Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Frances Hodgson Burnett (novel)
Hugh Walpole (writer)

Release Date:

2 April 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

An American boy turns out to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. He is sent to live with the cold and unsentimental lord who oversees the trust.

Plot Keywords:

Bully | Grandfather | Dog | Fraud | Street Vendor

Cast

Freddie Bartholomew	...	Cedric 'Ceddie' Erroll
Dolores Costello	...	'Dearest' Erroll (as Dolores Costello Barrymore)
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Earl of Dorincourt
Guy Kibbee	...	Mr. Silas Hobbs
Henry Stephenson	...	Havisham
Mickey Rooney	...	Dick Tipton
Constance Collier	...	Lady Constanzia Lorridale
E.E. Clive	...	Sir Harry Lorridale
Una O'Connor	...	Mary
Jackie Searl	...	Tom Tipton
Jessie Ralph	...	The Applewoman
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Rev. Mordaunt
Helen Flint	...	Minna Tipton
Eric Alden	...	Ben Tipton
May Beatty	...	Mrs. Mellon the Housekeeper

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity System) | Mono

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Quotes:

Miss Herbert: Come here, Lord Fauntleroy and tell me why you look at me so.
Cedric "Ceddie" Erroll: I was thinking how beautiful you are.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Club Dread (2004)

An excellent adaptation, a bit too sentimental, but. . . ah well.

John Cromwell gets a lot of credit for this Selznick Studio release. It is only the second time (at that time) the story had been filmed. The first was a poor silent version. Although Cromwell could have developed the story a bit more, it is well cast. Bartholomew is excellent as young Cedrick and Smith is fine as the crusty old Earl who learns to love his grandson, additionally Rooney as Dick the bootblack, and Kibbee as storekeeper Hobbs are also outstanding.

Although heavy with sentimentality, Cromwell has done an excellent job of cutting out all the terrible wordiness of the novel. (Burnett writes as though she is being paid by the word and puts in way to many adjectives.) The story is well told and the scenic effects are good for their time. Unfortunately the film has not aged well and some scenes have darkened with time. Perhaps an enterprising admirer will trouble to restore this film. IF they do, hopefully they will also restore the missing scenes so the film runs its full length.

A discount film hawker (Front Row Video, Canada) has the nerve to sell copies of the film (claiming a running time of 1:42) that are so butchered, that two conversations are cut right in the middle with a change of scene. Digiview Productions who states on the front cover "Sometimes the price we pay is too high" and charges only a dollar for their DVD version, has been caught with their foot in their mouth. They only charge a buck, but even that is too much for the hacked up 92 minute version of the film they sell.

For purists, I urge you to find a complete copy of this well done film. THe only way you can enjoy something is to see all of it.