Susannah of the Mounties

Susannah of the Mounties


20th Century-Fox, 1939, B/W, 77 minutes, ***

Released June, 1939



Next to that underage Brooklyn kid in the war picture, the surest kiss of death in movies is to play Shirley Temple's natural parents. This time an Indian attack does the deed, and the perennial orphan is adopted by rugged R.C.M.P. Randolph Scott. Great frontier action, plus Shirley teaching Scott to dance.



Cute film finds Shirley the sole survivor in a wagon train massacre. She ends up living in a RCMP frontier post as a sort-of adopted orphan. Randolph Scott is her guardian, and J. Farrell MacDonald is his squire and Shirley's adopted uncle. Some great character acting makes this film fun to watch. Shirley befriends an Indian boy, and as they spat over who is better than whom, they become friends. An Indian uprising threatens peace in the camp and the local village unit Scott can prove (with help from Shirley and Little Chief) that the white man is not responsible for starting the fight. There is even some "cowboy and Indian" action with the Indians nearly burning the fort to the ground. Musical highlight is Shirley teaching Scott to waltz while singing "I'll Teach You a Waltz."



The picture opens with the statement, "From 1882 to 1884 the Canadian Pacific Railway fought its way westward from Red River toward the foothills -- through a wild desolate land."



In Charge of Production: Darryl F. Zanuck

Associate Producer: Kenneth MacGowan

Directed by: William A. Seiter

Screen Play by: Robert Ellis and Helen Logan

Story by: Fidel La Barba and Walter Ferris

Based on the Book by: Muriel Denison (Susannah, a Little Girl of the Mounties)

Technical Advisor for Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Bruce Carruthers

Musical Direction: Louis Silvers

Art Direction: Richard Day, Albert Hogsett

Set Decorations: Thomas Little

Costumes: Gwen Wakeling

Sound: E. Clayton Ward, Roger Heman

Photography: Arthur Miller

Film Editor: Robert Bischoff



Cast: Shirley Temple [Susannah Sheldon], Randolph Scott [Monty (Inspector Angus Montague)], Margaret Lockwood [Vicky Standing], Martin Good Rider [Little Chief], J. Farrell MacDonald [Pat O'Hannegan], Maurice Moscovich [Chief Big Eagle], Moroni Olsen [Superintendant Andrew Standing], Victor Jory [Wolf Pelt], Lester Matthews [Harlan Chambers], Leyland Hodgson [Randall], Herbert Evans [Doctor], Jack Luden [Williams], Charles Irwin [Sgt. McGregor], John Sutton [Corporal Piggot], Additional Cast: Chief Big Tree [Chief], Harold Goodwin [Orderly]

"The Indians used in this picture are from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana"



Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "O Canada" (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:08] In the Gloaming (sung by Mens Chorus); [0:32] I'll Teach You a Waltz (sung by Shirley Temple, played on harmonica by J. Farrell MacDonald [onscreen], danced by Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott -- switches to instrumental arrangement danced by Randolph Scott and Margaret Lockwood; reprised by Orchestra in background score); [0:41] On the Bottom of the Sea (short excerpt sung by J. Farrell MacDonald); [1:17] "O Canada" (played by Orchestra)