Shirley (ping mods: links)

Elsbeth Sigmund played Heidi back in 1952, a remake of Shirley's 1937 portrayal of Heidi.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjBlMzExNjQtYTg5OC00MTQ4LWI2ZmUtZDkxZjUzMTk0ZmIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTUyMTMyMDg@._V1_.jpg

but the film I love most was Shirley's portrayal

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTg4NDk3MzMxMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTg0MzE2MQ@@._V1_.jpg

In the beautiful Alps that lie South of the great Black Forest of Germany, on a bright June morning, two figures trudge up the path that leads from Mayenfeld to the little village of Dorfli. (The opening scene after the page turning credits finish.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DLsumVnu0E

That's the YouTube entire (colourised) movie. Shirley was in many movies, of course, but that opening scene in the Alps (not too far from Mayenfeld) is the most vivid scene I have of Her. As I am now at the age of the "Grandfather", I would love to be up in that mountain air with a little 8 year old moppet... alone!

For years, I wrote to a young single mother who lived in the French Pyrénées near Prades. She had a 6 year old daughter (can't recall Her name). They sent me several photos of them in the mountainside. We got into a correspondence about the "why" of my imprisonment. At first, I was afraid that her knowing what my offense was, I would lose her as a penpal. Her response surprised me deeply. She was shocked at the amount of time I was punished. She said that it was her opinion, and of those around her, that such a punishment should be only a warning. It should be noted that I did explain, in French, just where I had kissed my lover.

It was those photos that reminded me so much of Shirley Temple's Heidi.