When you stop to consider that the Civil War ended just 60 years before this film was made, watching it becomes more a social study than entertainment. The American system of apartheid ended only in the 1960s, and while some may believe that its effects evaporated along with legal segregation, this film is a reminder that the role of racism in the shaping of America had everlasting consequences. Set in 1850, Dimples reflects not only the racism of antebellum America but its manifestations in the 1930s when the film was made. Don't get me wrong, Shirley Temple as Dimples Appleby, a street performer who lives in poverty with her thieving grandfather on the streets of New York, is remarkable, but the pleasure of watching this gifted child star is diminished by the racism implicit in the writing, direction, and acting. I watched Stepin Fetchit's bumbling "coon" character with disbelief, but one is inclined to feel sorrier for the audiences that found him amusing than the actor who did what he could to have a movie career. Musically, this film features some familiar Stephen Foster tunes as well as Negro spirituals, especially when Dimples is cast in a stage production of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Though her dance routines (especially with two guys billed as "The Two Black Dots") show the clever choreography of the great Bill Robinson, the remaining songs are less than great. A rather pleasant love song called "Picture Me without You" becomes a little creepy as Dimples sings it to her grandfather. The concluding minstrel show is equally cringe-worth, but fortunately Dimples is not in blackface. As you watch this movie, remember that Shirley Temple gave up on the Hollywood scene and became a diplomat. By 1989, under her married name Shirley Temple Black, she had became U.S. Ambassador to Ghana. --from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013
Review of Dimples
