User reviews

There are two very good opportunities afforded by this film. One, it's entertaining, fast-paced, and Shirley really shines.

The second is a chance to talk to your children about the way black characters and white characters interact in this film. Some younger children may be confused by the divide between the black characters and the white characters (especially those who attend racially-diverse schools,) but this is a good time to explain to them the racist attitudes of the time period, and ask them how it makes them feel.

The best way to combat racism is not to sweep it under the rug, but to teach children where we were, how far we've come, and how far we still need to go. Give children the credit they deserve, they will understand.

This film is a perfect opportunity to relate to your children and instill guidance.

The Littlest Rebel is probably one of Shirley Temple's infamous and most controversial movie that she has starred in. It is extremely sympathetic toward the Confederate side of the Civil War but the eternal charm that Shirley Temple gives in each of her movies can't help being repressed.

The story is simple. Shirley T plays a little Southern girl named Virgie Cary a adorable moppet who seems to hold the social graces that would put Emily Post to shame. Because she is so cute and polite, everyone finds her irresistible. Oh! She is also a TERRIFIC tap dancer to boot! One sunny afternoon (April 12th) while she is celebrating her birthday, news flies in the door that Fort Sumter was fired upon and The War between the States has begun! Virgie is the child of Southern parents on a beautiful plantation with the happiest bunch of slaves that you ever seen---so we know what side her father will fight for.

Life for Virgie changes somewhat after that. Like any child in the Civil War, she misses her father who has gone off to battle. But Virgie has incredible spunk and bravery when she confronts the "Yankee" army and actually seems to want to do battle with them when some of the soldiers get mean with her and try to steal from her home and pushes her mother roughly down the stairs. Luckily, her bravery and stubborn pluck captures the heart of a Union Commander who later tries to help her father. When Virgie's mother is stricken with an illness and dies, her father is captured and the kind Union Commander is also implicated. There is only one person who can save them....Can Virgie charm the socks off of Abraham Lincoln in Washington D.C and get a reprieve for them? African American's will not view this movie favorably because it shows a preposterous view of the treatment of slavery. The slaves seemed so happy that they don't want to leave. The Cary's seem to be kind slave owners---the slave quarters are furnished tastefully like a roadside motel. There are no beatings or mention of abuses. Of course, there are dreadful black stereotypes like John Henry.

But the most interesting actor besides Shirley T is Bill "Bojangles" Robinson whom I consider one of the greats in tap dancing. Temple and Robinson enjoyed a very close friendship outside the studio. It was said when Temple saw Bill Robinson on a movie set, she had a mad compulsion to run up to him, take him by the hand, tug at him and look into his eyes and smile. When Bill Robinsonlooked down and saw her tugging at his hand, he couldn't resist her childish charm and smiled back at her. Temple maintained that "Uncle Billy" was the one adult who never treated her like a child but as an equal adult. Robinson said that Temple was one of the most talented young person when it came to dance--all he had to do was show her a routine twice and she picked it up immediately. Robinson also displayed a fatherly protective figure with Temple. A story was said that when Temple married John Agar, Robinson congratulated him but said "Be good to my little girl or I'll kill you" If you watch the interaction between these two on film, you could see Shiley Temple's eyes light up like a Christmas tree. I am sure that they felt some type of respect for each other off screen that carried into their outside lives. Relationships between black and white actors were not forbidden at that time but they were not encouraged. But we could say Temple and Robinson have been dubbed the first inter-racial couple on screen.

Despite the false picture of slavery, The Littlest Rebel entertains us thanks to the talents of Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple. There is a tap dancing scene halfway in the picture that can't be missed. Sure, the plot is campy and corny, and Shirley's sugar sweet demure is gut wrenching---but for some reason it entertains.

