"Over the hill" at the tender age of 12, Shirley Temple closed out her 20th Century-Fox contract with the musical seriocomedy Young People. After years of trodding the boards in vaudeville, Wendy Ballantine (Temple) and her adoptive parents Joe (Jack Oakie) and Kit (Charlotte Greenwood retire) to a small town so that the youngster can receive a proper upbringing. Alas, the town is full of Babbitt-like bigots who disapprove of "show people", and who make no secret of their desire that Wendy and her family leave town immediately. But when a dangerous storm arises, the courage of Wendy, Joe and Kit-coupled with their rescue of several stranded children-forces the townsfolk to realign their thinking and welcome the family into their fold. The best moments in Young People occur at the very beginning, wherein Shirley Temple literally grows up before the audience's eyes via filmclips from her earlier starring vehicles (watch how Jack Oakie suddenly turns into James Dunn-from the waist down-in a musical number lifted from 1934's
Stand Up and Cheer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide