Curly Top

Elizabeth and her older sister are in a heavily regimented orphanage where her attempts at play are discouraged by the overly stern Mrs. Higgins. Her co-owner, Mrs.Denham, is much more understanding towards the children. During a meeting of the orphanage trustees, Elizabeth is caught doing a devastating impersonation of the oldest and crabbiest trustee, Mr. Wycoff. She is saved from punishment by Edward Morgan, a newly minted millionaire who takes an instant liking to her.

Discovering that Elizabeth's older sister had promised their dead parents that they would never be separated, Morgan takes them both into his home, but invents an imaginary guardian for whom he is only the middleman. This strategy develops some serious hitches when he realizes he is in love with the older sister.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, wins over Morgan's eccentric Aunt Genevieve and the stuffy butler, who eventually warms to taking care of her pet pony and duck. Edward eventually confesses his deception, to everybody's relief, and he and Mary will be married.

• Shirley Temple as Elizabeth Blair
• John Boles as Edward Morgan
• Rochelle Hudson as Mary Blair
• Jane Darwell as Mrs. Denham
• Rafaela Ottiano as Mrs. Higgins
• Esther Dale as Aunt Genevieve Graham
• Etienne Girardot as Mr. Wyckoff
• Arthur Treacher as Butler
• Maurice Murphy as Jimmie Rogers
• Billy Gilbert as The Cook (uncredited)
• SPUNKY The Pony
• Lynn Bari as Beach Girl (uncredited cameo)

Helen Brown Norden wrote in Vanity Fair that Temple "has great charm and a phenomenal ease which permit her to dominate even such an absurd situation and stupid dialogue as are forced on her in her latest picture, Curly Top.[1] Maclean's critic Ann Ross was of the opinion that "Admirers of the screen's first child wonder will dote on Curly Top. People who find that all child performances on the screen, even Temple performances, stir up the wicked old Herod in them, had better stay away."[2]

• Animal Crackers in My Soup: Sung by: Shirley Temple

• Curly Top at IMDb
• Curly Top at the TCM Movie Database
• Curly Top at AllMovie
• Curly Top in the American Film Institute catalog