I just finished watching this film with my 7 year old daughter and I am utterly astonished at this young girls gifts. Being a "Mr. Mom", I have come to know what a little girl is capable of, mine as well as neighborhood children, and I can say that young Shirley was far more than just exceptional in many ways. This film certainly puts her to the test and she comes through with flying colors. Her beauty is captivating and her natural charm is startling. Her line delivery is perfect. When faced with bad news, watch as she slowly girds herself to receive it. It's as though she truly believes it herself and cannot contain her emotions. When tears finally fly, it's hard to not want to reach through the screen and comfort her, especially when she is pleading her case to President Lincoln.

As a professional musician I am astonished at her near perfect execution of complex syncopated dance routines with Bill Robinson. It is evident that she is really having fun during these numbers and surely was an attentive student. When she sings, her voice, although not a trained voice (thank goodness) is right on pitch. It is a natural, pleasant voice, free of any coaching. She really sings the lyric, (something that most "pro" singers could stand a lesson in) and not just the song. I never really stopped to listen to "Believe me if all these endearing young charms" but her non-treatment forced me to hear it. It's a very touching song.

How I would enjoy a chat with her to pick her brain. She really was a "perfect storm" as child stars go and I will certainly be screening more of her films....for my...AHEM...daughter, of course.

The previous review of this movie begins with the question "Can you get past the racism of the era?", and concludes that you can't. I won't argue that you should "get past" the racism. Rather, I'd argue that you need to look right at it and see that it is not simple, and not just a matter of stereotypes.

Yes, Willie Best's character is an embarrassment when it is not infuriating. There's no arguing that.

But Bill Robinson's character is very different. He is the one on whom Mrs. Cary relies when her husband is at war, he is the one who makes it possible for Cary to get back to see his wife as she is dying, etc. He is also the one who makes it possible for he and little Virgie to get to Washington and, eventually, plead her father's case with President Lincoln. In short, he is the character who makes pretty much everything good happen.

Yes, there is injustice in that he should have received higher billing as a result, and he should have been in the final shot with Temple, as he was as important as her father and more important than Jack Holt. That was unfair, and though probably based on what Fox thought American audiences of the time would tolerate, nonetheless a concession to the racism of the time. But for its time, this movie is remarkably devoid of the "dumb and happy darkie" stereotypes of the time that are so infuriating.

Furthermore, little Virgie never once treats "Uncle Bill" as anything less than an equal. Nor do her parents ever treat him disparagingly.

Race relations in this movie are not perfect. But neither are they stereotypes. There is no point on zooming in on Willie Best's character and going through all the modern clichés of moral superiority, only to dismiss it. The movie deserves better than that.

Yes, the dancing by Robinson and Temple is a wonder. But this movie has other things that are worth examination as well.

Forget what you may have been told about this movie and try to watch it with an open mind. You won't waste your time.

The thing which is racist about the film is not that it sets out to show anything evil about the black people - Shirley seems to be quite fond of her slaves, unless of course they do something wrong - but in the subtle way it suggests there was nothing wrong with the situation the Deep South was in before the civil war.

The black people are not only less intelligent than the whites (notice the girl so dumb she can't even remember a single line her mother told her to memorise to impress the young white child star - or perhaps she's just so nervous in the presence of the superior species that she can't remember), but they're completely happy being enslaved.

They absolutely love being told what to do by the six year old landowner's daughter, and the neighbourhood slaves just wait around for young Shirley to lavish some attention on them.

The thing I most regret about the film was that they forced the blacks to dance and entertain their white hosts like a bunch of chained elephants or circus freaks.

Its always a bad sign when the civil war is portrayed as a distruption to the desired state of affairs, as it is here and in Gone with the Wind.

1/5

Only youngsters, who don't yet understand that the only difference between white folks and black folks is skin pigment, which only evolved from a group of people living in an ultra-sunny climate for years, will be able to enjoy this film. But perhaps its better for society if you don't show it to them - the young are so impressionable, after all.

UPDATE: Can I point out that I've noticed people don't like this review, and I'm not surprised; its intentions were so innocent, it feels a shame to accuse it of causing offense, but unfortunately, I'd still suggest this one not be shown to impressionable kids for the reasons I have outlined above.

WARNING: Watching this film might cause your head to explode! I'm just sayin'.....

