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from Ronald Charles Epstein:

TCM Star of the Month-Shirley Temple (July 2015)

FILM: The Little Fascist Princess
DIRECTOR: Sam Wood
CAST: Shirley Temple---Princess Lizzie
Lawrence Olivier---King Eddie
Myrna Loy---Wally
Leslie Howard---The Duke of York
Margaret Dumont---The Duchess of York
Basil Rathbone---Sir Oswald Moseley
Mairzy/Doazy Doats---Princess Maggie

STUDIO: MGM
RUNTIME: 92 minutes

SYNOPSIS: This rarity was recently discovered in a studio vault and painstakingly restored at UCLA. MGM’s musical comedy premiered in August of 1939 and was suddenly withdrawn in September. This feature is mainly known for its distinguished cast. Shirley Temple is appealing here, but the picture is nearly stolen by Basil Rathbone as Sir Oswald Moseley, founder of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). The production values are lower than other Temple vehicles. The only memorable scene is the musical sequence “Seig Heil! (Like Uncle Eddie)”, featuring Temple and Howard both in black shirts, simultaneously tap-dancing. They are backed by Rathbone and a men’s chorus, all in BUF uniforms. Mildly popular in its time, it exists today as a mere curio for the hard-core Shirley Temple fan. A tragic footnote-Doazy Doats, one of the twins who played Princess Maggie, was picked up for solicitation in 1954 by the California Highway Patrol by a Route 66 roadhouse (Hollywood Boulevard was then too classy for junkie prostitutes).

-Robert Osborne

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