After two very good Shirley Temple starred movies, I've come across a dud. I always thought that Shirley Temple could do no wrong. I believed that there was no script she couldn't bring to life, and no movie that she couldn't shine in. I hate to say that "Now and Forever" produced a script that even the adorable Shirley Temple couldn't save. It was more adult themed than the other two I watched and far more sappy.
"Now and Forever" starred Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, and Shirley Temple. I think Gary Cooper is a stiff, but Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple are more than enough to sneak a Gary Cooper by unnoticed.
Gary Cooper played Jerry Day, a small-time hustler who did small cons and grifts just to get by. Accompanying him was his wife, Toni Day (Carole Lombard). The two had spent three years together bouncing from place to place, staying ahead of bill collectors and the law.
Unbeknownst to Toni, Jerry had a daughter: Penelope 'Penny' Day (Shirley Temple). Her mother had passed away and she lived with Jerry's ex-inlaws. Jerry saw the opportunity to cash in on his estranged daughter. He would allow his BIL, James Higginson (Gilbert Emery), to adopt Penny for $75,000. Toni didn't like that idea at all, but Jerry was going to go forward with it anyway until he spent a little time with Penny. There was no way he could give up someone so tiny and cute, so he decided that he'd raise her.
With a small child in the mix Toni wanted Jerry to go straight. It wouldn't be fair to Penny for him to be lying, cheating, and stealing while raising a daughter. He generally kept that promise until things got too tight. With that he decided to steal Mrs. Crane's (Charlotte Granville) necklace to fence it. Jerry hadn't planned on stealing Mrs. Crane's necklace, the opportunity just presented itself.
She was throwing a party for Penny at her mansion when Jerry saw the expensive jewelry just laying on her dresser. When he took it he hid the necklace in Penny's teddy bear. Mrs. Crane noticed the necklace was missing at some point during the party and phoned the police. When the police came over to search all of Mrs. Crane's guests (even the children), they found nothing.
It was at this point that the movie became overly sappy.
Jerry was putting Penny to bed for the night when she said that if she were the detective she would simply ask, "Mr. Day, did you steal the necklace? And you must answer."
Jerry just gave an, "Oh," as in "Wow. That's pretty forward."
Penny replied with, "Well?" to show that she was really questioning him.
"Well what dear?" Jerry asked, hoping that she wasn't wanting a real answer to her question.
"Well. You must answer. Did you steal that necklace?" Penny doubled down, not letting the matter go. At this point I thought the writers were really pushing it for a six-year-old's behavior.
"No, I didn't steal it," Jerry answered shakily.
"Honor bright?" Penny asked.
"Honor bright" was a term she got from her late mother that amounted to a deep oath or promise. If the questioner believed that the answerer may not have been telling the truth, then "honor bright" was a way to ascertain that.
"Ha ha. You're a funny one," Jerry answered evasively and began to walk out. He didn't want to be pinned down with "honor bright," and if he was getting up to leave, then she, as a child, should recognize that the conversation was over.
Not so this child.
"No! You must answer! That's the whole point!" Penny snapped.
Now she was deadly serious. Far more serious than any six-year-old should be about a matter unless she really believed her father stole the necklace. If she did believe he may have stolen the necklace it brings up another matter: why would she believe such a thing? Jerry hadn't done anything to give her the impression he was a thief. I can't imagine suspecting my mom or dad of stealing something so valuable when I was five or six, especially when there were so many other people in the house who could've stolen it.
Once more she asked, "Honor bright?" to which Jerry responded, "Honor bright," thereby satisfying the junior detective.
Later, after Jerry left, Penny found the necklace in her teddy bear and she was devastated. She was so utterly crushed she cried all night and into the next morning. She was inconsolable and I couldn't help but think, "Really!? You're bawling your eyes out that much because you believe your dad lied to you about a necklace? You really just jumped from totally believing your dad to disbelieving him that quickly?" It was so sappy. I tend to give Shirley Temple a lot of leeway with her characters' behavior because she's so adorable, but I couldn't this time.
When she told Toni why she was crying, Toni took the wrap for the necklace being in the teddy bear, but it was clear now what Jerry had to do. He had to get the necklace back. At this point he had to get it back to save his relationship with Toni who was going to leave him for lying; his relationship with Penny was now safe since she believed that Toni was the thief.
