Re-Creation 1934 Little Miss Marker Opening Titles - Shirley Temple

For die-hard Shirley Temple fans — it's almost 90 years since the release of Shirley's classic "Little Miss Marker"! No better time to present a re-creation of what audiences could have seen as a title sequence during its original release on June 1, 1934. No visuals of Shirley in this video, but it's interesting to compare both versions.

The credits that you see on today's video formats were changed when "Little Miss Marker" was re-released in 1936. In late June of 1934, Paramount president Adolph Zukor announced that all future Paramount releases would have his credit line above the title. Thus, "Adolph Zukor Presents Shirley Temple" was splashed across a new screen at the beginning, and Charles Bickford was billed under Adolphe Menjou, taking Dorothy Dell's spot on the title screen (Miss Dell was tragically killed in an auto accident a week after "Marker" was released). The MPPDA (Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America) issued production code number 1356-R to "Little Miss Marker" in late 1935 for its upcoming revival--the film was released a month before code numbers were assigned in 1934 (therefore, it's classified as "pre-code"). The Paramount logo probably disappeared when "Marker" was transferred to 16mm for MTA TV broadcasts during the 1950s-60s, leaving a blank space on present-day releases.

To simulate the 1934 title sequence, I added a "Paramount Presents" logo in that blank space, along with an NRA (National Recovery Act) bumper. This logo combo was used by other Paramount films of the era and was retired when "Adolph Zukor Presents" was introduced. The cast names were reconfigured to match the official 1934 billing, and the MPPDA code number was eliminated. The thoroughbred was assembled using existing frames from the film clip. I opted not to digitally typeset any of the wording, keeping the original, hand-lettered display text done by the true artists of the Title Department.

Enjoy this re-creation--until the real one is discovered!