"The Littlest Rebel" begins in an insanely over-idealized view of the South during the time of slavery. Little Virgie (Shirley Temple) is having a birthday party and all the slaves on the plantation are thrilled to be allowed to serve her! All the slaves are very well-fed and dressed and so happy! It's THAT ridiculous a view of slavery!! Yes, these slaves actually root for the Confederate Army and would probably volunteer to be slaves--it's THAT ridiculous. When their land is overrun by Yankee soldiers, the slaves stick around and keep working for their beloved owners! And, to further solidify this insane view of blacks, Willie Best (I guess Steppin Fetchit wasn't available) is on hand to act sub-human and harmless. And, there's that darling little scene at the 20 minute mark where Shirley is in black-face to avoid the Yankees finding her (and she looks a lot like the Aunt Jemima character)!! The film clearly promotes a ridiculously bigoted and idealized view of slavery, I advise parents to watch this with their kids and folks with heart conditions to have their nitro tablets and a defibrillator nearby just in case!!

The rest of the film has to do with the war. While Daddy is away, Momma and Virgie hang on--waiting for each trip he makes back through enemy lines on his scouting expeditions. However, eventually, Momma becomes seriously ill and Daddy once again sneaks through the lines--only to see her moments before her death. Now, poor Virgie needs some place to live and Daddy decides to sneak her off to Richmond. But, to get there, he needs to sneak her with him--and that won't be easy. It gets a bit ridiculous here, as a sympathetic Northern Colonel actually helps him in this task because he also thinks Virgie is wonderful (EVERYBODY thinks she's wonderful, actually). But, when they are caught, it's up to Virgie to save the day. How? Well, see this for a sweet but 100% ridiculous ending.

This film is quite offensive but, like all of Shirley's films, highly entertaining. Her wonderful dancing with Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson and ultra-sweet persona carry the film---making you enjoy it despite the utter silliness of the plot. Well worth seeing even if it is a SERIOUSLY flawed film.

By the way, I really agree with JohnnyOldSoul's review when he says that the best way to combat racism is NOT to sweep it under the rug (i.e., ban this film) but to talk about it. Yes, the film is VERY offensive, but it also gives us an interesting history lesson about how bad things were racially in the 1930s--when the "Birth of a Nation" view of slavery was pretty much assumed to be true. Plus, seeing it shows us just have far we've come.

This was the first Shirley Temple movie I ever watched (on VSH....hey, I'm not THAT old) and I still consider it one of her best.

That's because it has a great mixture of drama, comedy, song/dance and suspense. Almost all the characters are likable. The two dances scenes with Temple and Bill Robinson are excellent....a joy to watch. I don't know if Shirley ever looked cuter than in this film. She runs the gamut of emotions in here quite frequently.

The 74-minute story never has a lull. John Boles and Karen Moreley are people you root for, Willie Best provides good comedy and there is a surprising amount of suspense.

Overall, however, this is simply a sweet, sentimental film that leaves you feeling good after watching it.....and what's wrong with that?

THE LITTLEST REBEL (20th Century-Fox, 1935), directed by David Butler, another agreeable and rewarding motion picture featuring child star, Shirley Temple, teams her once again opposite 1935 co-stars John Boles (CURLY TOP) and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (THE LITTLE COLONEL). Capitalizing on the success of THE LITTLE COLONEL, set after the Civil War, THE LITTLEST REBEL, taking place during the war between the states, finds Temple as a little girl winning the hearts of those around her, especially a tough Yankee soldier (Jack Holt) and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (Frank McGlynn Sr.), with whom she shares his apple. An old chestnut by Edward Peple that was first staged and  later filmed during the silent era in 1914, this edition, Temple's last for 1935, further demonstrates her as a fine child actress who equally handles her lighter and dramatic scenes with conviction and sincerity.

