Shirley Temple's 7 Best And 7 Worst Onscreen Roles

By 1935, Temple had already completed seven big-screen acting gigs, and as such, began to wholly harness her talents. In fact, it's in 1935's family musical "Curly Top" that she really started to hone her cues and direction.

After the flick came out, a review by The New York Times praised that the musical "actually [hinted] in her work at an increased maturity of technique," noting Temple's impeccable "timing" and applauding her "assurance and precision of a veteran actress" when it came to more complex, dramatic scenes. In reality, this was probably due to her mom, Gertrude, extensively coaching the young star. As director of the movie, Irving Cummings, once shared (via Backstage), "Mrs. Temple is much more Shirley's director than I am. She teaches her her lines, coaches her on how to say them, suggests Shirley's expressions, shows her how to sit and stand and walk and talk and run."

In her biography, "Child Star," Shirley noted that she had, in fact, "faltered" during the filming of a particularly long monologue, causing Cummings to ask, "I thought you were One-Take Temple." There's no doubt that by the time "Curly Top" was released, Shirley Temple had grown to be an industry heavyweight professional.