1937 - WEE WILLIE WINKIE, one of John Ford's stranger films

There are many famous director actor collaborations.  Scorcese and DeNiro, Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, John Ford and John Wayne.  But leave it to Darryl F. Zanuck at 20th Century Fox to team macho director John Ford with 30's child star Shirley Temple.  When a director was under contract to a film studio he frequently didn't have much say in what project he would be working on.

There are reportedly several versions of Ford's reaction to working with Shirley Temple, but you can be sure he wasn't exactly pleased about it.  Much to the surprise of everyone involved in this production including John Ford, he got along very well with Shirley Temple.  Wee Willie Winkie had a fairly large budget for a Shirley Temple film and Ford was able to infuse much of his style into this film.  While working with Shirley Temple, Ford discovered that for an eight year old girl, she was unusually talented and focused on her work.  She worked well with her co-star Victor McLaglen and didn't seem to have an issue with Ford's notorious abuse of actors.

 

Wee Willie Winkie is still a Shirley Temple film when all is said and done although a rather superior one.  Ford shows his mastery of action with one great battle scene.  The black and white photography is impressive and I have to say overall this is an entertaining film.  Darryl F. Zanuck's instincts in matching Ford and Temple paid off, the film is one of her better efforts and it was a successful money maker for the studio. If the film has a low point it's the subplot with the young lovers which the viewer has to endure.  Fortunately they aren't in much of the film.

The film was written by Julien Josephson, Ernest Pascal and  Mordaunt Shairp.  The running time is 100 minutes.