Chapter 2: Burlesk Show

Shirley in Glad Rags to Riches (1933)

In early 1932, Shirley’s film career began, making a series of eight one-reel short films called Baby Burlesks.  These films were likely made in competition with the Our Gang shorts: in Our Gang, child actors were hired to play children dealing with various situations children would experience, while Baby Burlesks consisted of child actors hired to play adults being portrayed in adult situations. (which is the reason many find these short films controversial today; the commentary on Youtube is very divisive)

The Baby Burlesks shorts took on a variety of adult situations: dealing with a gangster (Runt Page), sending soldiers off to war (War Babies), becoming a star (Kid in Hollywood), and being sent off to Washington (Polly Tix in Washington).  One interesting observation in watching these shorts is that the boys tend to be shirtless with diapers on, while the few girls wear short dresses with their diapers.  Shirley shared some insight into the costumes for these films in her memoir:

         Always clever at the current fad of home dressmaking, she (Gertrude) would run up each of my… costumes.  Only half was needed.  From the waist up, we were costumed as adults.  From the waist down, we wore only bulky flannel diapers secured by a safety pin large enough to have come off a horse blanket. (Temple, 15)

Shirley disclosed in her memoir that she did not receive any formal instruction in acting from a teacher, but instead from producer Jack Hays and director Charles Lamont: “Both men would drill us, one script line at a time, demonstrating how to move around, loosen up our arms, and use facial contortions for emphasis.” (Temple, 20)  So what the viewer sees in these films are adorable children with good memories in remembering their lines, but Shirley had the magnetic personality that would capture the hearts of Americans in a few short years…

Shirley also disclosed in her memoir the lessons she learned during production of Baby Burlesks: “Lesson One: Being a starlet is a complicated life, especially when you are four years old.  Lesson Two: Disobedience carries its price.” (Temple, 21)  The price Shirley refers to is the punishment director Charles Lamont invoked on the child actors for any misdeed: sitting in a large black box with no windows on a block of ice.  Shirley states she did receive this punishment on several occasions, however did not disclose what she was being punished for. (a little oppositional defiant streak, perhaps?)  She admitted the punishment worked.  Her final word on the punishment: “So far as I can tell, the black box did no lasting damage to my psyche.” (Temple, 23) (While she is the expert on herself, from an outside perspective I agree with her)

Jack Hays realized he had a talent on his hands, and wanted to solidify the professional relationship.  Shirley had to appear in California State Superior Court on October 7, 1932 to have her film contract validated.  After the contract was validated, Hays loaned her to Educational Pictures to appear in more shorts.  Baby Burlesks was just one stepping stone to Shirley’s lucrative (child) acting career.