Wee Willie Winkie (1937) (Dual Side)

Shirley Temple considered this the best among her films, a belief seconded by critic Andrew Sarris, who regarded it more highly than director John Ford's contemporaneous masterpiece THE INFORMER. She stars as Priscilla Williams, a young girl traveling with her mother, Joyce, to join her paternal grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), a British army colonel, at the post he commands in northern India. Upon arrival, they witness the capture of Khoda Khan (Cesar Romero), leader of the rebel Indian faction. Priscilla plays at being a soldier and is even given a uniform and allowed to drill by the genial Sergeant MacDuff (Victor McLaglen), but her gruff grandfather disapproves and insists she remain apart from the troops. She eventually charms him, along with everyone else on the post, including Khoda Khan, whom she wins over by returning a talisman he's dropped. When the attractive Lieutenant Brandes (Michael Whalen) deserts his post to take Joyce to a dance, Khan escapes, and Brandes is arrested. As hostilities with the rebels mount, Priscilla and servant Mohammet Dihn (Willie Fung)--actually an Indian spy--take off for Khoda Khan's stronghold. Departing from the Kipling story, Ford places Temple in a military setting with a wonderfully expansive feeling not unlike that of his classic cavalry films. The high production values and excellent supporting cast further illuminate Temple's eternally fresh and ebullient allure in this irresistible gem from Hollywood's golden age. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has observed that the phrase "family entertainment" is an oxymoron, but in the case of this delightful film he's mistaken.