Wonderful character development!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Blistering performances.

Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. More dancing needed by Shirley. There was not enough. She was subject of her birthday party, just like in Little Princess. There was a similar scene like look at me, I'm a spoiled brat here, too. The black and white ruined it for me. The long criminal scenes made it even worse. The mother was nice. James Dunn as the father, I always enjoy seeing with Shirley. Too many thigh and crotch shots of Shirley, including skin tight undies. It reminded me of a toddler Shirley in her child prostitute scene in one of her earlier films -- satiric parody maybe like Polly Tix in Washington. Ugh. You talk about juvenile exploitation. This moppet made big bucks for 20th in the Great Depression? At the end of the 1930s, her short and full career was about finished. I am a degreed historian, film critic, movie reviewer, theatrical researcher, actress, singer, dancer and stage makeup artist.

When I got this film from Netflix, it said that this film was Shirley's first starring full-length film. However, I noticed that "Stand Up and Cheer!" and "Stand Up and Cheer" (among others) came out a month earlier. In fact, about a half dozen Temple films all came out about that time. Perhaps they meant the first full-length film where she received top-billing--which is the case with "Baby Take a Bow".The film begins with Eddie (James Dunn) getting out of prison and marrying his girlfriend, Kay (Claire Trevor). He then gets a job working as a chauffeur and several years pass. Now they STILL are amazingly happy and have the world's most perfect child, Shirley (Shirley Temple). But, into their idyllic world comes a serious problem--there is a jewel robbery and when their employer finds out that Eddie and his friend, Larry, both had been to prison, they are fired. A dogged cop, Welch, is convinced one or both of these men did it and he spends the rest of the film trying to return them to Sing Sing. Are they innocent? And, if so, who did it and how will they prove it? And, more importantly, will little Shirley's heart be broken?! The film has a couple minor problems--though neither harms the film significantly. Welch is a bit one-dimensional and annoying--perhaps too annoying. Also, there is a song near the beginning that Shirley and James Dunn sing--and it's so sickeningly sweet that diabetics in the audience are encouraged to stop the film to check their blood sugar! However, the film uses a young Shirley well. She is awfully young and so she is given a part that is mostly comic relief--and so the plot itself does not rest on her small shoulders--a good decision in hindsight. And, despite the schmaltz, the film is enjoyable and fun.

I love swimming around in these old movies. Very few of them are worth watching for themselves. But many of them have such strange narrative experiments. You just can't honk around today like this.Here's what this is. It part prison picture in tone. Prison movies were a staple in that era because the system was considered to be inherently unjust, and good men could easily be sent to the bighouse, with cops usually depicted as incompetent or cruel.Its part adventure/comedy, with stolen jewels, hidden and with open slapstick toward the end.And it partly a show movie with a song and dance number, apparently recreated from a previous film.The film itself is dull and cheap, but the idea behind it is wild. A pudgy 5 year old can carry a film?Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

**Some Possible Spoliers**It was 12pm in the afternoon, and the announcer happened to indicate that a film with Shirley Temple was to come up next. My mother told me to tape the film since she thought that any film with Shirley Temple is a sure winner.I was reluctant, but once the film started going i was rather intrigued. The story is rather good, and the actors are not so bad. Yet the adult actors tend to be a little too rigid in some moments of the film.Shirley has to be without a doubt, the person who steals the show in this movie. Being cute and full of charm, she has the potential to just blow other actors right off the screen.Although sometimes you wish she hadn't done things, like cut Mr Stone loose, she still remains as the best actress on screen. The last scene of the film on the rooftop was a reassuring one. There was some pretty good acting by Claire Trevor (Kay) which made the scene believeable. And the ending was rather sweet and happy (predictable).I really enjoyed watching this film, and the scene with the coffee pot and the beads always gets me nervous. Anyone who likes old fashioned comedy, you'll be in for a treat. Shirley's charm surely makes this film worth watching.Rating: 8/10