Now and Forever

One of little Shirley's best roles
Now and Forever is a perfect showcase for the acting ability that Shirley Temple had as a young child. Less contrived than some of her later pictures, the script gives her the chance to really play a three-dimensional character. Her range of emotion is simply stunning, considering she was only six years old at the time. Although there is little of the singing and dancing Shirley was known for, this is nonetheless a great movie.

TEMPLE, COOPER & LOMBARD SHINE.
With a knock-out cast like this movie has, it will almost certainly please lovers of vintage movies. Jerry Day and Toni Carstairs (Cooper & Lombard) are a pair of vagabond thieves in love. On a boat from Shanghai, Jerry receives word from Connecticut that the parents of his dead wife want to take possession of his little daughter, Penelope. Jerry is willing to sell the tyke to his brother-in-law for $75,OOO - but Toni has different ideas....Although this "Temple film" isn't exactly ideal for the kids (its theme is really too mature) it will please those who will appreciate the clever antics which ensue. The talented, chubby Alice Faye-like Dorothy Dell was originally supposed to play Lombard's role but she was killed in an auto accident. Dell played the female lead in LITTLE MISS MARKER. If vintage moviegoers saw her sing WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN I'M DREAMING - in SHOOT THE WORKS - you haven't forgotten her. The original title of the source material for this film was entitled HONOR...

Deeper than it first appears,
... I hasten to say that Now and Forever is a worthwhile
film. Shirley Temple gives a great performance with memorable scenes
and lines, as in "Oh, Daddy, you said Honor Bright," when Cooper, as
her father, breaks a promise.

Gary Cooper is trying hard not to be
completely villanous,and he has his daughter's best interests at
heart. My favorite thing about the movie is the way it shows life as
being more complicated than just right vs. wrong. That a child is
affected by grownup vices seems realistic to me.

No easy answers,
and good acting. I loved it.

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