Susannah of the Mounties
| Author | Muriel Denison |
|---|---|
| Country | UK and Canadian |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Dent |
Publication date | 1936 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 286 pp |
| Followed by | Susannah of the Yukon |
Susannah of the Mounties is a novel written by Muriel Denison in 1936. In the book Susannah is sent to Regina, Saskatchewan to spend the summer with her uncle who is a Mountie. There were several sequels to the book, including Susannah at Boarding School, Susannah of the Yukon and Susannah Rides Again.
Film adaptation
In 1939 it was made into a movie Susannah of the Mounties starring Shirley Temple as Susannah. The movie was directed by William A. Seiter and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. The plot differs significantly from the book in that it is set twenty years earlier at a much smaller NWMP fort, Susannah is the sole survivor of an Indian attack of a group of traveling wagons (her parents are dead rather than in India), and there's no uncle. The film is an American version of the West compared to the Canadian West of the book.
In the movie there was a contingent of 12 full blooded Blackfoot Indians led by Chief Albert Mad Plume, who were brought in largely as extras. Another member of the Blackfoot tribe, Martin Goodrider, played the role of Little Chief. Temple and Goodrider struck up an instant friendship (something unusual with Temple as she was normally forbidden from mingling with her child costars). As an act of good will, Temple swore in all members of the Blackfoot tribe as members of the Shirley Temple Police Force while Temple was made an honorary member of the Blackfoot tribe and given the name Bright Shining Star.[1]
References
1936, Susannah of the Mounties, ISBN 0-460-05573-9
- ↑ Shirley Temple Black, "Child Star: An Autobiography" (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1988), 267, 271-272.