Virgie Cary (Shirley Temple) is a precocious child on a plantation estate. Uncle Billy is her dutiful slave servant and James Henry is the slack-jawed slow-witted one. The war breaks out during her 6th birthday party. Her daddy joins the rebel army. The plantation falls behind Yankee lines. Captain Cary sneaks home to visit as a scout. Marauding Yankees are searching for him and Virgie puts on black face to hide. The kind Colonel Morrison stops the troops' pillaging.
This is a different era in Hollywood. It's the vision of antebellum south where slavery is gentle and harmless. Slaves are dutiful and submissive. One can't judge it in modern terms but one can't ignore the historical slant either. It's also a movie that is trying to appeal to a family audience. It does have the innocence of a child who doesn't see the point of the war. Its heart is in the right place for its time but times have moved on.
This is a different era in Hollywood. It's the vision of antebellum south where slavery is gentle and harmless. Slaves are dutiful and submissive. One can't judge it in modern terms but one can't ignore the historical slant either. It's also a movie that is trying to appeal to a family audience. It does have the innocence of a child who doesn't see the point of the war. Its heart is in the right place for its time but times have moved on.