"On the Good Ship Lollipop" is the signature song of Shirley Temple, one of the most prolific child stars of all time. Music and lyrics were written by Richard A. Whiting and Sidney Clare. Here in the 1934 movie "Bright Eyes" written specifically to feature her talents, Temple is only six years old but she acts, sings, and dances; she even did the choreography for this song. Her Bright Eyes performance was so well-received that she earned a special Juvenile Academy Award and was contracted to star in another dozen similar post-Depression feel-good movies.
Ms. Temple slowed her career at the age of 12 to go to high school and officially retired from show business at the age of 22. This didn't stop her creative energy and impact, however. Ms. Temple Black became a UN representative and ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She is a breast cancer survivor and spokesperson.
These Shirley Temple films of hope and optimism overcoming the most bleak circumstances inspired Franklin Roosevelt to say this: "It is a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles."
