Heidi
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Movie Reviews of Heidi
Movie Review: Heidi
Summary: 5 Stars
After 5 tries with 3 other sellers, this one got it right the first time and delivered fast!Movie Review: Right on time!
Summary: 5 Stars
The dvd came right on time and in secure packaging. Would buy again from this seller!Movie Review: Still Entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, if you want to watch a Shirley Temple movie, you can expect two things to happen: One, they (the movie makers) will make you fall in love with this adorable little girl, and two, they will then wrench your heart by putting her into serious trouble.
"Heidi" is the story of a little orphan girl ... seven years old ... who is deposited (by her mean-spirited aunt) at the home of her paternal grandfather. The grandfather is a gruff old man who has lived apart from society for some years, and ... not really having a choice ... he takes Heidi in with no more to-do than one would show when taking in a stray cat.
Heidi's innocence and goodness of heart soon win the crusty old man over, however, and his hardened heart is softened. The two of them then simply live their lives together at the old man's cabin in the Swiss Alps ... and it is an idyllic and happy time for the both of them.
Unfortunately, the mean old aunt returns to the scene and snatches Heidi away (when the grandfather is not at home) to sell her into servitude. Heidi then becomes a resident of Frankfort (against her will) in a wealthy family's home. She tries to make the best of it, but longs to return to her grandfather and the happiness of their mountain home. The grandfather, upon learning of Heidi's disappearance ... and her presumed where-abouts ... decides to set off ... on foot ... for Frankfort ... a city 100 miles away. Eventually he gets there, and after some contrived drama, he and Heidi are re-united.
Made in 1937, "Heidi" is still an entertaining movie. Shirley Temple stars as Heidi, and she is as charming and adorable as ever. Jean Hersholt plays the grandfather, and he is excellent at conveying ... in an understated way ... the growing affection he has for the little girl. But the strength of this movie is in the story ... part of it anyway ... where an old man, embittered by the rejection of his village and the (apparent) rejection of his god, alienates himself from them both. Then an innocent little girl comes into his life, and her love ... and the love she engenders in him ... cause the old man to seek a reconciliation. That is the heart of "Heidi," and the universal appeal of this part of the story is what has drawn people to "Heidi" these many years.
AS A SIDE NOTE:
It is generally agreed that the Heidi character is Shirley Temple's most memorable role ... and it was indeed an excellent fit for the young actress ... but consider this: Shirley Temple was MGM's first choice to play Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz." What a great fit that would have been! If you've ever read the book, you know that the character Dorothy has Shirley Temple written all over it. But alas. Due to studio rivalry, it was not to be.
Movie Review: Sidney, Arthur, Jean and of course.....miss Temple!
Summary: 4 Stars
I stayed with this movie mainly because I wanted to see Sidney Blackmer who I knew from the film Rosemary's Baby. Also I was interested in Arthur Treacher who I vaguely recall as the late Merv Griffin's Ed McMann-type sidekick on his tv talk show. And I knew the name Jean Hersholt(isn't a theater named after him in New York?) so I wanted to watch him.
As the film begins though I was very much drawn into the story itself featuring of course the delightful miss Temple. It seems Shirley (Heidi) is being foisted off upon her grandfather by her could-care-less aunt and while the grandfather (Hersholt) feels initially violated with this unexpected arrival, Heidi's sunshiney disposition wins him over after not too long. During these opening scenes, as Heidi and her grandfather get to know each other, we also get to see the blossoming of Hersholt's grandfather from a very quiet and downright annoyed old man into a thoughtful and loving caretaker of his new charge. Pretty soon, grandfather is humming along to the little song Heidi sings and taking her into the village to attend church, something he hasn't done in a very long time.
Ay, but then the other shoe drops. Wicked old auntie returns one day and while grandfather is out chopping wood forces Heidi to come with her to Frankfurt to stay with an equally mean lady in charge of an invalid girl about Heidi's age. I finally got to see Sidney as a much younger man(Heidi being filmed in 1937, Rosemary's Baby, 1968)as he plays the father of the invalid girl Heidi befriends. It's fun to spot the similarities in the face of someone who is 31 years younger. And Arthur Treacher playing a wonderfully fun-loving butler is a real treat. Suffice to say Heidi's grandfather rescues her from the clutches of the terribly mean nurse and Heidi helps her new friend to walk again. But the bottom line with this movie even though it goes without saying is the sparkling presence of miss Shirley Temple. Truely a one of a kind personality in all of moviedom. There is one scene in particular that I would love to see in color(this version I saw was in black & white)and that is where Heidi is being read a bedtime story by her grandfather and dreams she is the little dutch girl from the story. The dream is a nice musical/dance number with Heidi and friends in wooden shoes.
Movie Review: "HEIDI": ONE OF SHIRLEY TEMPLE'S BEST FILMS
Summary: 4 Stars
Shirley Temple is perfectly cast as Johanna Spyri's perky Swiss Miss. She receives excellent support from Jean Hersholt as Grandfather, Marcia Mae Jones as Clara, and Mary Nash as the aptly named Miss Rottenmeier. Arthur Treacher is also featured as the Butler Andrews. Treacher played the Butler, or some similar role, in several films with Shirley Temple.
There is a lot of drama and action packed into the film's 88 minutes. One may wonder if Heidi/Shirley suffers a bit too much. First, her Aunt Dete dumps her on her dour, reclusive Grandfather's doorstep. Then, just as she manages to melt her crusty Grandfather's heart and bond with him, Aunt Dete returns again and kidnaps Heidi(!)
off to Frankfurt, where she is to be a companion to wheelchair-bound Clara. Leaving Heidi with witchy governess Miss Rottenmeier, Dete says, "Sell her to the gypsies for all I care!"
Heidi teaches Clara to walk again. This infuriates Miss Rottenmeier, who kidnaps Heidi again (!) and actually does try to sell her to the gypsies. Grandfather has been looking for Heidi, however. He is thrown into the Frankfurt jail on Christmas day, but manages to escape in the nick of time. Heidi and Grandfather are chased by the police across the mountains in the film's frantic climax. I don't know if this has anything to do with Spyri's book. Shirley Temple's fans aren't likely to care. This 1937 version is one of Temple's best films. The "Heidi" formula was repeated most successfully in 1939's "The Little Princess." Here, a particularly determined Shirley is again menaced by witchy Mary Nash. Marcia Mae Jones, in contrast to sweet Clara, plays snobby schoolmate Lavina.