The story is set on a Southern plantation where Herbert Cary (John Boles) and his wife, Helen (Karen Morley) honor their child, Virginia, better known as Virgie (Shirley Temple), with a birthday party where she and her little guests are gathered together with ice cream and cake along with tap dancing entertainment by Cary's slave/ butler, Uncle Willie (Bill Robinson). Shortly afterwards, the party is disrupted by startling news that war has been declared between the states. Enlisting in the Army, Cary leaves his wife and child under the care of Uncle Willie. With Yankee scouts invading their property, Virgie, while playing soldier, sling shots Colonel Morrison (Jack Holt), addressing herself as a "confederate." In spite of their differences, Morrison, a father himself, takes an immediate liking to Virgie, later rescuing her from the threat of the villainous Sergeant Dudley (Guinn Williams) for not revealing the whereabouts of her "daddy." After the Cary estate is burned to the ground, causing Mrs. Carey to fall ill and die within three weeks time, Cary leaves his post to take Virgie over to Richmond where she's to be placed in the care of her Aunt Caroline. Complications arise when Carey is recognized and captured, separated from his daughter, imprisoned along with Morrison for helping him, each charged with treason and sentences to be executed.   

With 20th-Fox specializing in Southern stories set during, before or after the Civil War, THE LITTLEST REBEL is a fine example capturing Southern hospitality and flavor with the reconstruction of plantations and notable songs from that era including "Swanee River" (by Stephen Foster) sung during opening credits; "Turkey in the Straw" (tap dance by Bill Robinson); "Those Endearing Young Charms" (sung by Shirley Temple); "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (by Thomas Moore and Matthew Locke); "Polly-Wolly Doodle" and "Polly-Wolly-Doodle" (sung by Temple and reprized during closing titles).

Of its cast members, Bill Robinson and Willie Best provide lighter moments to their traditional servant roles. Best's performance as a shiftless and comical slave gives the impression that his role as James Henry was actually intended for Stepin Fetchit. While Best doesn't imitate Fetchit's comical methods to the extreme, he works well alongside Robinson as his comic foil doing a brief takeoff in the popular "Amos and Andy" radio show tradition in the question and answer session where Best asks Robinson: "Why is a shoe called a shoe?"  Although portraying their roles through stereotypes, Robinson comes through as an intelligent, caring and sensible slave with a talent for dancing. He's very convincing and sincere through his interacting with Temple, which is why they work so well together. John Boles satisfies as the easy-going father turned soldier and accused spy while Karen Morley, despite of her screen limitations, makes due with her role.

Due to controversy in how the black performers are portrayed, cable television revivals of THE LITTLEST REBEL in recent years have been limited, though shown frequently at some point on American Movie Classics (1996-1999), the Fox Movie Channel, and availability since the 1980s on home video and afterwards DVD either in black and white or colorized formats. In May 2006, THE LITTLEST REBEL was one of the films chosen as part of its subject matter of "Black Images on Film" theme co-hosted by author Donald Bogle, where he and host Bob Osborne discussed the film, performances of Robinson and Best, as well as a scene where Temple gets herself corked up to avoid Yankee soldiers.

THE LITTLEST REBEL, along with THE LITTLE COLONEL, were intended as screen entertainment with no intention to offend, yet something to consider as a reflection of the times, and how a Civil War story such as this is seen through the eyes of Virgie Carey, the littlest rebel. (***)

There was no end to this little girl's talent, as Shirley once again gives an astounding performance with her singing, dancing, and acting skills that are something else for a seven-year-old!

The story takes place during the Civil War, where Shirley goes through some harrowing experiences for a child, like losing her mother, helping to hide her father from Union soldiers, an attempted getaway, where they're chased and shot at, and seeing her father in jail. But Shirley does something about that! She (along with Bill Robinson) pays a visit to President Lincoln to plead her father's case! And what a priceless scene that is! (Almost as good as Shirley and Bill earning their train ticket fare to Washington by dancing and singing "Polly Wolly Doodle".) Shirley and Bill made quite a team!

Stepin Fetchit is also here, and is his usual self, like when he's found hiding in a closet by Union soldiers, and said he just stepped in there to get some air, or, as if contemplating one of life's profound questions, he asks Bill why a shoe is called a shoe? He's something else!

