Honestly, if you mention the name Shirley Temple to anyone today, they probably think of the drink first. You know the one—ginger ale, a splash of grenadine, and that neon-red maraschino cherry. But before she was a non-alcoholic cocktail, Shirley Temple was a legitimate economic powerhouse. She wasn’t just a child actor; she was a one-girl stimulus package for a United States reeling from the Great Depression.
Her filmography is weird. It’s vast, spanning from the early 1930s to the late 1940s, and it contains some of the most charming—and, let's be real, occasionally cringey—moments in Hollywood history. If you're looking for a shirley temple list of movies, you aren't just looking for titles. You’re looking for the trajectory of a kid who saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy before she could even drive.
The Weird Beginnings: Baby Burlesks and Shorts
Most people think Shirley just appeared out of thin air in a lace dress. Not quite. Her career actually started in 1932 with a series called Baby Burlesks. These were one-reel shorts where toddlers—literally in diapers—mimicked adult movie stars and situations.
Shirley herself later called these films a "cynical exploitation," and she wasn't wrong. In shorts like War Babies (1932) and Polly Tix in Washington (1933), three-year-olds were put in racy, satirical plots that would never, ever fly today. She was paid about $10 a day. It was a grueling start, but it taught her the "business" of the industry early on.
- Runt Page (1932)
- War Babies (1932)
- Pie-Covered Wagon (1932)
- Glad Rags to Riches (1933)
- Kid in Hollywood (1933)
- Polly Tix in Washington (1933)
- Kid 'in' Africa (1933)
1934: The Year Everything Changed
1934 was the "Big Bang" for Shirley Temple. She didn't just make one movie; she made like nine feature films. It’s a pace that would break most adult actors. The real turning point was Stand Up and Cheer!. Even though she had a relatively small part, her performance of "Baby Take a Bow" stole the entire show.
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The studio bosses at Fox realized they had a goldmine. They immediately put her into Little Miss Marker and then Bright Eyes. That’s the movie where she sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop." If you want the essential shirley temple list of movies, 1934 is the foundation.
- Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) - The breakthrough.
- Little Miss Marker (1934) - She plays a kid left as a "marker" for a gambling debt. Dark, right?
- Baby Take a Bow (1934) - Capitalizing on her hit song title.
- Bright Eyes (1934) - The one that made her a global icon.
- Now and Forever (1934) - She starred alongside Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. She held her own with the heavyweights.
The Golden Era (1935–1938)
By 1935, Shirley Temple was the number one box-office draw in the world. She beat out Clark Gable. She beat out Joan Crawford. She was seven years old.
The formula for these movies was pretty consistent: Shirley is usually an orphan (or has one missing parent), she encounters a grumpy old man (usually a grandfather or a rich guy), and through the sheer power of tap dancing and dimples, she fixes his life and solves a major social conflict.
The Bojangles Partnerships
One of the most important aspects of her 1930s movies was her partnership with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. In The Little Colonel (1935), they performed the famous "stair dance." This was revolutionary. At a time when segregation was the law of the land, seeing a young white girl and a Black man holding hands and dancing as equals was a massive deal, even if the movies themselves still leaned into the tropes of the era.
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- The Little Colonel (1935)
- Curly Top (1935) - Features "Animal Crackers in My Soup."
- The Littlest Rebel (1935) - Set during the Civil War.
- Captain January (1936) - The lighthouse movie.
- Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
- Heidi (1937) - Based on the classic novel; arguably one of her best performances.
- Wee Willie Winkie (1937) - Directed by John Ford. Yeah, that John Ford. He treated her like a professional actress, not a toy.
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
- The Little Princess (1939) - Her first Technicolor film. It’s lavish, emotional, and honestly still holds up.
The Teenage Transition and the 1940s
As Shirley grew up, the public didn't really know what to do with her. The "dimpled tot" persona didn't work when she was 13. She left Fox, went to MGM, and then ended up as a freelance star for various studios.
People often say her career ended when she turned 12, but that’s not true. She made some pretty solid movies in the 40s. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy is actually a great comedy. She plays a teenager with a massive crush on a much older Cary Grant, and it's genuinely funny.
- The Blue Bird (1940) - Fox's attempt to compete with The Wizard of Oz. It flopped.
- Since You Went Away (1944) - A massive WWII drama. Shirley proved she could do "real" acting.
- I'll Be Seeing You (1944) - Starring alongside Ginger Rogers.
- Kiss and Tell (1945) - A teen comedy that was a surprise hit.
- Fort Apache (1948) - Another John Ford classic. She stars with her first husband, John Agar.
- The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
- A Kiss for Corliss (1949) - Her final film.
Why the Shirley Temple List of Movies Still Ranks
You might wonder why anyone cares about 90-year-old movies featuring a kid in ringlets. Basically, it’s about the cultural impact.
Shirley Temple was the first true "multi-media" star. There were Shirley Temple dolls, dresses, and soaps. She was the "ideal" child in an era of extreme national stress. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "As long as our country has Shirley Temple, we will be all right," he wasn't just being nice. He was acknowledging that her movies provided a psychological escape that the country desperately needed.
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Actionable Insights for Classic Film Fans
If you're diving into this shirley temple list of movies for the first time, don't just watch them for the cuteness. Watch them for the technical skill.
- Focus on the Tap Dancing: Shirley was a prodigy. Her timing with Bill Robinson is impeccable. She wasn't just "good for a kid"; she was a professional.
- Look at the Directors: Working with John Ford or David Butler wasn't a fluke. These directors recognized her ability to memorize an entire script (not just her lines) at age six.
- Observe the Social Context: Many of these films, like The Littlest Rebel, are deeply rooted in the racial and social politics of the 1930s. They are time capsules that show both the talent of the performers and the limitations of the era's storytelling.
By the time she retired at 22, she had done more than most people do in a lifetime. She went on to become a diplomat and U.S. Ambassador, proving that there was a massive brain behind those famous curls. If you want to see where the modern "child star" blueprint came from, this is the place to start.
Start your marathon with Little Miss Marker for the grit, Bright Eyes for the iconic music, and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer to see her successfully navigate the transition to adulthood. You’ll quickly see why the "Good Ship Lollipop" hasn't sunk yet.