Review by Choice Review
In the 1930s, child star Shirley Temple became a box-office sensation and cultural icon, a phenomenon that Kasson attributes to the emotional needs of audiences during the Great Depression. In contrast to the solemn President Hoover, both President Roosevelt and Shirley Temple projected a confidence and optimism that soothed American citizens in need of healing after financial and emotional hardship. While Kasson's read on 1930s American culture is insightful and well researched, he quickly waters down his original thesis and spends much of the book glossing over various cultural highlights: the life and career of Temple; Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the fate of blacks during the Great Depression; child labor laws; and new conceptions of childhood, privacy, and consumerism. Though useful for those interested in a Temple-centric cultural overview of the decade, the book will disappoint those who are knowledgeable about Temple, her cultural role, or the Great Depression. --Elizabeth C. Andrews, SUNY Potsdam College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
When Franklin Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, he dedicated himself to turning the country around from the depths of the Great Depression. But he needed an indefinable something to focus the country's attention away from poverty and fear and toward optimism and faith. That something appeared in the form of a little girl with curly hair and a twinkly smile: Shirley Temple, whose 20-odd movies between 1934 and 1940 made her one of the most beloved box-office draws in the world. It is impossible to overstate how popular Temple was as a movie star, and, as the author shows, her influence on the country was astonishing: in a very real sense, Shirley Temple helped America survive the Depression. This is a remarkable dual biography: the story of Temple's brief reign over Hollywood, but also the story of an entire country, which took its cues from such an unlikely source. Temple pretty much retired from the entertainment business when she was in her teens, but her impact resonates to this day. A deeply fascinating book about an unlikely superstar, whose recent death may renew interest in her career.--Pitt, David Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As historian Kasson eloquently points out in this often repetitive but useful survey of Temple's role in Depression America, the young star entertained America at one of its lowest points, winning the hearts of a nation and giving hope to a hopeless society. "In all her 1930s movies beginning with Stand Up and Cheer!, Shirley Temple helped viewers summon the emotional resources to persevere in the world." Kasson confines his deft critical writing to the 1930s, the height of Temple's popularity, chronicling her rise to fame, her lasting impact on the movies and society, and her view of herself as a professional actor and not a child laborer. At the height of her popularity, he observes, "Shirley Temple's films, products, and endorsements stimulated the American consumer economy at a crucial time, so much so that to some she appeared to be a relief program all by herself." Kasson's insightful book looks back to a moment in American society when, he argues, the movies mattered and when one magnetic star could help change people's minds and hearts. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Readers who are expecting a juicy biography of recently deceased child star Shirley Temple (1928-2014) will be disappointed in this analysis of the cultural effects of her movies on a despairing America during the Great Depression. Kasson (history & American studies, Univ. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), though he gives the basics of both Temple's and her parents' lives, is more focused on the actress's film persona and how it served to raise the spirits of a somber nation. Almost a third of the book focuses on Temple's smile and happy face as a metaphor for the optimism that occurred when Franklin D. Roosevelt (also a smiler) took office after President Herbert Hoover, who was perceived as aloof and insular. Kasson also touches on the movie studios' exploitation of child actors (Temple worked practically every day of her young life) and the racial boundaries that were broken when she performed with the African American tap dancer and actor Bill "Bojangles" -Robinson. VERDICT With Temple's passing in February of this year at age 86, this book is a timely and well-researched addition to the genre, and one that film students will welcome. However, those seeking more personal information about the performer's life should look for Temple's 1988 autobiography, Child Star.-Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
