They seem to have their lives on track: they both work as chauffeurs for wealthy couple Mr. and Mrs. Carson (Richard Tucker and Olive Tell). Everything looks good, and the future is bright for them.
That is, until another ex-prisoner Trigger Stone (Ralf Harolde) comes back into their lives, and tries to drag them both back into a life of crime.
The two of them refuse his ‘advances’, but Special Agent Welch (Alan Dinehart) is convinced that the three of them are all working together, and that Eddie has stolen a priceless pearl necklace belonging to the Carsons.
Adamant that they have not changed their criminal ways, Welch gets the two of them fired from their jobs, and continues to pursue and hassle them to no end.
Enough of the plot, let’s move on to other points.
The screenplay isn’t great, to say the least. Even the story ‘twists’, if one can call them that, are weak at best. It is clear that - as with almost any other Shirley Temple film - the whole project is simply a vehicle for showcasing Temple’s singing and dancing abilities. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as her talents are quite incredible, even in this early film (she was only 5 years old at the time this film was made).
Also, none of the acting performances are anything to crow about. Every performer is merely delivering their lines and moving about, and there is almost no emotion in their delivery and no thought behind their eyes. Sure, it is impressive that young Shirley has memorised so many lines of dialogue, but her delivery of them is completely devoid of any meaning or emotion.
The song and dance number halfway through the film is a lot of fun, and shows amazing talent from both Shirley Temple and James Dunn. Other than this brief scene, there is little to recommend this film.
On the plus side, it only goes for 72 minutes.
4 out of 10.
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