Tyler Walsh
Shirley Temple is a name everyone
will recognize. She is arguably the most well-known child star to exist. She
was a huge hit specifically during the mid to late 30s, where she had #1 box
office hits year after year. There were also all kinds of merchandise made based
off her, be it dolls, clothes, etc. Shirley did her best to not set a bad
example for her fans and also not to upset the image they may have had of her
by hiding her smoking habit.
She was most popular during her
younger years and won the affection of the whole nation. Everyone could watch
and enjoy her films and feel happiness and joy in a very sad time of American
history. This really only lasted for
when she was very young though, as when she reached her teenage years the
popularity of her movies dropped and she eventually left films entirely by the
age of 22.
20th Century Fox did
everything they could to make sure Shirley Temple was releasing a movie as
quickly as possible, because she truly was the reason behind the success of the
films she starred in. The contract that Shirley’s parents signed stated that
they would agree to 4 films a year. When she started getting towards the end of
her childhood, the studio was sure she would be a popular teenage actress. This
resulted in them declining an offer to have her play the role of Dorothy in
“The Wizard of Oz.” Sadly, Shirley Temple’s popularity decreased in 1939, and
she was no longer the #1 box office hit that she once was. This decline in
popularity was in part because of her age and also because she was only in 2
movies that year instead of 3 or 4 like the previous years.
If Shirley Temple is any
indication, many of the movies in the 1930s told stories with happy endings,
because they were what the American public needed and wanted most at the time
from cinema whether they knew it or not. Shirley provided her fans, both young
and old alike, with many happy experiences and she has gone down in history
because of it.
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