andre sennwald in his "new york times" review of march 22, 1935 wrote, "[a]ll adrip with magnolia whimsy and vast, unashamed portions of synthetic dixie atmosphere". he further wrote that the movie was "so ruthless in its exploitation of miss temple's great talent for infant charm that it seldom succeeds in being properly lively and gay". he finished his review noting the audience applauded for a full eleven seconds after the final fade-out, and that the movie "ought to bring out the best in every one who sees it."