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Stand Up and Cheer!
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<h2 id="plot">Plot</h2> <p>The President of the United States decides that the true cause of the <a href="/facts/Great_Depression/5K13wcg0">Great Depression</a> (raging when the film was released) is a loss of "optimism" as a result of a plot by financiers and bankers who are getting rich from the Depression. The President then appoints Lawrence Cromwell as secretary for the newly created Department of Amusement. Cromwell creates an army of entertainers and sends them out across the country. Much of the action centers around Cromwell auditioning acts in his office (with interruptions from janitor "George Bernard Shaw", played by <a href="/facts/Stepin_Fetchit/j7v9LHbw">Stepin Fetchit</a>). At the end, as a musical production number breaks forth, Cromwell looks out of his office window and sees the Depression literally, instantaneously lift. </p> <h2 id="cast">Cast</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Warner_Baxter/evKECkxg">Warner Baxter</a> as Lawrence Cromwell</li> <li><a href="/facts/Madge_Evans/hBKmJfD8">Madge Evans</a> as Mary Adams</li> <li><a href="/facts/Shirley_Temple/MHcYaNbC">Shirley Temple</a> as Shirley Dugan</li> <li><a href="/facts/James_Dunn_(actor)/cVCgSBzd">James Dunn</a> as Jimmy Dugan</li> <li><a href="/facts/Nigel_Bruce/tmDvldf9">Nigel Bruce</a> as Eustis Dinwiddle</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ralph_Morgan/2N6pSEEs">Ralph Morgan</a> as Secretary to President</li> <li><a href="/facts/Stepin_Fetchit/j7v9LHbw">Stepin Fetchit</a> as "George Bernard Shaw"</li> <li><a href="/facts/Tess_Gardella/u0p4kT6p">Tess Gardella</a> as Aunt Jemima</li> <li><a href="/facts/Scotty_Beckett/L2nQQtpe">Scotty Beckett</a> as Auditioning Boy</li> <li><a href="/facts/John_Boles_(actor)/7a5rSyQx">John Boles</a> as Himself</li> <li><a href="/facts/Dick_Foran/FltN5DAj">Dick Foran</a> as Himself (billed as Nick)</li></ul> <h2 id="production">Production</h2> <p>During production, the film was known as "Fox Follies".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> Perhaps the most memorable scene in the movie was the song and dance number by James Dunn and Shirley Temple titled "Baby Take a Bow". Temple, who was signed to a $150/week contract initially guaranteed for just two weeks while the film was in full production, did not have enough time to learn the dance routine for the film and instead used a routine she learned from Meglin's. Dunn then learned the routine from her. In recording the sound track for the song, her voice accidentally cracked on the last note, but the producers actually liked it and kept it in. Before filming the dance routine, she slipped and fell while walking in, cutting her head. To remedy this, her mother covered the cut with a <a href="/facts/Spit_curl/gygHnKeI">spit curl</a>. As filming of the dance number started, Temple's potential quickly became apparent. By the time she was finished, she was brought straight into Fox Film offices and had her contract extended to a year with a seven-year option. The number became so popular that it would serve as the title to her next film, <i><a href="/facts/Baby_Take_a_Bow/QL8CaWHI">Baby Take a Bow</a></i>, also starring Dunn.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="reception">Reception</h2> <h3>Critical reception</h3> <p><a href="/facts/Mordaunt_Hall/MPyuAenn">Mordaunt Hall</a> of <i>The New York Times</i> wrote that the film "often comes close to a conception of what a modern <a href="/facts/Gilbert_and_Sullivan/C7M2aW3j">Gilbert and Sullivan</a> opus might be. It is true that there are several intrusive numbers which have little to do with the bright pivotal idea, but they have the virtue of being good entertainment."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> <a href="/facts/John_Mosher_(writer)/dV3Aq6HQ">John Mosher</a> of <i>The New Yorker</i> reviewed it as mediocre, writing it had "a few good numbers and a lot of very dreary <a href="/facts/Libretto/Nt8PWhWk">libretto</a> work."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> <i>Film Daily</i> reported "Despite a weakness in construction that has left it with a few air pockets, this musical jamboree has several highlights that will suffice to satisfy the patrons and make them pass the word around." It added that Shirley Temple "just about steals the show and leaves the customers hungry for more of her."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> "Richly satiric, the story introduces hilarious types and presents a delightfully mad picture of Washington", wrote the <i>New York Daily Mirror</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> The <i>New York Herald Tribune</i> wrote that it was "successful neither as musical comedy nor hilarious fantasy, but it must be granted certain pleasant features. Amazingly enough, one of them is a child actress."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The <i>New York Daily News</i> wrote that although it "was designed to wipe away our fears and blues over these hard times by insisting that the depression is over, I'm afraid it is going to have just the opposite effect. Little Shirley Temple earned the only burst of spontaneous applause."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>The film was given a strong endorsement by <i>Variety</i>, especially the work of "newcomer" Shirley Temple, whom they cited as the film's "unofficial star."