Cute little Irene Dare was only 7 years old when she made a few skating movies that pretty much came and went without much notice. Shirley Temple was still a popular box office attraction, and combining the skating talents of her 20th Century Fox contract player Sonja Henie, RKO created their own version. Several years later, Republic would try and make a star out of skater Vera Hruba (Ralston), and while she didn't make much of an impression during her brief film career, little Miss Dare came off much better than the Czech Ms. Hruba who had very little personality on screen. Irene Dare doubles in that department, and that makes these films acceptable programmers that rarely seen today are still a few notches above the Republic skating films Hruba attempted to become a star in.
Set in Brooklyn, this focuses on wise-cracking Roscoe Karns attempts to turn his niece (little Miss Dare) into a skating star after seeing her on ice at Radio City. She stars in a pageant as Uncle Sam (and later does a Hula) and is an instant success. Romantic complications in the plot concern her cousin (Lynne Roberts) and handsome Eric Linden, and comedy comes in the form of Dare's lovable but slow-burning father (Edgar Kennedy) who wants to buy a barbershop, and Karns who is involved in shady deals that threaten to deplete Dare's earnings which spoils Kennedy's plans to ensure his daughter's future. What is so nice about this little musical is that Dare is a refreshing change to Temple's cloying cuteness. Dare doesn't try to be adorable; She just is and she isn't "in your face" adorable.
A graceful skater, Dare could have gone on for a few more years, but no information seems to exist as to what happened to her. Her acting is natural, and while her line readings seem definitely coached, they manage to come off as believable. The film is far from perfect to be sure, but for late 1930's audiences, it was pure escapism, and remains entertaining today. One mistake on IMDb has actress Mary Hart listed as the credited name for Lynne Roberts, but Ms. Hart actually played Kennedy's social climbing wife (Elsie) who happened to be the sister of Karns' con-man character.
Set in Brooklyn, this focuses on wise-cracking Roscoe Karns attempts to turn his niece (little Miss Dare) into a skating star after seeing her on ice at Radio City. She stars in a pageant as Uncle Sam (and later does a Hula) and is an instant success. Romantic complications in the plot concern her cousin (Lynne Roberts) and handsome Eric Linden, and comedy comes in the form of Dare's lovable but slow-burning father (Edgar Kennedy) who wants to buy a barbershop, and Karns who is involved in shady deals that threaten to deplete Dare's earnings which spoils Kennedy's plans to ensure his daughter's future. What is so nice about this little musical is that Dare is a refreshing change to Temple's cloying cuteness. Dare doesn't try to be adorable; She just is and she isn't "in your face" adorable.
A graceful skater, Dare could have gone on for a few more years, but no information seems to exist as to what happened to her. Her acting is natural, and while her line readings seem definitely coached, they manage to come off as believable. The film is far from perfect to be sure, but for late 1930's audiences, it was pure escapism, and remains entertaining today. One mistake on IMDb has actress Mary Hart listed as the credited name for Lynne Roberts, but Ms. Hart actually played Kennedy's social climbing wife (Elsie) who happened to be the sister of Karns' con-man character.
