Product Description

As America's princess, Shirley Temple captured the hearts of millions with her charm, youth, and talent. She debuted at age three and became a star at six when her mother landed her the lead role in Little Miss Marker, the box-office sensation of 1934. BIOGRAPHY® traces her short, bright career in Depression-era America, a time when audiences found welcome escape in her delightful singing and dancing. Witness rare clips from Bright Eyes, Curly Top, and The Littlest Rebel, and hear from costars such as Alice Faye. Learn how she disappeared from the public eye only to reappear in politics, where she remained active for almost two decades. From childhood stardom to her highly publicized battle with breast cancer, BIOGRAPHY® presents the story of Shirley Temple, America's original sweetheart. DVD Features: Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60819 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2005-12-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
"The Biggest Little Star," as this 100-minute video is titled, child actor-singer-dancer Shirley Temple saved a Hollywood studio and brightened the lives of Depression-era filmgoers. Peter Graves's narration is complemented by interviews of actors such as Gloria Stuart and the late Roddy McDowall, President Gerald Ford, as well as biographers and her on-set tutor. From her beginnings in a series of disquietingly sexual low-budget "Kiddie Burlesk" spoofs to her heyday in wholesome pictures such as The Little Colonel and Heidi, the sausage-curled Temple grew up onscreen before an adoring public. An accomplished dancer she was paired with the likes of Buddy Ebsen and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. When she held hands with the latter, a black man, the pint-sized reformer not only made a small step for race relations, she inspired theaters in the Deep South to edit those parts out of her films. Her costars included Ronald Reagan and, as a pre-reader, she learned her lines from her mother before bedtime. But by age 12 she was a has-been and the very studio she had saved from bankruptcy, 20th Century Fox, released her from her contract. The resilient Temple went on to a second career in Republican politics, losing a California congressional run, but securing appointments under presidents Nixon, Ford, and Bush. This video biography, part of the excellent A&E series, is crammed with clips from her movies and offers plenty of information on her two careers. Unlike others in the series, however, it provides scant details on the personal front, shedding little light on her relationships with her stage mother and apparently somewhat uninvolved father or on her two marriages. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Reviews

The Biography of Shirley Temple
If you like history videos you will like this one. This video gives a lot of good information about Shirley Temple. I like how it gives you the list of all the movies Shirley Temple has done. If you like Shirley temple this movie is worth seeing.

This movie not only had the telling of shirley temples life it had interviews with close relations shuch as actros and actresses that worked with her and it had speeches that Shirley Temple told people. I did not like how they told about where she was living at the time due to the fact thast it dates the film. However, I liked how they showed you seens that were cut out in the movie and told you about the time she was living in and what was going on at that time.

This Biography of Shirley Temple was one of the best

Auto-biographies I have ever seen done on anyone.

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER SHIRLEY TEMPLE!!!!!
I remember how much I enjoyed watching this biography several years ago when it aired on A&E. At that time I really did'nt know much about Shirley Temple aside from her being married and acting as an Ambassador, so this biography was quite a treat! Peter Graves did an excellent job narrating (as always)and it included clips from practically all her films and the details of her life at that time. I always find it even more interesting of the stories behind the movies.
Naturally after watching Shirley Temple's biography I wished Twentieth Century Fox would start releasing her films. There was a 3 movie collection advertised on tv that seemed too expensive for 3 measley films. Then years later Fox finally started to release most of Shirley's films on video for about 5.99 each at Target. Needless to say they sold like hotcakes and I did'nt waste time collecting them all! Although I've noticed that alot of these films are being converted to dvd I have no intention of buying them all over again, considering most of her films were only about an hour long. However, I will be purchasing this biography on dvd to add to my collection and enjoy the lifestory of the greatest child star of all-time!!!!!

Really Enjoyed This DVD
I saw this biography on television for the first time, I must say I was blown away by all the things Shirley actually did with her life, especially after her stardom ended in the Hollywood scene. She is a very intriguing person, and if you are a fan of hers, or maybe just have seen a few of her movies and are a little curious, you will enjoy this DVD. It is very entertaining!