Evolution of The Little Colonel

In 1935, Shirley Temple starred in one of her most popular movies, “The Little Colonel.” Set in the post-Civil War south, Shirley had the opportunity to wear a number of period costumes, most notably the southern belle outfit shown above. Thanks to her mother’s careful storage, the delicate costume made of silk taffetta survived in Shirley’s possession until she passed in 2014. I had the privilege of seeing it in person at the Santa Monica History Museum just before it was auctioned off in 2015.



The Ideal Toy Company created a special Shirley composition doll, wearing a replica of the very same outfit. Many different sizes were produced, including this large one that Shirley is holding for a promotional photo:



Shirley owned the 27" tall doll shown below, and it was auctioned off in 2015 for a whopping $5,500! This particular one also used a taffetta fabric. An original bonnet is coveted and very hard to come by, even if this particular one is a bit limp!



The 13" version shown below did not come with a bonnet, and was made with a pink organdy fabric. Unlike the regular Shirley Temple dolls of the 1930s, the Little Colonel dolls came with lace-trimmed pantalets.



The 1950s saw a line of Ideal vinyl Shirley Temple dolls, but for some reason, a Little Colonel doll was not part of the lineup. In 1974, Ideal released a Little Colonel outfit that kids could put on their 1972/1973 vinyl Shirley Temple doll. It was cheaply designed and obviously not produced with the care or attention to detail that the 1930s version boasted. The boxed outfit consisted of a lace trimmed dress and a hairbow. The red plastic shoes that came with the doll were meant to be used with the Colonel outfit. C-H-E-A-P!



Ten years later, another line of vinyl Shirley Temple dolls was released, and this group produced some never-before-leased outfits as well as some interesting interpretations of the old favorites. At center in the picture below you can see Ideal’s version of the Little Colonel, which is neither accurate in color or concept. Still, it’s much prettier than the 1970s version.



Shirley herself licensed The Danbury Mint to produce high quality porcelain dolls next, and naturally, the Little Colonel southern belle outfit was one of the first. To say it was garish would be an understatement. The all-too bright colors and cheap fabric choices lacked the charm of the 1930s original. Don’t even get me started on the oddly shaped body, with arms that looked like they could reach out and strangle you.



Finally, the Danbury Mint righted all the previous wrongs by releasing a porcelain replica of the 1930s doll, which used one of the organdy dolls for its inspiration. Standing at approximately 14", this doll also included the pantalets AND a nice bonnet! What it didn’t have was a decent wig or a sleep-eye mechanism with sable lashes. This helped Danbury cut corners by using a synthetic wig instead of a quality mohair wig like the 1930s dolls. Regardless of the changes, it is still a very cute doll.



Recently, I was able to acquire a 20" version of the 1930s doll. I could not believe my good fortune in stumbling upon one that also included a bonnet!



You can see why these dolls were so popular, even back in the Depression-era!



And for the all-important question that burns on all Shirley doll collectors minds: “Is it tagged?”



You bet your sweet bippy it is!



See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my website.

Temple Tuesday: Wee Willie Winkie Dolls

In 1937, Shirley Temple starred in “Wee Willie Winkie” with Victor McLaglen (typically found in a John Ford movie). In the scene shown above, Shirley wears a Scottish Regimental costume. Below is the outfit and how it looked in 2015 when I photographed it at the Santa Monica History Museum, as part of the Love, Shirley Temple auction by Theriault’s. From their catalog description:

The costume includes plaid woolen kilt, twill jacket with ornate brass buttons with royal crest design of the Black Watch, Third Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, white leather belt with emblem "Dieu et mon droit" (God and my right), sporran, argyle plaid wool leggings, woven spats with buttons, and cap with Latin motto emblem of the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland (translated "no one attacks me with impunity"). Excellent condition. The young star Shirley Temple, named Priscilla Williams in the 1937 film, wore this uniform in multiple scenes alongside co-star Sergeant MacDuff (Victor McLaglen) as he trains Priscilla in the proper discipline of a Scottish soldier. The costume designer for the film was Gwen Wakeling. In later years, Shirley Temple declared that "Wee Willie Winkie", which had been directed by John Ford, was her favorite film of all that she made. Sold for $14,000.



