How sad is this?

A Masterpiece!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Nearly all of Shirley Temple's childhood films were made at Twentieth Century Fox and it helped make this studio one of the most successful ones of the 1930s. However, for some reason Shirley starred in this film for Paramount. Fox loaned her out to Paramount (a practice that occasionally happened to keep actors busy during slack periods or as part of a trade between the studios for a film or two) and considering how successful she was at the time, this loan-out is surprising. Perhaps it's because it was still early in Shirley's career, though with some big hits behind her, it's still hard to understand. Or, perhaps Fox really owed Paramount because they loan them some mega- star or mega-stars. This film is a bit unusual. While her parents were sometimes idiots in her films, they usually weren't criminals like they are in "Now and Forever". Pennie's mother died and she's being raised by her mother's family. This is a blessing since her father, Jerry (Gary Cooper) is a con man and is just no good. In fact, at one point her returns to his wife's family and tries to sell his interest in the child in order to make money!! Fortunately, when Pennie (Temple) spends time with her no-good father, she manages to bring out the best in him and he wants her not for any money but to raise her because she's so sweet. This is a relief to Jerry's girlfriend, Toni (Carole Lombard), as she's tired of their life together...always being just one step ahead of the law! But Toni is realistic...any change might be temporary and Jerry needs to think about someone else other than himself for once. Can this jerk of a dad and very immature man actually turn out to be a family man? So is this film any good? Well, I certainly would never consider placing it among Temple's better films. The biggest reason is that the film is a MAJORLY depressing film...especially at the end. In most later films, parents had issues but worked them out happily by the end and everything was peachy. Here, it's just a depressing, miserable mess. The acting is good...the script really isn't. Overall, not a terrible film but it lacks something in later movies...fun.

This movie is well worth viewing, if only to see Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard in relatively early roles and to see Shirley Temple in an unusual part before she really peaked in popularity (here she is an incredible SIX years old). This is not a typical Temple film, in that she sings only one song (expertly), but you do get to see her act in a thoroughly convincing way. The supporting players are excellent as well.This is a rather odd movie that can't quite make up its mind what to be...a decidedly downbeat ending that is actually starker than it's presented in some reviews here and a series of rather improbable con jobs that are not dramatically convincing. However, it's a treat to see the incredibly talented Temple, the skillful Carole Lombard, and the totally charming Gary Cooper (who, by the way, sports a very impressive wardrobe throughout, as does Lombard).I watched the colorized version--better than I expected--but would have preferred black and white. See this movie with a "willing suspension of disbelief" and you'll enjoy it as a blast from the long-ago past.

The year 1934 was when Shirley Temple played three major movies and really began to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, the studios had to experiment to see what the public best liked about here. Two of those things were singing and dancing. Another was a short, interesting film that kept people's attention and got their minds off The Depression. You know the other keys to Shirley's successful films.This film achieved none of the above, despite the star presences of Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard and despite a very good director in Henry Hathaway. In addition, there are too many talky parts in here which become simply boring, and too many arguments between a sullen Lombard and Cooper. To top it off, you didn't get the normal feel-good ending which is what the public wants. I guess they learned after this movie.

This is a pretty bad movie directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. Cooper plays a thief who is married to Lombard and they are not getting on that well. Cooper finds out he has a daughter, played by Temple, and he winds up keeping her over his relatives objections. Cooper tries to quit being a thief and be a good father but he's in debt and it's the only way he can get the money. Guy Standing offers him one last job but Lombard wants him to quit and Cooper doesn't want Temple to find out. Shirley Temple only sings one song here and it's pretty short and it's hard to see why Cooper or Lombard would want to do this movie.