Naturally, he got the necklace back and all was right with the world, but the whole thing left me disappointed. The writers really forced this one. It was a good message and all that, but I've seen afterschool specials with more tact and less sap. Shirley Temple still reigns as the cutest kid, but they didn't do her any favors with this script.
Free on YouTube.
"Now and Forever" starred Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, and Shirley Temple. I think Gary Cooper is a stiff, but Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple are more than enough to sneak a Gary Cooper by unnoticed.
Gary Cooper played Jerry Day, a small-time hustler who did small cons and grifts just to get by. Accompanying him was his wife, Toni Day (Carole Lombard). The two had spent three years together bouncing from place to place, staying ahead of bill collectors and the law.
Unbeknownst to Toni, Jerry had a daughter: Penelope 'Penny' Day (Shirley Temple). Her mother had passed away and she lived with Jerry's ex-inlaws. Jerry saw the opportunity to cash in on his estranged daughter. He would allow his BIL, James Higginson (Gilbert Emery), to adopt Penny for $75,000. Toni didn't like that idea at all, but Jerry was going to go forward with it anyway until he spent a little time with Penny. There was no way he could give up someone so tiny and cute, so he decided that he'd raise her.
With a small child in the mix Toni wanted Jerry to go straight. It wouldn't be fair to Penny for him to be lying, cheating, and stealing while raising a daughter. He generally kept that promise until things got too tight. With that he decided to steal Mrs. Crane's (Charlotte Granville) necklace to fence it. Jerry hadn't planned on stealing Mrs. Crane's necklace, the opportunity just presented itself.
She was throwing a party for Penny at her mansion when Jerry saw the expensive jewelry just laying on her dresser. When he took it he hid the necklace in Penny's teddy bear. Mrs. Crane noticed the necklace was missing at some point during the party and phoned the police. When the police came over to search all of Mrs. Crane's guests (even the children), they found nothing.
It was at this point that the movie became overly sappy.
Jerry was putting Penny to bed for the night when she said that if she were the detective she would simply ask, "Mr. Day, did you steal the necklace? And you must answer."
Jerry just gave an, "Oh," as in "Wow. That's pretty forward."
Penny replied with, "Well?" to show that she was really questioning him.
"Well what dear?" Jerry asked, hoping that she wasn't wanting a real answer to her question.
"Well. You must answer. Did you steal that necklace?" Penny doubled down, not letting the matter go. At this point I thought the writers were really pushing it for a six-year-old's behavior.
"No, I didn't steal it," Jerry answered shakily.
"Honor bright?" Penny asked.
"Honor bright" was a term she got from her late mother that amounted to a deep oath or promise. If the questioner believed that the answerer may not have been telling the truth, then "honor bright" was a way to ascertain that.
"Ha ha. You're a funny one," Jerry answered evasively and began to walk out. He didn't want to be pinned down with "honor bright," and if he was getting up to leave, then she, as a child, should recognize that the conversation was over.
Not so this child.
"No! You must answer! That's the whole point!" Penny snapped.
Now she was deadly serious. Far more serious than any six-year-old should be about a matter unless she really believed her father stole the necklace. If she did believe he may have stolen the necklace it brings up another matter: why would she believe such a thing? Jerry hadn't done anything to give her the impression he was a thief. I can't imagine suspecting my mom or dad of stealing something so valuable when I was five or six, especially when there were so many other people in the house who could've stolen it.
Once more she asked, "Honor bright?" to which Jerry responded, "Honor bright," thereby satisfying the junior detective.
Later, after Jerry left, Penny found the necklace in her teddy bear and she was devastated. She was so utterly crushed she cried all night and into the next morning. She was inconsolable and I couldn't help but think, "Really!? You're bawling your eyes out that much because you believe your dad lied to you about a necklace? You really just jumped from totally believing your dad to disbelieving him that quickly?" It was so sappy. I tend to give Shirley Temple a lot of leeway with her characters' behavior because she's so adorable, but I couldn't this time.
When she told Toni why she was crying, Toni took the wrap for the necklace being in the teddy bear, but it was clear now what Jerry had to do. He had to get the necklace back. At this point he had to get it back to save his relationship with Toni who was going to leave him for lying; his relationship with Penny was now safe since she believed that Toni was the thief.
Naturally, he got the necklace back and all was right with the world, but the whole thing left me disappointed. The writers really forced this one. It was a good message and all that, but I've seen afterschool specials with more tact and less sap. Shirley Temple still reigns as the cutest kid, but they didn't do her any favors with this script.
Free on YouTube.