Watch Baby Rose Marie: The Child Wonder For Free

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

An early Vitaphone film, this Warner Brothers short apparently was one created using a very complicated system through which an accompanying record was synchronized with a movie camera. There were several serious setbacks for such a system (such as if a film skipped--it became out of sync for the rest of the film plus the records quickly wore out--and 20 showings was the normal life-span of the records) and even though it produced excellent sound, it was eventually replaced. The last of the Vitaphone films were made in 1930, then the studio switched to the standard sound-on-film system.Rose Marie (of "Dick Van Dyke Show" fame) is given the spotlight in this short. Watching her, it's hard to imagine that this poised professional was only 6 years-old at the time! Her parents must have kept her in a cage, beaten her and fed her mind-altering drugs to make her perform like this!! I am kidding of course, but she was a truly amazing child singer--as amazing as Shirley Temple but perhaps too early to catch on with the same intensity with the American public. With only a couple childhood screen credits to her name, she made a bigger splash on stage as well as her memorable TV roles as an adult.Now I would NOT want a steady diet of Baby Rose Marie's singing, she was wonderful in this short. Great singing and charming from start to finish--and better than just about all the adult acts I've seen in the Vitaphone shorts! Watch this one!

For those of you who only know Rose Marie as the eager comedy writer for the Dick Van Dyke Show in the Sixties, this film will be a revelation. Way back in the day of your parents and grandparents, little Baby Rose Marie had another career as a child performer. This Warner Brothers Vitagraph short is a tribute to that other career.The young lady does three songs, Who Wouldn't Be Jealous Of You, Don't Be Like That and Heigh Ho Everybody Heigh Ho. The last one was Rudy Vallee's theme song with his Connecticut Yankees and Vallee at this time was the most popular male singer in America. I looked for an imitation of his nasal style in Rose Marie, but she did in her own style. Just as well.Another treasure from the past preserved by Vitagraph.

I have to admit, Rose Marie had a great voice for a child of her age. She looked like a little woman with her Louise Brooks hairstyle. She really had a great voice, a great stage presence. Boy, she would of been big rival for Shirley Temple in the 1930s. I got to see this and record it in full, I have a habit now of recording TCM shorts when I see One Reel Wonders, because they always show good musical shorts. I enjoyed this. Young kids need to see this today, to learn how to perform, Rose Marie and other children of that time knew how to perform, Rose Marie singed like an adult and performed like one. We don't see them like this anymore.

To most fans of television, Rose Marie will be forever known as the witty, funny 'Sally Rogers' on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" of the 1960's. But one would be able to appreciate her singing talent on a higher level by viewing the musical short, "Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder" (1929). I was privileged to view this short subject at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills in the autumn of 2000. The Academy screened quite a few musicals from Paramount Pictures that evening, but "Baby Rose" was definitely the crowd favorite. That really pleased Miss Marie, who was also in attendance. When you view this gem of a musical short, you will be amazed at the incredible voice and performance of the very talented Baby Rose. Even more amazing, that in 1929, sound was not yet perfected, yet we hear every wonderful musical note from her. Had Baby Rose and Shirley Temple been the same age during the Golden Age of Hollywood, Miss Marie would have rivaled Miss Temple for the hearts of America. Baby Rose displayed pure, raw talent - something that is harder to see in today's actor. I thank the stars in heaven that this musical short was so keenly preserved.