Some memorable scenes are Shirley defiantly singing "Dixie" to some Union officers and leading a group of children she's training to be soldiers. When her father leaves to go fight, (after a crying scene that was so well acted, not over the top), she asks him to "give my love to General Lee." The tears she sheds over her mother's death (and later, when she tells the President about it) are as if she really suffered a loss, no phony sobs or overacting with this little girl. And you have a heart of stone if you aren't moved by her singing "Believe Me if all Those Endearing Young Charms" to her father.

This is a short movie (less than 90 minutes), so by all means watch it!

Shirley's comfy confederate life is disrupted by Yankees invading her home and breaking up her family. It is perhaps unfair to criticize the performance of a seven-year-old, but her mugging can become tiresome for those who are not fans of the diminutive star. The acting of the adults is pretty bad, not helped by the corny script, awful dialog, and characters that don't resemble real people. McGlynn makes a laughably goofy Lincoln. The depiction of blacks is embarrassing, particularly Best as a mentally challenged slave, a character meant to be funny. The best thing about this mercifully short film is the dancing of Temple and "Bojangles" Robinson.

First Shirley Temple picture I've really sat down to watch. Feels like The Beguiled, a Civil War picture that's less about the war and more about women struggling on the sudden warfront. And the general senselessness of war.

Kind of irritating Mr Cary and the Yankee officer have the same stupid mustache but I guess it was the style.

Oh man, the "why is a shoe called a shoe" bit is fantastic. And of course Shirley's song and dance bits are the reason for a Shirley Temple picture so are great.

Virgie Cary (Shirley Temple) is a precocious child on a plantation estate. Uncle Billy is her dutiful slave servant and James Henry is the slack-jawed slow-witted one. The war breaks out during her 6th birthday party. Her daddy joins the rebel army. The plantation falls behind Yankee lines. Captain Cary sneaks home to visit as a scout. Marauding Yankees are searching for him and Virgie puts on black face to hide. The kind Colonel Morrison stops the troops' pillaging.

This is a different era in Hollywood. It's the vision of antebellum south where slavery is gentle and harmless. Slaves are dutiful and submissive. One can't judge it in modern terms but one can't ignore the historical slant either. It's also a movie that is trying to appeal to a family audience. It does have the innocence of a child who doesn't see the point of the war. Its heart is in the right place for its time but times have moved on.

Where to start...?

Made in 1935, this bizarre story of the Civil War is told upside down. It's difficult to imagine what the studio was thinking when it made this film. I wonder what the movie-going public thought at the time. I can't imagine people north of the Mason-Dixon line would have appreciated it very much. Perhaps the studio was pandering to a Southern audience who was still smarting from the reality that their way of life was forever altered by the Civil War--and this film recreates (or perpetuates) a fantasy of the South's lovely, gentile way of life, in which everyone knew his place, and it all worked just fine.

In any case, in this movie, confederates and white Southerners are depicted as noble, intelligent, kind, good, and very much entitled to owning slaves. They are presented as quick-witted, distinguished, and morally superior to the Northerners. Not one of them has a Southern accent.

Northerners/Yankees, on the other hand, are made out to be dumb, vulgar, cruel, and inhumane--inexplicably oppressing the kindly Confederates. As viewers we're astonished when one of the bedeviled Northern Aggressors (some Southerners *still* in 2005 refer to the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression) cuts Shirley's father a break and helps him out.

The slave characters are drawn 2 ways. The first is being so numb-skulled, mush-mouthed, and knuckle-dragging as to appear mentally disabled--and it's clear that this grotesque caricature is supposed to be screamingly funny. It's not. It's stomach-churn-caliber material.

The second way slaves are depicted is just brimming with love for their massahs, beside themselves with delight in their obedience to them--and even worse, trying to subvert the bad Yankees, since the slaves don't want to be freed.

Shirely Temple's black face disguise, her masquerading as a "pickinniny" (a small black slave child) is one of the more repugnant things I've ever seen in a movie.

Almost as bad is her character's regard for the slaves as idiot children--scolding them when she sees them stepping out of line (shaking her adorable little finger at them) and alternately treating them like her cute little pets.

