Movie of he Week... The Little Princess

I am going to be frank here...  I don't absolutely LOVE Shirley Temple movies.  They are cute, of course, and sugary, as can be, but they can be just a bit much for me.  I prefer her in her later films such as, Since You Went Away and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.  There is, however, an exception.  The Little Princess holds a special place in our movie collection.

I first saw The Little Princess when I was quite small.  Shirley Temple wasn't a big draw, but the setting was.  Victorian London never looked so cozy!  Especially that dreadful little attic room that the awful Miss Minchin sends her to after that lady learns that little Sarah Crewe (Shirley's character) is broke following the supposed death of her father in the Boer War.  Transformed into a virtual paradise with toasty fire and down quilts by her benevolent neighbors Indian servant, Ram Dass, the dingy space becomes a tiny refuge from her otherwise despair-filled days.

The ending of The Little Princess never fails to bring a lump to my throat and, just occasionally, a little mistiness to my eye.  Well, who couldn't be touched by the sight of little Sarah being befriended by an elderly Queen Victoria and, against all odds, finding her beloved "daddy"?

The Little Princess is the perfect movie to share with your own little princess...