''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a 1980 British

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films ar ...

directed by

Jack Gold Jacob M. "Jack" Gold (28 June 1930 – 9 August 2015) was a British film and television director. He was part of the British realist tradition which followed the Free Cinema movement. Career Jacob M. Gold was born in London, the son of Ch ...

and starring Alec Guinness,

Rick Schroder Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents ho ...

Connie Booth Connie Booth (born 2 December 1940) is an American-born actress and writer. She has appeared in several British television programmes and films, including her role as Polly Sherman on BBC Two's ''Fawlty Towers'', which she co-wrote with her t ...

, and

Colin Blakely Colin George Blakely (23 September 1930 – 7 May 1987) was a Northern Irish actor. He had roles in the films '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970), '' Murder on the Orient Express'' (1974), and '' ...

. It is based on the 1886 children's 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 ...

Plot synopsis

Young Cedric 'Ceddie' Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1870s New York after the death of his father. He was the favorite son of Cedric's grandfather, the

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

of Dorincourt, because the other two were wastrels and weaklings. But the Earl has long ago disowned his son for marrying outside the aristocracy. Cedric's two best friends were Mr. Hobbs the grocer (a Democrat and anti-aristocrat) and Dick Tipton the bootblack. After his other two sons die, leaving Cedric the heir apparent to the earldom, Lord Dorincourt sends Mr. Havisham, his lawyer, to America to bring Cedric to Britain. Havisham is authorized to buy expensive gifts for Cedric, but the boy chooses to buy an engraved gold watch for Hobbs and enable Dick to buy out his drunken partner. Mrs. Errol accompanies her son, but is not allowed to live at Dorincourt castle nor meet the Earl, although she will receive a house and a large allowance. She does not tell Cedric of his grandfather's bigotry. The Earl's lawyer is impressed with the young widow's dignity and intelligence, especially after she begins to take care of the poor living on the land. Cedric is most grateful that his grandfather, albeit unintentionally, enabled him to help his friends, and thinks he is a kind man. This soon wins the heart of his stern grandfather. All his tenants and nearby villagers are also taken by him, especially as he inspires his grandfather to be more caring about his tenants. Slowly thawing, the Earl hosts a grand party to proudly introduce his grandson to British society, notably his formerly estranged sister, Lady Constantia Lorridaile. Lady Constantia is impressed with both Cedric and his mother. After the party, Havisham tells the Earl that Cedric may not be the heir. An American dancer calling herself Minna Errol has approached him, insisting that her son Tom is the offspring of her late husband, the Earl's second son, Bevis. Heartbroken, the Earl is forced to accept her apparently valid claim. Minna proves to be uneducated and openly mercenary. However, Dick recognizes Minna from her newspaper picture, as the former wife of his brother Ben, Tom's real father. They travel to the United Kingdom, confront Minna and thus disprove her claim. The overjoyed Earl apologizes to Cedric's mother and brings her to live with the delighted Cedric on his estate. The small family has a festive Christmas dinner with all their friends and servants.

Cast

as Cedric Errol, Lord Fauntleroy * Alec Guinness as John Arthur Molyneux Errol, Earl of Dorincourt *

as Mrs. Errol, Cedric's mother *

as Mr. Havisham, Dorincourt's solicitor *

as Silas Hobbs, Cedric's friend *

Rachel Kempson Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003), known primarily by her birth name Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir Michael Redgrave, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty. Career Kempson trained at RADA ...

as Lady Lorradaile, Dorincourt's sister *

Carmel McSharry Carmel Evelyn McSharry (18 August 1926 – 4 March 2018) was an Irish character actress, best known for her roles as Beryl Humphries in ''Beryl's Lot'' (1973–77), a daytime ITV serial, and as Mrs. Hollingbery in ''In Sickness and in Health''. ...

as Mary, Mrs. Errol's substantive * Antonia Pemberton as Dawson, Dorincourt's head housekeeper * Rolf Saxon as Dick Tipton, Cedric's friend *

John Cater John Edward Cater (17 January 1932 – 21 March 2009) was an English actor. His television credits include: ''Danger Man''; ''Z-Cars''; '' The Avengers''; '' The Baron''; ''Doctor Who'' (in the serial '' The War Machines''); '' Follyfoot''; ' ...

as Thomas, the Butler *

Peter Copley Peter Copley (20 May 1915 – 7 October 2008) was an English television, film and stage actor. Biography Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, son of the printmakers, John Copley and Ethel Gabain. After changing his mind about joining ...

as Reverend Muldaur *

Patsy Rowlands Patricia Amy Rowlands (19 January 1931 – 22 January 2005) was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films series, as Betty Lewis in the ITV Thames sitcom '' Bless This House'', and as Alice Meredit ...

as Mrs. Dibble * Ann Way as Miss Smiff, the village dressmaker *

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

as Wilkins, the riding teacher *

Gerry Cowper Geraldine Cowper (born 23 June 1958) is an English actress who is best known for playing Rowan Morrison in the 1973 horror film ''The Wicker Man'' and Rosie Miller in ''EastEnders''. In the mid-1980s she took the part of Clare France in ''Afte ...

as Mellon, the room service * Edward Wiley as Ben Tipton * Kate Harper as Minna Tipton *

Tony Melody Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

as Mr. Kimsey * Rohan McCullough as Lady Grace * Dicon Murray as Georgie * Ballard Berkeley as Sir Harry Lorradaile * John Southworth as Higgins * Norman Pitt as Lord Ashbey Delefante *

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

as an Officer (uncredited)

Production

Most of the $6 million budget came from

International Telephone and Telegraph ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three businesse ...

. Rosemont said: "What people remember about the 1936 version was Freddie Bartholomew. But Bartholomew was British and the whole point about the story is that the boy who inherits the English earldom isn't English at all but a kid from the Lower East Side of New York. So, we open our film with him playing in Hester Street (actually shot in London) and then some 20 pages into the script we take him to England and the castle where he meets for the first time his cantankerous grandfather, the earl... What we do is point up the contrast and dramatize the difference in background and style of living".Why Norman Rosemont Likes to Film the Classics: Norman Rosemont's TV Films By DAVID LEWIN. New York Times 23 Nov 1980: D35.

Distribution

''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' had its world premiere on television in the United States on 25 November 1980 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and was then released in cinemas in the United Kingdom in December, and a German-dubbed version was first screened in West Germany on 26 December 1982. The film has since become a Christmas classic in Germany, and is broadcast on the national broadcast network Das Erste every year.

References

External links