Back in 1905, atypical teenager Shirley Temple (as Dinah "Di" Sheldon) is expelled from school after telling her teacher she wants to study human anatomy by painting nude models. Called "immoral," the budding art student also advocates a woman's right to vote.
I wasn't that impressed by the first half or so of this film. Shirley Temple plays Dinah Sheldon--a very liberated and modern young woman who ruffles many folks' feathers in this turn of the 20th century slice of life film.
I'm not sure what kind of adventure folks were having in 1905 Baltimore, but it's clear to me that RKO was trying to cash in on a bit of the nostalgia gold that MGM found with Meet Me In St. Louis.
Plot-- A reverend's 1905 family must find a way to adjust to the eldest daughter's instincts for equality at a time when women were denied many opportunities. Meanwhile, Dad may lose his chance to become a bishop because of town gossip over his daughter.
When I first began watching this film I was nonplussed. But the further I got into it, the better it got.
Shirley Temple was capable of turning in better performances than "Baltimore" as she transitioned to adulthood, but the script (a flashback to 1905?) and the other actors were not people she could play off well.
After a few successful teen-age roles (and a couple of ill-fated ones), Shirley's uneven career as a young lady was not helped by this routine romantic comedy of the early 1900s in which she plays a rebellious daughter of a minister (Robert Young) with shocking ideas about love. As a crusader for women's suffrage, Shirley seems more petulant than feisty, playing a girl who crusades for women's suffrage.
It is beautifully filmed by Robert de Grasse. And Robert Young's character is appealing and even admirable.
Still, as Stephen Sondheim wrote in "Follies", someone said she's sincere, so she's here! She's been through Heidi, the Blue Bird, and Reagen, gee how crazy that was.
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