Wee Willie Winkie (1937)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Julien Josephson (writer)
Rudyard Kipling (story)

Release Date:

30 July 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family

Plot:

Little Priscilla Williams goes to live with her grandfather, the colonel at a British Army base in 19th century India...

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Colonel | Major | Sergeant | Corporal

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Priscilla 'Winkie' Williams
Victor McLaglen	...	Sgt. Donald MacDuff
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Col. Williams
June Lang	...	Joyce Williams
Michael Whalen	...	Lt. 'Coppy' Brandes
Cesar Romero	...	Khoda Khan
Constance Collier	...	Mrs. Allardyce
Douglas Scott	...	Pvt. Mott - Drummer Boy
Gavin Muir	...	Capt. Bibberbeigh
Willie Fung	...	Mohammaudin
Brandon Hurst	...	Bagby - Col. Williams's Valet
Lionel Pape	...	Maj. Allardyce
Clyde Cook	...	Pipe Major Sneath
Bunny Beatty	...	Miss Elsie Allardyce (as Lauri Beatty)
Lionel Braham	...	Maj. Gen. Hammond

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The original story by Rudyard Kipling was about a boy, Percival Williams, but this was changed to a girl, Priscilla Williams, in order for Shirley Temple to play the role.

Quotes:

Priscilla Williams: [on her new nickname] Wee Willie Winkie. It does sound like a soldier, doesn't it?
Sgt. Donald MacDuff: Aye.
Priscilla Williams: Then I'd be Private Winkie!
Sgt. Donald MacDuff: Private Winkie it is. A full-fledged soldier of the Queen!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Being Julia (2004)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

John Ford directs Shirley Temple, but results are still sticky

Shirley Temple vehicle on a grand scale, with the feisty youngster and her widowed mother traveling to war-torn North India in the late 1800's to live with the estranged father of Shirley's deceased father. Loosely adapted from a Rudyard Kipling story, with some exciting set-ups and sequences at the outset, but the picture runs out of intriguing ideas before the finale. Director John Ford seems to lose track of the supporting characters in an attempt to resurrect the typical Temple scenario, although Cesar Romero is well-cast and memorable as Khoda Khan. Handsomely-produced, but not one of Shirl's better efforts. ** from ****