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The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) Review · 4.7/10 | Dbcult

4.7/10

The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) - Shirley Temple's Weird Diaper Western

Author

Senior Film Conservator

26 May 2026

2 min read

A definitive 4.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Pie-Covered Wagon remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.

Should you watch The Pie-Covered Wagon tonight? Only if you want to see what toddler fever dreams from 1932 looked like. 🤠

If you love weird film history, you will be totally fascinated. If kids in diapers throwing dirt and pies makes you uncomfortable, skip it immediately.

The Pie-Covered Wagon scene — Scene from The Pie-Covered Wagon

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) through its definitive frames.

This is part of those infamous "Baby Burlesks" shorts. It is basically a spoof of the famous silent epic, but cast entirely with toddlers.

Shirley Temple is here, barely three years old, wearing a bonnet and a diaper pinned with a giant safety pin. She gets kidnapped by "Indians" who are also played by toddlers in war paint.

The Pie-Covered Wagon scene — Scene from The Pie-Covered Wagon

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) through its definitive frames.

The acting is... well, they are literally babies. Most of them just look off-camera, probably looking at their moms or a director waving a lollipop. 🍭

Eugene Butler plays the hero and he has this incredibly intense squint. It is like he is trying to remember if he napped today.

The Pie-Covered Wagon scene — Scene from The Pie-Covered Wagon

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) through its definitive frames.

There is a moment where a kid gets hit with a pie, and the sheer betrayal on his face is too real. He isn't acting; he is just genuinely upset about the pie. 🥧

The scenery looks like it was built in someone's dusty backyard. Honestly, it probably was.

The Pie-Covered Wagon scene — Scene from The Pie-Covered Wagon

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) through its definitive frames.

If you want a normal western from this era, go watch something like Daniel Boone Thru the Wilderness. Or maybe a silly stage comedy like Pop Tuttle's One Horse Play.

But this? This is purely for the bizarre factor.

The Pie-Covered Wagon scene — Scene from The Pie-Covered Wagon

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) through its definitive frames.

The soundtrack has this scratching, repetitive horn music that loops forever. I had to mute it for a second because my dog started howling. 🐶

The "climax" is just absolute chaos. Kids falling over dirt piles and screaming.

Nobody seems to know where to run. Its not a good movie by any modern standard.

But man, is it a fascinating artifact of a time when Hollywood did whatever it wanted. I still can't get over the giant safety pins.

So yeah, watch it if you want to lose your mind for ten minutes.