Wee Willie Winkie (1937)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Julien Josephson (writer)
Rudyard Kipling (story)
(more)

Release Date:

30 July 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family

Plot:

Cherubic, adorable, and precocious Priscilla Williams lives in Colonial India with her dad, a Colonel...

Plot Keywords:

Colonel | Lieutenant | Sergeant | Major | Captain

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
Mary Forbes	...	Mrs. MacMonachie, Joyce's Visitor
Cyril McLaglen	...	Cpl. Tummel
Pat Somerset	...	Officer
Hector Sarno	...	Driver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lynn Bari	...	Crowd Scene Participant (uncredited)
David Clyde	...	Card Playing Soldier (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Soldier (uncredited)
George Hassell	...	MacMonachie (uncredited)
Noble Johnson	...	Sikh policeman (uncredited)
Frank Leigh	...	Rajput Merchant (uncredited)
Scotty Mattraw	...	Merchant (uncredited)
Lal Chand Mehra	...	Servant (uncredited)
Jack Pennick	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Gurdial Singh	...	Servant (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Louis Vincenot	...	Captured Afghan Chieftain (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Julien Josephson		writer
Rudyard Kipling		story
Ernest Pascal		writer

Produced by
Gene Markey	....	producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman
Louis Silvers
Cyril J. Mockridge		(uncredited)
Herbert W. Spencer		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Arthur C. Miller

Film Editing by
Walter Thompson

Art Direction by
William S. Darling
David S. Hall

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling

Production Management
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward O'Fearna	....	assistant director (as Ed O'Fearna)

Sound Department
Eugene Grossman	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Alfred Newman	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Harold Lloyd Morris	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Video (USA) (DVD)

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

Star-vehicle for Shirley Temple, produced on a much grander scale than most, has the feisty youngster and her newly-widowed mother traveling to war-torn North India in the late 1800s to live with the Shirley's estranged paternal grandfather, a Colonel stationed with the British Army. Loosely adapted from a Rudyard Kipling story, with some exciting set-ups and sequences at the outset; but, sadly, 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 Shirley Temple scenario, although Cesar Romero is well-cast and memorable as Khoda Khan. Handsome, to be certain, but not one of Shirl's better efforts. ** from ****