legal battle which ends up with a ton of memorable song and dance numbers. One of Shirleys under=appreciated movies this one NOT to miss!



Heidi based upon the classic book is a movie that any non-Shirley Temple fan will enjoy. The acting is increadiable in this movie and Shirley shows off some real acting strengths the scene in which she is begging the police not to take her grandfather away always makes me want to cry.



This is a PERFECT gift for any little girl in your family. Sit down with your family and enjoy the magic of Shirley Temple."

Great set for Shirley fans!

La Coccinelle | 12/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love Shirley Temple movies, and had VHS tapes of a few. But when the tapes started degrading, I went in search of DVD editions. I prefer the original black & white, and when Fox released a few DVDs a couple years ago (with both colour and black & white), I bought "Heidi". The black & white quality was awful! In fact, it looked like they'd just used the badly colourized version and removed the colour. I was very disappointed.



So when I heard that these movies were being rereleased, I eagerly (but a little warily) ordered them. The quality on these is amazing! The black & white versions have been restored very well (which you can clearly see when you compare them with the included old black & white trailers for other Shirley Temple films). Even the colourized versions are quite acceptable. Whereas in the olden days (the 1980s) the colourizing process often left inexact coloured halos around people and objects, this new process is very precise. I noticed individual hairs that were coloured, without any of that nasty halo. The whites of people's eyes are actually white, too, not flesh-toned.



"Little Miss Broadway" is one of my favourites, and I was thrilled with the quality of the film. The older colourized versions were too bright (as if someone had turned up the brightness and contrast on them), almost obscuring facial features in places. This new release is very much how I imagine the original must have been. Clear, a little grainy, and perfectly charming.



I don't care much about the trailers, but what I would like to have seen (especially for this set) was the deleted scene from "Little Miss Broadway". I believe it is available on a compilation DVD somewhere, but it would have been nice to see it included in the actual movie it was taken from.



I've already ordered the second 3-disc set for my collection. These movies are great!"