The spats that Shirley wore in the film were in a framed display:



When the film wrapped, the cast gathered around a cake with a custom-made Shirley Temple doll in the center of it. Director John Ford holds the knife with Shirley next to him, Shirley’s stand-in, Mary Lou Isleib can be seen seated, and co-stars McLaglen and June Lang are at right:



A closer view of the cake:



This doll was put together for Shirley by the wardrobe department, who used scraps of fabric from the actual costume for the miniature outfit:



It was also part of the Theriault’s auction in 2015. Edited from the catalog description:

Composition Doll as Shirley Temple in Scottish Costume from the Film "Wee Willie Winkie"13". Composition doll with socket head, hazel sleep eyes, human hair lashes, open smiling mouth, teeth, impressed dimples, blonde mohair ringlet-curled hair, jointing at shoulders and hips, marked "Shirley Temple 13". The doll is wearing plaid wool kilt, sporran, twill jacket and matching spats, belt, argyle leggings, black wool cap with emblem, and original Ideal undergarment. Generally excellent, few minute age lines. Included is a vintage photograph. The doll is by Ideal, circa 1935. The costume was created in the Fox Studios, according to Shirley Temple's memoirs; it was the habit of the seamstresses to save scraps of fabric from Shirley's costumes and fashion them into a like costume on a Shirley Temple doll, a veritable one-of-a-kind. Sold for $8,500

The Ideal Toy Company also sold their own version of the “Wee Willie Winkie” doll in the 1930s. Below is an 18" sample that recently sold at auction. These dolls are rare and usually sell for well over $1000. Variations abound, as Shirley Temple dolls were sold in different sizes and the outfits were sometimes sewn by different seamstresses across the country using different fabrics.



In the 1950s, when “The Shirley Temple Storybook” anthology series was on television, Ideal brought out a vinyl version of the “Winkie” doll. While not as detailed as the 1930s doll, it is still very cute. Below is a veritable pristine version from the collection of my friend, Lori Breen. She was kind enough to send this photo:



Shirley appeared on “Good Morning America” in February 1983, along with former costar Buddy Ebsen (“Captain January,” 1936):



Shirley posed for pictures with a 1930s Ideal “Winkie” doll from the collection of Temple expert supreme, Rita Dubas:



At about the same time, Shirley partnered with Ideal again to release another series of Temple dolls wearing outfits inspired by her childhood movies. Below is their 12" “Winkie” doll in its original box:



I can’t say I was a fan of this version. The eyes are creepy and the sculpt gives Shirley’s face a very hard edge. The costumes seemed to be of an even lesser quality than the 1950s versions. These are fairly easy to find on eBay for cheap.



When Shirley partnered with the Danbury Mint in 1987, the quality level shot up. Their dolls were much more faithful to the actual movie costumes, like this 14" version which was part of the Silver Screen series:



Danbury also released a series of dress-up outfits that could be paired with their 16" vinyl dress-up doll. I chose to use the 1973 Ideal vinyl doll as the model, since I prefer the look of that doll to the Danbury version! The outfit is fairly similar to the one created for the porcelain version, but when looking closer, you can see that in order to cut costs, there was a bit of skimping done in the construction and choice of materials used. I can’t really blame them, as the purpose of the line of dolls and outfits was for kids to play with them, not to just put on the shelf to collect dust. 



Recently, a collector’s miracle happened. I stumbled upon an original 1930s “Winkie” doll for sale on eBay for under $100 in a buy-it-now auction! I looked at it carefully, thinking it was too good to be true.



I went ahead and purchased it, as I knew it would not last long once others viewed it. 



