Our Little Girl
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
John Robertson
Shirley Temple
Rosemary Ames
Joel Mccrea
Lyle Talbot
Erin O'brien-moore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Dr. Donald Middleton, a small-town physician whose dream of studying abroad has been stifled since his marriage and the birth of a daughter, hopes that the experiments he conducts with his nurse Sarah Boynton will win a Guggenheim Fellowship that will allow him to fulfill his dream. His love for his wife Elsa and daughter Molly is also very strong, however, and when, in the midst of an experiment, they ask him not to postpone their "Heaven's Gate" picnic, a semi-annual woodland outing commemorating the time and place that Don and Elsa met, Don relents despite Boynton's dissatisfaction. At Heaven's Gate, as Molly sleeps after a dip in the stream, Elsa hints that she is bored as a housewife and would like to resume duties as Don's assistant now that Molly is older. Oblivious to Elsa's distress, Don says that he could not do without Boynton. After their picnic, they encounter Rolfe Brent, a wealthy playboy just returned from Europe, and Don encourages Elsa to go riding with him. When Don plans to go to New York after receiving promising results from his experiment, Elsa wants to go with him, but he talks her out of it. Upon his return, they go to dinner at Brent's, but the evening is interrupted when Boynton summons Don for an emergency. After Don leaves, Brent confesses his strong feelings for Elsa, who says that she is also very fond of him, but that she has no intention of getting involved with him. Upon returning home, Don overhears Elsa thank Brent for a perfect evening and rebukes her. Subsequent tension between her parents leads Molly to ask Amy, their maid, why things are not as they used to be, and Amy expresses her wish that Brent and Boynton would leave them alone. Molly then tells Brent that the family wishes he would go away and never come back. Taken aback, Brent tells Elsa that he is leaving town, but he remains after Molly confesses to Elsa what she did. When the fellowship arrives, Don, dejected, tells Boynton that he is no longer interested and is surprised when she confesses that she loves him. As the September Saturday at Heaven's Gate approaches, Elsa breaks the news to Molly that she plans to leave for awhile, divorce Don, and then return to marry Brent and have Molly live with them. After Don drives up, Molly cries in his arms. On Saturday, Don takes Molly to the circus, but Boynton arrives with an urgent message from the hospital, and he leaves Molly in her care. Molly slips away and returns home, where she overhears Brent tell Elsa, who is hesitant about leaving, that she could be happy if it were not for Molly. With Sniffy, her dog, Molly runs away, planning first to visit Heaven's Gate. On the road she meets a tramp, and as she tells him her story, a man drives by and recognizes her. The man goes to the police, who hurry with Don to find her. Meanwhile, Brent tells Boynton that he now realizes that Don and Elsa love each other, and Boynton decides to be a good loser. When the police locate the tramp, he tells Don that Molly has gone to Heaven's Gate and explains that he once had a girl, but lost her and has since been wandering trying to forget her. Don finds Molly swimming at Heaven's Gate. Their reunion is made complete when Elsa appears and the family is reunited.
Director
John Robertson
Cast
Shirley Temple
Rosemary Ames
Joel Mccrea
Lyle Talbot
Erin O'brien-moore
J. Farrell Macdonald
Poodles Hanneford
Margaret Armstrong
Rita Owin
Leonard Carey
Jack Donohue
Gus Van
Jack Baxley
Crew
Stephen Avery
Stephen Avery
Arthur J. Beckhard
Oscar Bradley
Edward Butcher
Ben Critchley
William Darling
W. D. Flick
Ray Flynn
Paul Gilbert
Renè Hubert
Pat Mullinaux
Tom Oulette
Carl Peterson
Lew Pollack
Allen Rivkin
Cy Rubins
John Seitz
Henry Sharp
Richard Towers
Charles Turner
Paul Francis Webster
Jack Yellen
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Heaven's Gate. According to Daily Variety news items, during retakes after principal shooting was completed, J. Farrell MacDonald reshot scenes previously filmed with Warren Hymer and Fox borrowed cameraman Henry Sharp from Paramount because John Seitz was tied up with the production of Redheads on Parade (see below). According to an Hollywood Reporter news item, James Dunn was originally scheduled for the male lead, but McCrea replaced him because Dunn was tied up with George White's 1935 Scandals. Production charts list Doris Nolan and Herbert Mundin in the cast; Mundin was not in the final film, while Nolan's participation has not been verified. According to a review, Poodles Hanneford was a noted equestrian comedian, and Gus Van was a famous vaudeville and musical comedy headliner. John Robertson was loaned from RKO, and Lyle Talbot was loaned from Warner Bros.
