The Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series continues on Fri., 1/20, at 7:00 PM with Captain January, a 1936 classic starring Shirley Temple. Dock-U-Mentaries is a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. Films about the working waterfront are screened on the third Friday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM in the theater of the Corson Maritime Learning Center, located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. All programs are open to the public and presented free of charge.
As a break from the series’ usual documentary fare, New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is pleased to present the 1936 classic, Captain January. Based on the 1890 children’s book Captain January, by Laura E. Richards, the film stars the one and only Shirley Temple. Temple plays a child named Star, who is rescued and taken in by a salty old lighthouse-keeper known as Captain January (Guy Kibbee). Star is nurtured by a community of aging sailors who adore her, including her hoofer friend Paul (Buddy Ebsen), with whom Star sings and dances one of the most-beloved numbers from a Shirley Temple movie, “At the Codfish Ball.” Star’s fable-like paradise is disrupted by the appearance of a truant officer (Sara Haden), who determines the child isn’t receiving proper schooling and overall care. That decision leads to a bit of conflict and despair, but with Temple charming her way through her character’s mostly enchanted circumstances, it’s not hard to have faith in happy endings.
The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the history and culture of New Bedford’s fishing industry through exhibits, programs, and archives. www.fishingheritagecenter.org
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