I was very glad that I did, as when it arrived, I was able to confirm that other than the belt, it appeared to be all original. It was also on a coveted Shirley Temple make-up doll, with perfect curls and the paint in fabulous shape (other than a small missing piece on the leg which was easily covered).



Inside the jacket is the original Ideal label. What a find!



All these years later, collector grails can still be found!
 
See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my website.

Temple Tuesday: Lucky Penny Doll

While not one of her bigger hits, “Just Around the Corner” is certainly an enjoyable Shirley Temple film. Released in 1938, I enjoyed this movie as a kid, especially the cute little caricature of Shirley featured in the opening and closing credits. As an adult, I had to convert it into digital art!



In the film, Shirley wears this cute little dress most likely designed by Gwen Wakeling:



Even if you’ve never heard of Gwen Wakeling, surely you’re familiar with one of the most iconic costumes in TV history that she designed. Yes, the “I Dream of Jeannie” harem outfit worn by Barbara Eden!



But I digress. Want to see Shirley’s dress in color?



In this hand-tinted promotional lobby photo, Shirley wears the same dress in this scene with Charles Farrell, who plays her father:



Apparently the artist was not tipped off to the real color of the dress…or they didn’t care.



In this publicity shot, Shirley is in her dressing room trailer, playing with a scale model of the set which shows her character’s apartment and the dog salon featured in the film. From Liberty Magazine, November 26, 1938 issue:

One of the elaborate scenes shows a super dog lounge with some forty pooches. These were hired from the See-Are Kennels in Hollywood, owned by Comedian Charlie Ruggles. The canines were valued at $30,000. Doing a comedy dance on this set, Joan Davis tripped over a prop fire hydrant and gashed her head. Nothing serious, however. 



A closeup of Shirley’s outfit, including the adorable beanie. Unfortunately, neither one of these items appeared in the Love, Shirley Temple auction held by Theriault’s. Note the Dictionary for Boys and Girls in the magazine rack:



For Thanksgiving, Shirley wore the dress again as she carved a turkey:



One of the promotional items released to coincide with the film was called a Lucky Penny doll (Shirley’s character in the film was Penny Hale, and the original title of the film was “Lucky Penny”). The Ideal Toy Company updated the famous composition Shirley Temple doll with a slightly different hairdo to match Shirley’s new ’do of the time and added a bit of makeup (eye shadow and more rouge), which is why these later dolls are referred to as “makeup dolls.”



Very few of these dolls were made and it is extremely difficult to find one, let alone in good condition. Here’s one I found on the net awhile back, looking minty fresh.



Recently, I was able to acquire one for my own collection. A before shot:



…and the after. I added a red silk ribbon as the dolls originally came with one, as seen in the photos of the boxed doll above. I cleaned up the compo a bit and touched up her lips and eyes. She is ready for her debut!



A shot of the back of the doll, which features the looser hairstyle with curls at the bottom:



A closeup of the face:



Besides the composition doll, you could get a paper version of the outfit, as seen in this page from one of the Saalfield Publishing Company’s Shirley Temple paper doll sets:



See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my website.

Shirley Projects, Pt. 3

In “Curly Top” (1935) when little orphan Elizabeth Blair (Shirley) sashays up the walk with her sister Mary (Rochelle Hudson) to her new ritzy beach home has to be one of the cutest scenes Shirley ever filmed as a child. It’s no surprise that I think the original Ideal composition doll dressed in the same “Duck Dress” is one of the cutest, too. I was able to acquire one, and this is how she looked in the online auction where I found her.





Since I prefer my Shirleys to be as screen accurate as possible, I switched out her white oilcloth shoes for the black Mary Jane variety.



You’ll also note that I added gloves (yup, sewed them myself!) and a purse. Not just any old purse, either. I did my best to match the one Shirley carried in the film.



Zooming into this vintage shot from my collection, I had a very good idea of what that looked like!





A detailed shot of the purse that I made. Not too bad for a first try!



See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my main website.