Shirley Temple parable on agency

Feb. 9, 2002

My wife and I watched Disney's "The Shirley Temple Story" last night.

Shirley Temple had a brilliant career for a few years when a child, but it suddenly came to a halt.

What happened was that she was contracted with 20th Century-Fox studios, who controlled what movies she would appear in, and even what radio programs she would take as well as what public appearances she would make.

MGM wanted her for the Wizard of Oz, and were going to trade her for Clark Gable.

The owner of 20th Century-Fox insisted on another actor as well in the trade. Something went wrong, and that second actor was taken out of the trade, and the owner of Fox refused to give up Shirley Temple, thinking he couldn't afford to loose this asset.

20th Century-Fox did a show that was supposed to be the competition for the Wizard of Oz, but it flopped, and that was the end of Shirley Temple. The baton was passed to Judy Garland.

As my wife and I talked about what it was that spelled the end to Shirley Temple's acting career, we first thought that it was most likely because she was cast into the role of a darling little girl that could charm anyone. Having her grow up somehow would ruin that magic, kind of like if Charlie Brown ever grew up. Charlie Brown has to remain a child, and so did Shirley Temple.

However, as I think about it now, I can't help but think that if she had played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, that it would have launched her beyond the juvenile role. You see, Dorothy goes from a child to a little lady in the Wizard of Oz. That would have given the Shirley Temple fans the emotional transition they needed to let her grow up and continue acting.

Shirley Temple movies have become associated with war-time, depression-time cheering up. But the Wizard of Oz is more immortal. Being born long after WWII, in 1963, I don't know that I ever watched a Shirley Temple movie, though I certainly have see clips, as shown in other movies. But I did watch the Wizard of Oz, and it was indeed a favorite in my growing up years.

What was the reason for this tragedy of Shirley not being able to play Dorothy? As the Disney biography of Shirley Temple shows, it was the greed of the owner of Fox studios, who 'owned' Shirley. Not only did he loose out by not getting Gable, but he lost Shirley Temple as well.

But more than greed, it was the fact that the Temples allowed their daughter to be owned by one studio rather than having their own agent so they could choose for themselves when and where Shirley would perform.

Agency. What a marvelous gift. Shirley's parents gave that up, and because they did that, Shirley's career was snuffed out.

As I woke up this morning, it dawned on me that this is what the producers of Disney's "The Shirley Temple Story" wanted to convey. The movie's ending is very anti-climactic, as was Shirley Temples acting career.

It makes me think of people in the Mormon church (and elsewhere) who give the control of their life over to the hierarchy of the church, rather than keeping for themselves their responsibility to think and choose for themselves. They place their trust in the brethren in general, and in the President in particular, who they esteem as the one and only 'prophet' on earth; and like the Temples, they trust that these will always do what is best for them, and tell them what to do and when to do it.

Well, guess what, only God is deserving of that kind of trust, and each of us is entitled to have a personal relationship with Christ -- which ultimately has to do with our right to choose what we will be and to be responsible for the consequences of our choices.

Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets.

We need to be our own agents, and never give that over to someone else.

May Shirley's tragic story be a lesson to us all.

Sterling D. Allan