A very uncomfortable film to watch. And aside from the dreadful racist historical context--oddly enough--Shirley Temple is quite glorious and the musical numbers are lively and fun.

I almost believe Shirley could end a war single-handed. Not the entire war, of course, but a few regiments from each side, camped across a creek from each other, going over their plans for tomorrow's battle... but wait! What's that noise? Why, it sounds like singing! And tap dancing! Then from out of nowhere, floating down the creek on a raft is little Shirley herself, singing 'Those Endearing Young Charms' in her prettiest dress, a pink bow in her hair. Hooray! shout the rebs, Hooray! shout the yanks! The generals from each side wade out to meet her and carry little Shirley off on their shoulders to the White House where an oddly blond-bearded Abe Lincoln asks her help in ending the war, reconstructing the south, appeasing the slaves, preventing his own assasination, working things out with Mary, and sobering up Grant. Accomplishing this in less time than it takes to curl her hair, our three-foot heroine bids a tearful farewell to America and sails to Germany, where she charms the baby Kaiser out of starting World War I.

Shirley Temple's natural way with lines and look of pure enjoyment as she shares a tap dance routine with Bill Robinson, is reason enough for Shirley's fans to want to watch THE LITTLEST REBEL. When these two go into their dance steps, it's a pure pleasure to watch.

Not so pleasurable is treatment of the North and South and the Civil War, least of all the dim-witted jokes at the expense of the blacks. How far we've come since 1935 is painfully evident throughout much of the story and is bound to be something audiences have to overcome if they care to enjoy the story.

Once again, Shirley's father is handsome John Boles and there are plenty of competent adult performers surrounding her--but make no mistake about it, the film belongs to the little star whose wondrous way with song and dance (and lines) makes her the most precocious and precious of all the child stars. Her "Polly-Wolly-Doodle" and "These Endearing Young Charms" are proof positive of her rare talent.

This film is absolutely my favorite of all Shirley Temple films I've ever seen.

Why? Shirley's not just an Orphan(as in most of her films)that is adored by everybody and is adopted by a happy family at the end. This film is certainly a family film, that can be watched by kids and by adults with no doubts. It has a heart-warming story, that teaches how was the relationship between the Yankees and the other ones(sorry can't remember the name right now), and how the racism at the thirties was, of course it's not directly shown in the movie. And the scene when Virgie(Temple) meets the President Lincoln is such a sweetie(that scene is very remembered over here, it's in a very famous book too).

And, as in almost all of her movies, Shirley shows her sweet smiles, dances with Bill Robinson and sings one of her cutest songs ever!(Polly-Wolly-Doodle).

Anyway, Shirley is sweet as always and giving a great performance!

It really draws you in. This is a fantastic movie. A whole new generation of our family now enjoys the movie.

At her Richmond birthday party, six-year-old Shirley Temple (as Virginia "Virgie" Cary) is delighted when dutiful dancing slave Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (as "Uncle Billy") entertains on cue. The towering tap-dancer doesn't understand slavery. And yet, Mr. Robinson is one of the smarter servants in the cast. The others, led by Willie Best (as James Henry), can most politely be described as mentally challenged. The outbreak of the US Civil War disrupts Ms. Temple's happy life. Handsome father John Boles (as Herbert Cary) is called to duty, and "The Littlest Rebel" must see President Lincoln himself, to set things right...

Unless some subversive statement is being made by having the confederate "Curly Top" leading a group of Black children in white-coned caps, the motive is strictly to entertain. However, the story features abhorrently rampant racism. Here, the slaves are happy to serve the obviously superior white folks - and why shouldn't they? They wouldn't know how to say, "Emancipation Proclamation," let alone understand slavery. Other racially problematic films have some depth to the characters, attempt to honestly reflect the times, or advance film as an art. You have little of that, here. Temple and Robinson dance appealingly together, however.

*** The Littlest Rebel (12/19/35) David Butler ~ Shirley Temple, Bill Robinson, John Boles, Willie Best

Shirley Temple is wonderful as usual in this cute movie.

