Legendary Hollywood child star Shirley Temple was just three years old when she made her screen debut in a series of single-reel comedies called Baby Burlesks in 1932. Dressed in ludicrous costumes and over-the-top make-up, Temple was called upon to impersonate some of the biggest stars of the era, portraying the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, and Dolores Rio in spoof recreations of some of their most famous scenes.
The Baby Burlesks were far from high-quality fare, but they nevertheless established Temple’s on-screen career. Later that same year, she made her feature film debut in The Red-Haired Alibi, and by 1933 was already being traded between the likes of Universal, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Before long, she was commanding a staggering $50,000 per film; and in 1935 was awarded a special Juvenile Oscar in recognition of her success. By the end of the decade, she was the biggest child star in Hollywood—famous enough to be the first choice for the role of Dorothy Gale in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.
Losing out on the part of Dorothy to Judy Garland seemed to knock Temple’s career of course a little, and in the early 1940s she struggled to secure a hit movie and was repeatedly and unsuccessfully loaned out to a string of rival studios with little success. The post-war years were more fruitful, however, and by her eighteenth birthday Temple was working as busily as she ever had. Perhaps even a little too busily.
Temple celebrated her coming of age on the set of the 1947 military comedy Honeymoon. Despite the importance of the occasion, however, there was to be no let-up in Temple’s schedule: By the time an enormous cake was wheeled out on to the set (and, as it happens, accidentally dropped on the floor by the studio chef!) to celebrate her birthday, Temple had worked an exhausting 18-hour day and was in little mood to celebrate.
Sadly, Honeymoon ended up being poorly received and was yet another box office failure. That, combined with a struggling marriage and her endlessly punishing schedules, eventually proved too much to bear and Temple retired from movies in 1950.