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Although modern scholars often point to the film as an example of typical <a href="/facts/Great_Depression/5K13wcg0">Great Depression</a> entertainment, <i>Variety</i> expressed reservations about its theme. "This musical is a hodge-podge principally handicapped by a national depression premise. Americans now like to think of themselves in the light of being on the upturn and having rounded that long-awaited corner, so <i>Cheer'</i>s plot motivation is basically questionable [and] open to debate."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h3>Accolades</h3> <p>The film is recognized by <a href="/facts/American_Film_Institute/DhNpmV60">American Film Institute</a> in these lists: </p> <ul><li>2006: <a href="/facts/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Cheers/cFjWQ8Qr">AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers</a> – Nominated<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="releases">Releases</h2> <p>The film premiered April 19, 1934 at <a href="/facts/Radio_City_Music_Hall/RVynVMU5">Radio City Music Hall</a> in New York City.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>The film was a box office disappointment for Fox.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>Eleven minutes of footage were deleted for modern home video release, most of it racial in nature. In 2009, the film was available on both videocassette and DVD in the original black-and-white version and a computer-colorized version of the original. Some versions included theatrical trailers and other special features. </p> <h2 id="merchandise">Merchandise</h2> <p>The polka-dot dress worn by Shirley Temple in her song and dance number with Dunn served as the model of the dress used on the first Shirley Temple dolls made by toy manufacturer Ideal in 1934. In 1958, Temple's television show, <i><a href="/facts/Shirley_Temple%27s_Storybook/sxUp8CFw">Shirley Temple's Storybook</a></i> went into production. At the time, she persuaded various manufacturers to release ancillary merchandise including the <i>Baby Take a Bow</i> polka-dot dress (Edwards 233). </p> <h3>Bibliography</h3> <ul><li>Edwards, Anne (1988), <i>Shirley Temple: American Princess</i>, New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025829/"><i>Stand Up and Cheer!</i></a> at <a href="/facts/IMDb/uWrqVYVy">IMDb</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91263/enwp"><i>Stand Up and Cheer!</i></a> at the <a href="/facts/Turner_Classic_Movies/0qS5jr3H">TCM Movie Database</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v46442"><i>Stand Up and Cheer!</i></a> at <a href="/facts/AllMovie/LFmxXRB3">AllMovie</a></li> <li><a href="https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/2206"><i>Stand Up and Cheer!</i></a> at the <a href="/facts/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films/61kFwpB6">American Film Institute Catalog</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Variety, February 22, 1934 <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Temple Black, Shirley (1988). Child Star: An Autobiography. New York City: McGraw-Hill. pp. 32–36. <a href="/wiki/Shirley_Temple" target="_blank">/wiki/Shirley_Temple</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Hall, Mordaunt (April 20, 1934). "Warner Baxter as Secretary of Amusements in "Stand Up and Cheer" the Radio City Music Hall Offering". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2015. <a href="/wiki/Mordaunt_Hall" target="_blank">/wiki/Mordaunt_Hall</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Mosher, John C. (April 28, 1934). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 89. <a href="/wiki/John_Mosher_(writer)" target="_blank">/wiki/John_Mosher_(writer)</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Reviews of the New Features". Film Daily. New York. April 20, 1934. p. 11. <a href="/wiki/Film_Daily" target="_blank">/wiki/Film_Daily</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"New York Reviews". The Hollywood Reporter. April 24, 1934. p. 2. <a href="/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter" target="_blank">/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"New York Reviews". The Hollywood Reporter. April 24, 1934. p. 2. <a href="/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter" target="_blank">/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"New York Reviews". The Hollywood Reporter. April 24, 1934. p. 2. <a href="/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter" target="_blank">/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Variety, April 24, 1934 <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Variety, April 24, 1934 <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-14. <a href="http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers300.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers300.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Reid, John Howard (2005). Your Colossal Main Feature Plus Full Support Program. p. 165. ISBN 9781411629097. <a href="9781411629097" target="_blank">9781411629097</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>D. W. (Nov 25, 1934). "TAKING A LOOK AT THE RECORD". New York Times. ProQuest 101193306. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>