The Little Princess (Digitally Remastered) (DVD)

...had a few days without the internet , and I decided to spend that time watching some of my VHS tapes – and one of the ones I watched was The Little Princess, based on the novel "Sara Crewe; or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The book was later adapted for the stage, and was so successful that Frances' publishers requested that she adapt her original novel to include scenes that were in the stage play but not ...
...book "A Little Princess; being the whole story of Sara Crewe," , the title of which has now been shortened to 'A Little Princess '

If you've read the book, you'll already be familiar with the tale – a motherless girl, Sara Crewe, is adored by her father, and thoroughly spoilt by him, because, if he doesn't pull he rout of it, she is all too easily absorbed by books and her vivid imagination . Sadly, her father , a soldier , ... more

I've had a few days without the internet , and I decided to spend that time watching some of my VHS tapes – and one of the ones I watched was The Little Princess, based on the novel "Sara Crewe; or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The book was later adapted for the stage, and was so successful that Frances' publishers requested that she adapt her original novel to include scenes that were in the stage play but not in the original book . The end result was the book "A Little Princess; being the whole story of Sara Crewe," , the title of which has now been shortened to 'A Little Princess '

If you've read the book, you'll already be familiar with the tale – a motherless girl, Sara Crewe, is adored by her father, and thoroughly spoilt by him, because, if he doesn't pull he rout of it, she is all too easily absorbed by books and her vivid imagination . Sadly, her father , a soldier , is called up to fight in the Boer War, and so he's forced to find a boarding school for her to attend .

He settles on Miss Minchin's Seminary, and arrives with Sara on the day of his departure for Africa. However, Miss Minchin is reluctant to take a new pupil into her school, in fear of it's reputation and respectability. As she learns the extent of Captain Crewe's fortune, she changed her mind, and is suddenly very willing to do everything she can to keep her new pupil happy .

After a touching farewell, Sara's father departs for the war, leaving Sara to settle in to her new school, where she is treated like a 'Little Princess' . However, when news comes that her father has been killed, Miss Minchin becomes harsh, selling all of Sara's possessions to cover the money owed by her father, and puts Sara to work as an unpaid servant . Sara however refuses to believe her father is dead .

Will Miss Minchin stop her cruel ways ? Will Sara be able to find her father, or is he dead after all ?

I found the film very enjoyable . The first big bonus point in it's favour is that unlike so many films with American stars, the story has not been changed to make it look like it took place in America – a mistake made by the 1995 version of the film, where some far fetched storyline is added to explain the British father sending his daughter to a school in New York! I like that the film stayed very close to the original story – however, that doesn't mean no changes at all were made . Some great sub-plots were added, such as the elderly gentleman next doors grandson having a relationship with one of Sara's teachers, that were not included in the original book – but I did think they were added tactfully, and they never sidelines the original plot of the book .

The characters in the film were interesting and varied – there is even an appearance by Queen Victoria herself . Ok, Ok, not the real one – given that she died in 1901 and the film was made in 1939, including the real queen might have been a pretty mouldy and smelly affair, so they wisely opted for actress Beryl Mercer , who might only have had a few lines, but really stands out for me, her character coming over as stately, yet kindhearted .

Shirley Temple is of course chubby cheeked and adorable throughout, and there is plenty of singing and dancing to demonstrate her many talents . However, I can't help wondering why a child who (in both the book and the film) had spent all her early years in India, with English parents, now going to school in England, would have such a strong American accent! Don't get me wrong, I really do think she portrayed her character very well, showing innocence, vulnerability, strength, attitude, and spirit as and when required- but the accent is very out of place in a movie where everyone else at least attempts an English accent. However, I do think a lot of the crying scenes came over as a little bit over-acted, rather heavy handed and forced . Her acting talent is still remarkable for a child of only 11 at the time the film was released .

Sybil Jason, a South African actress playing waifish servant girl Becky, attempts to get it right, but ends up sounding more mockney than cockney. She does however strike exactly the right tones with her scenes, and they come out almost exactly the way they do when read .

Cesar Romero as Ram Dass is excellent – dignified, regal, yet friendly and warm, he strikes exactly the right chord- instantly befriending Sara because she speaks Hindustani, and keeping a watchful eye on her progress and treatment throughout her time at the school.

Mary Nash makes a return as a villain , having previously worked with Shirley Temple in the 1937 film version of Heidi, where she played baddie Fräulein Rottenmeier . In this film she plays Miss Minchin, again a baddie (at least in the second half of the film) and manages to act a variety of different personas. Convincingly kind at the start, if a little stern, and then suddenly a full on hard faced uncaring woman .

However, I do feel a couple of things could have had more detail – in particular the relationship between Geoffrey Hamilton, Rose, and Geoffreys grandfather Lord Wickham – at one point Miss Minchin throws a real spanner in the works for the couple, further souring the relationship between Geoffrey and his Grandfather – I would have liked to have seen some confrontation and resolution between the two – it would have added a tiny bit more depth to the plot .

Being an old film, the special effects in this are non-existent – instead it does rather rely on the charming cuteness of Shirley Temple, who was the top child star of her era. I have the film on VHS, and as with many other old films, there is shaky camera work, highly irrelevant footage of London tourist attractions to help set the scene, and the occasional visual blip – for example the odd white spot blanking out a small part of the screen . This is however entirely par for the course on older films, and in it's own way adds a little to the charm .

The 'glorious techicolour' is also a bit dated - there is colour, but in most places it is pretty muted, due to lack of lighting, or perhaps the directors intention to make the film more atmospheric – but again, for a film of it's day, it works .

Given that WW2 started five months after this film was released, I'm curious about if the plot of this movie might have affected people whose loved ones were fighting in that war – I can't help feeling that the timing of the release of the film might have had some effect on viewers at the time, since movies tended to screen at cinemas for far longer in those days that they do now . The memory of the First World War would also have been in peoples minds at the time. Luckily the sentimentality of the film is broken up partway by a spectacular dream sequence, 'The Stolen Kiss' that is lighthearted, charming and wonderful.

With that said, I think this is an excellent film that remains mostly faithful to the book, and is enjoyable in it's own right . For all that I've made mention of bad accents, overacting, and dated-ness, I can't deny for one instant that I adore this film . The story is utterly charming, a real reversal of fortune tale, and the lack of special effects and the rather rubbish 'glorious technicolour' manage somehow to only add to it's charm .There is no rudeness or vulgarity, so it's suitable for watching with young children (assuming you can get them to give such and old film a chance) and is only 93 minutes log, so easy to sit through . I love this film – 5 stars!
 

...less