Just Around the Corner (1938)

Director:

Irving Cummings

Writers:

Paul Girard Smith (story)
Ethel Hill (writer) ...

Release Date:

11 November 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Once rich architect ruined by the Depression and working as a janitor has a daughter who befriends a...

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Penny Hale
Joan Davis	...	Kitty
Charles Farrell	...	Jeff Hale
Amanda Duff	...	Lola Ramsby
Bill Robinson	...	Cpl. Jones
Bert Lahr	...	Gus
Franklin Pangborn	...	Waters
Cora Witherspoon	...	Aunt Julia Ramsby
Claude Gillingwater	...	Samuel G. Henshaw (as Claude Gillingwater Sr.)
Benny Bartlett	...	Milton Ramsby (as Bennie Bartlett)

Also Known As:

Lucky Penny (USA) (working title)
Sunnyside Up (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

This was the last of four films to pair Shirley Temple with Bill Robinson.

Quotes:

Reporter: Can we quote you on that, Mr. Henshaw?
Samuel G. Henshaw: Verbatim! And you can tell them that's the trouble with the whole country today! Someone starts a rumor, and we're afraid. What we need is that good old American spirit! And to show just how cock-eyed this rumor is, I'm starting work on the East Gate Project tomorrow, and this is the man I'm putting in charge of that worthy project! Jeff Hale, he has vision!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Five of a Kind (1938)

Soundtrack:

I Love to Walk in the Rain

Definitely not one of Shirley's best...below average vehicle...

There is such a lackluster quality about JUST AROUND THE CORNER--everything from script to performances to the songs--is below average. And Shirley is not quite as cute as the story wants her to be--clearly, she is starting to develop into a chubby preteen youngster with just a modicum of talent left over from her earlier films as a tot.

Only a couple of the songs are pleasant enough to be worth mentioning--"A Happy Little Ditty" and "A Walk in the Rain" have the kind of charm expected in a Temple musical. But staging of the numbers and overall set decoration leaves a lot to be desired. Bert Lahr and Joan Davis are on hand as a chauffeur and a maid but both are defeated by some flat one-liners. Charles Farrell is clearly past his career as a romantic leading man and is just so-so as Charlie's depressed father on the skids.

For Temple fans only--weaknesses in both script and song numbers--and not much else can be said for it. It's all very routine and quite forgettable.