Shirley Temple. She has been a household name for so long – since 1934, in fact – that her name instantly evokes images of blonde curls, tap shoes, and lollipops. Seventy years after her 1930s heyday, Shirley still remains the most famous child star in history. In fact, she achieved such a level of fame that today her name is used not so much to refer to her but to a stereotype. It's not uncommon to hear anyone who can tap dance, anyone with curly hair, any cute little girl, or anything related to childhood at all, be compared with Shirley Temple. Her name is so overused that when you actually watch one of Shirley's films and see the original little girl, she is nothing less than a breath of fresh air.

Shirley was only eight when she filmed Captain January, but she had already starred in more films than the number of years she had been alive. Captain January is the standard Shirley plot, but its humor, wit, and talented cast make it one of her best films. And this is coming from someone who's seen all of Shirley's childhood films – no small feat, given that she made twenty of them between the ages of six and ten.

In Captain January, Shirley plays Star, who as a baby washed ashore from a shipwreck and was rescued by the film's title character, a lighthouse keeper. January raises and loves Star as his own but never legally adopts her, attempts to find her relatives, or sends her to school. Instead, he educates Star from Bowditch, a book on ocean navigation, and The Bible. As he tells his friend Captain Nazro, "There ain't no better reading in the world than The Bible and Bowditch. They both learn you steer a straight course." The relationship between January and Nazro is the most unintentionally interesting thing about the film. They bicker constantly and claim to hate each other, yet they still spend almost all their time together and both are father-figures to Star. The modern viewer can't help but wonder if their friendship is really something more ...

Just as Captain January is the standard Shirley film, Star is typical of her characters. There was never anything the least bit helpless or vulnerable about the girls Shirley played. Star is bright, assertive, and confident. She bursts into song at random, doing an acrobatic tap-dance with her sailor friend, but she's book-smart too, reciting her multiplication tables as she bounces down the lighthouse steps. She loves laughing at the volley of insults that fly back and forth between January and Nazro (things like, "You blubbering old blowfish!"). And Shirley Temple's adorable little laugh is, to me, the cutest thing about her. Watching her laugh, it's no wonder that she was the biggest box-office star of the 1930s.

A sweet, simple character like Star is exactly what makes Shirley so refreshing to modern viewers. Since the 1930s, roles for young actresses have become more and more dramatic and mature (several of the films on this website are good examples). By contrast, Shirley's characters are almost shockingly innocent. Star is neither precocious nor bratty, qualities that abound in modern kid roles. Star is simply a normal 8-year-old – although her exact age is not known. January didn't know how old she was when he rescued her, nor has he kept track. When asked, he guesses that Star is eight. (Although Star second guesses him, wondering, "Maybe I'm only six.")

Star's happy home with January (whom she calls "Cap") is threatened with the arrival of Mrs. Morgan, a mean truant officer who disapproves of the carefree way that January is raising Star. Despite Star's obvious intelligence and well-adjusted life, Mrs. Morgan tries to get January's unofficial adoption debunked. January is determined to keep Star, but soon he begins to question whether he is a fit father for her. At Mrs. Morgan's insistence, he sends Star to school, only to discover that he's barely able to help her study for tests. January has spent most of his life at sea and never received a real education; he's excellent at teaching Star geography, but most other subjects are beyond his grasp. Not that this matters to Star, who all but hero-worships "Cap." When Mrs. Morgan suggests he isn't raising her properly, Star leaps to his defense, crying, "Cap's the finest man in the whole world! He's saved a million ships!"

January's doubts increase as he faces losing his job to new automatic lighthouse equipment. Then his friend Nazro goes behind his back to try to find Star’s relatives. It turns out that she has an aunt and uncle who are eager and able to care for her. It seems certain that Star will be taken from January, and when he nervously tells her that this might happen, she replies with her typical confidence, "I'm not worried." The element of a father fighting for custody of his daughter reminded me of Sam’s court battle for Lucy in I Am Sam. Both films even have the power-that-be (Mrs. Morgan in Star's case, the Department of Child & Family Services in Lucy's) bursting in on the girls' birthdays. A scene where Star is forcibly separated from January and sent to live with her aunt and uncle, total strangers to her, is surprisingly intense for a Shirley Temple film. When I first saw this scene as a little kid, it quite upset me.

But because this is a Shirley Temple film, there's never any doubt that Star and January will get their happy ending – and they do. Star's aunt and uncle turn out to be wealthy, wonderful people. They realize how much she needs January, so they help him find a new job and arrange for him to see her whenever he wants. The film ends with Star and January in each other's arms, singing their favorite song. But despite its predictability, Captain January is definitely worth watching. Every minute of this movie is extremely sweet and fun. (The only low point is Star's song "The Right Somebody to Love" and the bizarre dream sequence that accompanies it. Fast forward through this bit.) Although it was made in 1936, it has aged gracefully, and Shirley Temple is certainly as charming today as she ever was.