London, 1899; Captain Crewe (Ian Hunter) is about to fight in the Boer War and enrols his young daughter Sara (Shirley Temple) in a prestigious school for girls… but everything changes for her when he’s reported killed. One of Temple’s most famous and cherished films is a classic tearjerker about a little girl who never gives up hoping that her dad will come back to her, in spite of the grim news she receives. The familiarity of the story is compensated for by a few very charming musical numbers (especially a dream sequence), Temple’s charisma – and Queen Victoria’s surprise appearance near the end…

1939-U.S. 91 min. Color. Directed by Walter Lang. Novel: Frances Hodgson Burnett. Cast: Shirley Temple (Sara Crewe), Richard Greene (Geoffrey Hamilton), Anita Louise (Rose), Ian Hunter, Cesar Romero, Arthur Treacher.

Trivia: Remade as A Little Princess (1995) and several times for TV.

IMDb