It is a about a little girl, Virgie(Temple)living through the civil war. Her Father has to go to and fight in the war and is caught as a spy in a Yankee uniform. Virgie and her beloved slave Uncle Billy go to president Lincon to ask him to let her father out.

Shirley shines in this movie, and is especially charming singing the song 'Those endearing young charms' with a pink bow in her hair. She and Uncle Billy do a great tap dance and Shirley shows her amazing talent. The song 'Polly Wolly Doodle' was really good also.

I think that Shirley Temple fans would really enjoy this movie, but if you don't really like Shirley this movie could be a little boring.

Was there ever such a talented little kid as Shirley Temple? She could act, sing, dance and steal scenes with the best of them. Singlehandedly, she saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy during the 30's and made ordinary potboilers box office successes, such as "The Littlest Rebel". Submitting to such scene larceny here are John Boles, Jack Holt and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who gave her competition in several dance sequences.

This picture is set in Civil War South, and steps lightly through the minefield of the racism of slavery. Not sure if this picture could be made today, as racial tensions have been stewing since the Civil Rights Act of 1965, but this was 1935, and audiences had a better historical sense than is found nowadays. Just watch and enjoy the entertainment phenomenon that was Shirley Temple, Hollywood's all-time greatest scene-stealer.

6/10 - Website no longer prints my star ratings.

During the War for Southern Independence, THE LITTLEST REBEL, all of 6 years old, defies the Yankee soldiers with spunk & courage.

20th Century Fox gave this film a rather lavish production, knowing they would recoup all their costs because they had a box-office bonanza in Shirley Temple. The Diminutive Dynamo does not disappoint. Oozing charm from every pore, she establishes her complete dominance of the movie early on and never relinquishes it. Either defiant or disarming, she is equally delightful.

John Boles & Karen Morley play Shirley's parents and do quite well, especially considering that they're really only there to help showcase the Mighty Tyke's talents. Jack Holt gives a sympathetic performance as a ‘good' Yankee, while Guinn Williams is properly villainous as a rotten one.

Willie Best steals a scene or two as a timid slave, and Frank McGlynn Sr. scores in his few minutes as Abraham Lincoln (yes, the Great Emancipator is not immune to Shirley's tears).

The legendary Bill Robinson has a sizable role as a faithful slave of Shirley's family. He plays the part with grace & dignity, flashing a smile that is every bit as engaging as hers. His dancing is beyond praise - as always - and in little Miss Temple he has a partner who can match him step for step.

It should be noted that there is quite a bit of racism in the film, showing that Hollywood of the 1930's had much in common with the America of the 1860's.

Shirley sings ‘Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms' & ‘Polly Wolly Doodle.'

One could say that the essential thing about all ruling, all exploiting and all humiliation is to make most of those that you rule over, unaware of their slavery, even if, as in this film, they are called slaves. Right after the civil war, there was a general understanding amongst winners of that war to go easy on the conquered South. Even Lincoln is said to have the orchestra playing "Dixie" as he stood there on the balcony receiving the praise of the people for the victory.

Why, one might ask, was this so?

The South's kind of slavery was a very lazy one, in which the slaves knew that they were slaves and in which there were only black slaves. Less lazy rulers want all to be slaves, except themselves, of course. The South's kind of slavery was a provocation and to let it go on could easily have resulted in another, for the men in power much more dangerous war, the war of all slaves (not just those being called slaves) of all colors against the rich and powerful. That was not allowed to happen. This film glorifies ruling and cleverly even manages to glorify the kind of slavery in which people are called slaves and openly are bought and sold. By taking a stand for the South in the times of the civil war, Hollywood did with this film sanction "fatherly" leadership, which we are supposed to believe being "good", even if we are sold and bought. Using a lovely motherless child and any number of "Uncle Tom's" for this purpose, as in the story of this film, does, as it seems, give rise to no blushing whatsoever. The liar lies so much that, in the end, he believes his own lies. A gruesome "cute" little film selling slavery to the slaves!