The Little Colonel Robinson, Bill "Bojangles" performer Temple, Shirley performer Donohue, Jack performer Film 1935-02-22 Fox Film Corporation Fox films. Directed by David Butler. Shirley Temple (Lloyd Sherman), Lionel Barrymore (Colonel Lloyd), Evelyn Venable (Elizabeth Lloyd Sherman), John Lodge (Jack Sherman), Hattie McDaniel (Mom Beth), Avonne Jackson (May Lily), Bill Robinson (Walker). Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson tap dance up and down the stairs. (Hattie McDaniel plays the Mom Beck Mamie role; Robinson plays the servant Walker.) In the post-Civil War south (Kentucky in the 1870s) Elizabeth Lloyd (Evelyn Venable) marries a Yankee. In response, her stern Confederate father (Lionel Barrymore) vows never to speak to her again. That is, until a few years later when Elizabeth's adorable daughter (Temple) charms the grumpy old man. Scenes include a baptism in the river and spirituals, though it's a baptism that more like a Hollywood musical number. Tap scenes include Temple with Robinson a stair dance in the grand plantation home. Trying to get her to bed, Robinson shows her "a brand new way how to get upstairs" rhyming words to a Juba rhythm (same time as a Time Step) Robinson impersonates a buzzing whistle with his mouth as he taps up the stairs: little miss joins him: he goes up first, buzzing and winging his arms; his steps are exquisitely clean: up a few and down, when he lands he does some nerve tapping: this is a routine adapted from his famous stair solo dance; on the landing he does a bit of sand dancing, then travels up and down. "I want to do that, too" she says, and he partners her up the steps, on each landing a little cramp roll and at the top, a little sand, than a few steps down, until the colonel catches them, they rush back up the stairs. "That's the fastest my feet ever moved" he says. "Now tomorrow I'll show you some more steps" he promises. That tomorrow comes when Miss Lloyd shows up the next day in the stables wearing a pink bustled dress. She asks him to show him some steps and even though he has no time for dancing, they do dance: show and copy, she copies and embellishes slightly the dances he instructs her in. His steps are superb; he is a gentlemanly counterpart to her simple cute steps; must be very hard to play the servant who is a master at stepping but he carries it off with aplomb. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Frank, Rusty E.: Tap! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and their Stories 1900-1955. New York, William Morrow. (1990). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html Shirley Temple (biography) loc.music.tdabio.176 Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (biography) loc.music.tdabio.154 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.90