They May Never Have Crossed Paths, But There Was More Of A Connection Between Shirley Temple And Judy Garland Than One Might Have Thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    Foolish me, darlings!  I knew Temple's icon status at 20th Century-Fox ended with puberty, in 1940.  But I thought her last film there was their compensation gift to her, "The Blue Bird."  But it was not.  It was "Young People," which is an interesting film to look at in scrutinizing Temple's career.

                                     Now, baby boomers like yours truly, who grew up with those annual TV showings of "The Wizard Of Oz," knew, by high school, and even some before, that Shirley Temple was the first choice for Dorothy.  But history stuck its hand in, and provided Judy Garland, who made it the iconic film still discussed today.  With Shirley, it would be in the canner's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        "Young People" shows why.  The story is a comedy-musical-drama.

                                           Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood play Joe and Kit Ballentine, two vaudeville hoofers.  Their two best friends were Barney and Florence O'Hara.  Florence dies in childbirth, and the grief kills Barney, so their daughter, Wendy, is dispatched to the Ballentines, to be raised by them.  The girl, named Wendy, becomes a part of their act, which is a chance to relive some of the best moments of Shirley's earlier career, and begin to shed light on why it was now ending.

                                           As Wendy gets older, the Ballentines decide to get out of show business, and give Wendy a so-called normal upbringing.  Her father left her a farm that he bought, in the New England town of Stoneville.  So, the family moves there, intending to make friends, make good, and give Wendy a happy, normal life.

                                            And this is where things get dramatic.  The town rejects them as being too crude and vulgar, because they are show-biz folk. Wendy is adopted, but does not know this yet, and the Ballentines mull over when she should be told.

                                               With the exception of Mike Shea, a progressive newspaper type, the town is told what to do by Miss Hester Appleby, played by Kathleen Howard. She lives with her spinster niece, Judy (Arleen Wheelan) in this Gothic house on a hill.   The town officials humiliate Joe (Oakie) by appointing him a one-man Chamber Of Commerce, which he believes at first.  When he finds out the truth, that he is nothing more than a joke to them, fists fly, and justice is served.  But it is too late.

                                                 The Ballentines decide to leave the town and go back to show biz.  But before, there is a scene in a soda fountain, where Wendy confronts her bitch nemesis, Mary Ann, (Shirley Mills) plus her mother and friend.  The speech she makes here, and to a Mr. Dakin later on, shows the studio was trying for a dramatic transition for Shirley, but all she could muster was that pouty petulance in both face and voice she had mastered for years.  So, this is why her career ended.
The audiences could not accept her growing up, and she could not, either.  Plus her vocal singing range was extremely limited.

                                                    As the Ballentines leave town, a hurricane arises, causing them to be stranded in Miss Appleby's house, with a group of children, whom they save.  This is, after all, Temple's swan song, so it has to have a happy ending.  One child, Jerry is missing, and when Joe finds out, her marches out into the storm, and, in a scene looking straight out of Mary Pickford's "Sparrows" from 1926.  Jerry is saved, Joe recovers, everyone now loves the Ballentines, even Judy, who finally comes around, to Mike Shea's delight, and the film culminates in Shirley's last great dance number, "Tra-La-La," backed by some fancy footwork form Oakie, and dazzling work from Greenwood.

                                                      Now, how does Garland figure in here?  Well, did you know the two were on the 20th lot at the same time?  In 1936, while Temple was Screen Queen, Garland, an awkward looking 14, was loaned by Metro to Fox for a football musical, "Pigskin Parade."  She even had pigtails here, but none as couture as Dorothy's.  Her dress was a burlap sack, and she looked like White Trash, which I guess she was playing.  But, even then, she had "that voice."  Nothing trashy about that, dears.  I have no info about them crossing paths, but they were connected.

                                                       "Young People" ended Temple's career, because she had no adult acting chops, and could not evolve.  I guess they thought retraining here a waste, and the public would not accept her growing up.  Too bad, because the plot of this film is a little "King's Row-ish," which came along the following year, and, had Shirley shown acting promise, she might have had a shot at the child Cassie in that film.  Alas, she did not.

                                                             Interestingly, to erase her image and become adult, she auditioned for the role of Veda, in "Mildred Pierce."  Like Ann Blyth, she had angelic looks, but could not summon the acting chops to reveal the evil beneath Veda's exterior, the way Blythe did.

                                                            I don't know how much of Hollywood, then, knew Judy Garland's true story, but I can tell you this.  "Young People" is eerily similar. Judy was the child of vaudevillians Frank and Ethel Gumm.  She was their most talented child, and when they got to California, they moved to the town of Lancaster, outside of Los Angeles.  But, like other times, with Frank's homosexual peccadilloes, the family had to move...again.  But not before, as in "Young People," the town residents made it clear the Gumms were not welcome, due to their being "show folk."

                                                                 Was this a swipe at Garland, for Temple not getting 'Oz?' Or just coincidence?  In any case, as things are known now, it is frighteningly ironic.  And while Fox might have been hoping for things to work out for Temple, they did not.  She made a few good movies--"Since You Went Away" (1944), "The Bachelor And The Bobby Soxer" (1947) and "Fort Appache" (1948), with John Agar, who became her first husband.

                                                                   Then she retired, raised children, and had a whole new career in politics, before dying in 2014, at the age of 85!

                                                                      Shirley will remain an extraordinary part of film history. But, like many child stars, that stardom is short lived.  She had too much dignity, to evolve into a latter day Baby Jane. She left on her terms, head held high.

                                                                         But when her name is mentioned, it will only reference the vintage years, 1934-1940!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is her last dance, in "Young People." This was her swan song!