''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a 1936

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

based on the 1886 novel of the same name by

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...

. The film stars

Freddie Bartholomew Frederick Cecil Bartholomew (March 28, 1924 – January 23, 1992), known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood ...

Dolores Costello Dolores Costello (September 17, 1903Costello's obituary in ''The New York Times'' says that she was born on September 17, 1905. – March 1, 1979) was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. ...

, and C. Aubrey Smith. The first film produced by David O. Selznick's

Selznick International Pictures Selznick International Pictures was a Hollywood motion picture studio created by David O. Selznick in 1935, and dissolved in 1943. In its short existence the independent studio produced two films that received the Academy Award for Best Picture� ...

, it was the studio's most profitable film until ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

''. The film is directed by John Cromwell. The film was critically well received and is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

. In 2012 it was released on

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

, following a restoration by the

George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...

Motion Picture Department.

Plot

Young Cedric "Ceddie" Errol (Freddie Bartholomew) and his widowed mother, whom he calls "Dearest" (Dolores Costello), live frugally in 1880s

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

after the death of his father. Cedric's prejudiced English grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt (C. Aubrey Smith), had long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. Little-Lord-Fauntleroy-1936

The earl sends his lawyer Havisham (

Henry Stephenson Henry Stephenson (born Harry Stephenson Garraway; 16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny on the Bo ...

) to bring Ceddie to England. As the earl's sons are all dead, Ceddie is the only remaining heir to the title. Mrs. Errol accompanies her son to England, but is not allowed to live at Dorincourt castle. For Cedric's happiness, she does not tell him it is because of his grandfather's bigotry. The earl's lawyer is impressed with the young widow's wisdom. However, the earl expresses skepticism when Mr. Havisham informs him that Cedric's mother will not accept an allowance from him. Cedric soon wins the hearts of his stern grandfather and everyone else. The earl hosts a grand party to proudly introduce his grandson to British society, notably his sister Lady Constantia Lorridaile (

Constance Collier Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insu ...

). After the party, Havisham informs the earl that Cedric is not the heir apparent after all. American Minna Tipton (

Helen Flint Helen Flint (January 14, 1898 – September 9, 1967) was an American actress. Flint debuted as a member of the chorus in the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' when she was 17. Her work on Broadway included more than 20 productions between 1921 and 1946. Fl ...

) insists her son Tom (

Jackie Searl John E. Searl (July 7, 1921 – April 29, 1991) was an American actor. He portrayed bratty kids in several films, and often had only small roles, such as "Robin Figg" in 1934's '' Strictly Dynamite''. Early years His name is sometimes writte ...

) is the offspring of her late husband, the earl's eldest son. Heartbroken, the earl accepts her apparently valid claim, though Tom proves to be a rather obnoxious lad. Ceddie's friend Dick Tipton (

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

) recognises Minna from her newspaper picture. He takes his brother Ben, Tom's real father, to England and disproves Minna's claim. The earl apologises to Ceddie's mother and invites her to live with the delighted Ceddie on his estate.

Cast

The cast of ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is listed at the American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films. Uncredited

Production

''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' was the first film produced by

, created by David O. Selznick when he left

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. While he was still at MGM Selznick purchased the rights to the story from

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

for $11,500 and secured the performance of his ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' discovery,

. It was the final film for which Sophie Wachner designed costumes.

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...

Richard Schayer Richard Schayer (December 13, 1880 – March 13, 1956) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 100 films between 1916 and 1956. He was born in Washington, D.C., son of Col. George Frederick Schayer and writer Julia Schayer, and ...

and Selznick himself polished the screenplay commissioned from

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among th ...

. Directed by John Cromwell, the film was shot during the last two months of 1935. Made within its budget of $500,000, the film's final cost was $590,000. The film was released through

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

after a world premiere March 4, 1936, at

Foundation Hospital A foundation trust is a semi-autonomous organisational unit within the National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health and Social Care (and, until the abolition of SHAs in 2013, their local s ...

Warm Springs, Georgia Warm Springs is a city in Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. The population was 425 at the 2010 census. History Warm Springs, originally named Bullochville (after the Bulloch family, which began after Stephen Bullock moved to Meriwether ...

Box office

By 1939, ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' earned an estimated profit of $447,000. It was Selznick International Pictures' most profitable film until ''

Gone With the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

''.

Critical response

Frank S. Nugent reviewed the film for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' on April 3, 1936, and gave it a favorable review.

Home media releases

Long in the public domain, ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' was released on DVD and

in 2012. The film was remastered by the

Motion Picture Department, from Selznick's personal print.

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

wrote: "This Kino Classics release, while far from perfect, sources an original 35mm nitrate print resulting in a better than acceptable presentation. And unless original film elements turn up, this is probably the best ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is going to look for the foreseeable future. Highly recommended".Stuart Galbraith IV
''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (Kino Classics Remastered Edition) (Blu-ray)

, June 26, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2013. * 2012: Kino Classics K914, UPC 738329091422

References

External links

* * * * * {{Authority control 1936 films 1936 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films based on British novels Films based on works by Frances Hodgson Burnett Films set in the 1880s Selznick International Pictures films United Artists films Films directed by John Cromwell Films produced by David O. Selznick Films scored by Max Steiner 1930s English-language films 1930s American films