Copyright 20 June 1934 by Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy, 29 June 1934. U.K. release: December 1934. Australian release: 1 August 1934. New Zealand release: 26 January 1935. New Zealand length: 6,955 feet. 77 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Ex-criminal Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) has a hard time going straight.NOTES: Shirley Temple, acknowledged as the best juvenile performer of 1934, received a miniature statuette from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Awards Ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel, 27 February, 1935.The stage play opened on Broadway at Daly's on 1 March 1926, and ran a surprisingly successful 144 performances. Russell Mack starred as the jittery ex-thief who tries to go straight, although everything conspires to send him back to jail. The play was directed by Albert Bannister, and produced by Bannister in association with Elmer Powell.COMMENT: Although this was Shirley's 23rd film, it was her first starring vehicle at Fox, following her huge success on loan-out to Paramount for "Little Miss Marker". For many years, all prints of this film were thought to be lost as the original negative and master prints were destroyed in a laboratory fire in 1935. However, a projection print in good condition, with only about 3 minutes of footage missing, credit and end titles complete and only a few minor scratches throughout, has come to light and from this a dupe negative has been made. From this unpromising material, the present colorized but otherwise very satisfactory, digitally restored release prints derive.Unfortunately, the film itself does not repay all this trouble, but at least it will not gain a totally undeserved reputation as a lost masterpiece by default. And besides its curiosity value, "Baby Take a Bow" boasts a cast of seasoned players — all of whom over-act atrociously. There is some excuse for this theatricality, however, in view of the melodramatic nature of the script. The whole film resembles an enthusiastic but distinctly amateur stage production. In fact, the script makes few attempts, other than the intriguing opening sequence and the roof-top climax, to open up the action of the original stage play.Harry Lachman's direction, for the most part, is disappointingly routine. Lachman was (and is still regarded as) a most distinguished painter in the post-impressionist tradition, but there is nothing in this movie that betrays an artistic eye. True, L. William O'Connell's photography does bring off a few attractively sinister effects with cross shadows on the faces of Ralf Harolde and Alan Dinehart, but otherwise the film has little visual appeal. In fact, production values generally are rather mediocre. In short, the Shirley Temple presented here isn't half as attractive as she was to become in her succeeding Fox pictures. It's interesting to note that in overseas markets, such as England and Australia, neither this film nor Shirley achieved either a good press or box-office success. However, her next film, "Now and Forever", in which she was billed third to Cooper and Lombard, proved to be a great money-spinner everywhere.

Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) made a big mistake and ending up serving time in Sing Sing. However, his lovely fiancé, Kay (Claire Trevor) waits for him and even takes him to Niagara Falls to get married on the day he leaves prison. Now, six years later, they live in New York City with their little girl, Shirley (Shirley Temple). Eddie presently works as a chauffeur and even got his good buddy a job with the same company. But, a crooked insurance investigator is certain that Eddie will break the law again and he watches the home constantly. On the day of Shirley's birthday, Eddie and Shirley entertain guests with their jokes, songs, and dances. But, things get complicated when an old, thieving friend of Eddie's gives Shirley a "hot" pearl necklace. He does this to bring Eddie back into the criminal fold but Shirley thinks it is a birthday gift. A ton of confusion reigns soon after as Eddie tries to hide the necklace from the insurance man and Shirley believes it is all an elaborate game of hide and seek. Will Eddie get fingered? This is a fun movie with a few dark elements, surprising in a Temple film. Shirley is adorable, young and talented, displaying her amazing talents for comedy, song, and dance. Dunn, too, is a stitch as her joking father, who is trying his best to go straight, while Trevor is very beautiful and touching as the faithful wife and mother. All of the lesser actors fulfill their roles quite nicely, too. The colorized version I watched had nice sets, costumes, songs, plot elements, and direction. If you like light comedy and vaudeville-type song-and-stomp, this is a good choice for you. Although there is a touch of violence, the sunny nature of the main players and their antics make it almost a second cousin to a Marx Brothers flick. My recommendation is to take a dose of Shirley on a day without sunshine, you'll feel like new.

I love swimming around in these old movies. Very few of them are worth watching for themselves. But many of them have such strange narrative experiments. You just can't honk around today like this.Here's what this is. It part prison picture in tone. Prison movies were a staple in that era because the system was considered to be inherently unjust, and good men could easily be sent to the bighouse, with cops usually depicted as incompetent or cruel.Its part adventure/comedy, with stolen jewels, hidden and with open slapstick toward the end.And it partly a show movie with a song and dance number, apparently recreated from a previous film.The film itself is dull and cheap, but the idea behind it is wild. A pudgy 5 year old can carry a film?Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Shirley Temple is wonderful. Beyond that, this is a movie that works on many levels for me. Claire Trevor brings an added dimension to the loyal wife and mother, and the ever-hard-luck-bitten James Dunn (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn) is perfect as the ex-con father trying desperately to put his past behind him. Alan Dinehart's slick and sycophantic private detective -- an embittered and opportunistic ex-cop -- does his best to pray on people's fears and keep Dunn with no recourse from the gutter. James Flavin, who later made a career playing Irish cops in the city, plays one here, albeit generally higher in rank and nobility than most of his later characters. Shirley only has two songs and one nice dance number with Dunn, but does more acting than musical work here, and is quite good at both. This is fine family entertainment amidst a backdrop of struggling to survive while the malicious and hypocritical try to keep others down. Certainly, although the movie was made in 1934, its themes are as resonant as ever.