Baby Burlesks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baby Burlesks was a series of short films produced by Educational Pictures in the early 1930s.
The Burlesks were satires of major motion pictures and current events. All of the performers were preschool-aged children. They were costumed as adults--excepting their giant diapers with pins--and given mature dialogue. Filmed in 1931-32, before the Hayes Code was actively enforced, the series is considered dated and exploitative by many modern viewers and film critics because of its depictions of young children in adult roles and situations.
Many of the children used in the series were recruited from Meglin's Dance School in Hollywood. One of them was Shirley Temple, who made her film debut in the Baby Burlesks at the age of three. Her first studio stand-in, Marilyn Granas, also appeared in a few of the pictures. Neither of the two leading actors of the series, Eugene Butler and Georgie Smith, went on to notable success.
The films are still extant today, and are widely available in the public domain.
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[edit] Cast and crew
- Producer: Jack Hays
- Director: Charles Lamont
- Principal cast: Shirley Temple, Georgie Smith, Eugene Butler, Gloria Ann Mack, Marilyn Granas, Phillip Hurlic
[edit] Filmography
- The Runt Page (1932): The pilot film, which satirized the movie The Front Page, about reporters in a newsroom.
- War Babies (1932): The first Baby Burlesk publicly exhibited, a takeoff of What Price Glory?, about WWI doughboys in a tavern.
- Glad Rags to Riches (1932): A Gay Nineties comedy about a showgirl captured by an evil impresario.
- Polly Tix in Washington (1932): A call girl attempts to corrupt an honest politician.
- Kid's Last Stand (1932): A satire of Jack Dempsey and the boxing world.
- Kid 'in' Africa (1932): A satire of Tarzan the Ape Man.
- Kid in Hollywood (1932): A satire of Hollywood, including such stars as Marlene Dietrich.
- The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932): A takeoff of The Covered Wagon.
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] Bibliography
- Black, Shirley Temple (1988). Child Star: An Autobiography, McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-005532-7
[edit] External links
- The Runt Page at the Internet Movie Database
- War Babies at the Internet Movie Database
- Glad Rags to Riches at the Internet Movie Database
- Polly Tix in Washington at the Internet Movie Database
- Kid's Last Stand at the Internet Movie Database
- Kid 'in' Africa at the Internet Movie Database
- Kid in Hollywood at the Internet Movie Database
- The Pie-Covered Wagon at the Internet Movie Database
