The Little Colonel

It's Kentucky in the 70's. Southern belle Elizabeth Lloyd runs off to marry Yankee Jack Sherman. Her father (Lionel Barrymore) is a former Confederate colonel during the Civil War. He is still proud of the past and vows never to speak to his own daughter again. Six years later, the couple is out on the western frontier and their daughter Lloyd Sherman (Shirley Temple) is the soldier's beloved honorary colonel. While Jack heads further west, Elizabeth returns home to live in a ramshackle family cottage with her daughter. Walker (Bill Robinson) is the old Colonel's faithful servant.

A modern audience may have an issue with the portrayal of the black characters but it's a 1935 movie about the post civil war era. On top of that, all the black characters are on the side of good and it's most notable for mixed-race dance sequences. In the film advancement category, there is also the color footage to close out the movie. In the end, it's all about the adorable Shirley Temple with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Their dances are cute but I wouldn't call them epic. Barrymore is perfectly cranky. I think it would be easier to kill off the father. That would be a better reason for Elizabeth to return home. I also don't like the railroad story and killing off the father would eliminate that. Overall, Shirley Temple is doing all of her cutesy stuff and that's more than enough.