Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1936 drama film based on the 1886 Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film stars Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, and C. Aubrey Smith. The first film produced by David O. Selznick's Selznick International Pictures, it was the studio's most profitable film until Gone With the Wind (film).
The film was critically well received and is now in the public domain. In 2012 it was released on Blu-ray Disc by Kino International (company), following a restoration by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department.

Plot

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Young Cedric "Ceddie" Errol (Freddie Bartholomew) and his widowed mother, whom he calls "Dearest" (Dolores Costello), live frugally in 1880s Brooklyn 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.
The earl sends his lawyer Havisham (Henry Stephenson) to bring Ceddie to England. As the earl's sons are all dead, Ceddie is the 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).
After the party, Havisham informs the Earl that Cedric is not the heir apparent after all. American Minna Tipton (Helen Flint) insists her son Tom (Jackie Searl) 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.
Fortunately for Ceddie, his friend Dick Tipton (Mickey Rooney) 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 Catalogue of Motion Pictures.<></>

• Freddie Bartholomew as Cedric "Ceddie" Errol, Lord Fauntleroy
• Dolores Costello as "Dearest" Errol
• C. Aubrey Smith as the Earl of Dorincourt
• Guy Kibbee as Mister Silas Hobbs
• Henry Stephenson as Mister Havisham
• Mickey Rooney as Dick Tipton, a Brooklyn bootblack
• Una O'Connor (actress) as Mary, the Errols' servant
• Constance Collier as Lady Constantia Lorridaile, Dorincourt's sister
• Jackie Searl as Tom Tipton
• Jessie Ralph as the Applewoman from Brooklyn
• Helen Flint as Minna Tipton
• Walter Kingsford as Mister Joshua Snade, Minna's lawyer
• E. E. Clive as Sir Harry Lorridaile, Constancia's husband
• Ivan F. Simpson as Reverend Mordaunt
• Virginia Field as Miss Herbert, singer at party
• Eric Alden as Ben Tipton, Dick's brother

Uncredited

• Reginald Barlow as Mr. Newick, Dorincourt's debt collector
• Lionel Belmore as Mr. Higgins, the farmer
• Tempe Pigott as Mrs. Dibble, village woman
• Gilbert Emery as Purvis, doorman of the castle
• Joseph Tozer as Thomas, servant of the castle
• May Beatty as Mrs. Mellon, chambermaid of the castle
• Lawrence Grant as Chief of the Lord Justice
• Robert Emmett O'Connor as the Policeman in Brooklyn
• Elsa Buchanan as Susan, the parlor maid

Production

Little Lord Fauntleroy was the first film produced by Selznick International Pictures, created by David O. Selznick when he left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While he was still at MGM Selznick purchased the rights to the story from Mary Pickford for $11,500 and secured the performance of his David Copperfield (1935 film) discovery, Freddie Bartholomew.< name="Thomson"/>
Ben Hecht, Richard Schayer and Selznick himself polished the screenplay commissioned from Hugh Walpole. Directed by John Cromwell (director), the film was shot during the last two months of 1935.< name="Thomson"/> Made within its budget of $500,000, the film's final cost was $590,000.< name="Thomson"/>
The film was released through United Artists after a world premiere March 4, 1936, at Warm Springs Historic District in Warm Springs, Georgia.<></>

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 (film).< name="Thomson"/>

Critical response

Frank S. Nugent reviewed the film for the New York Times on April 3, 1936: <blockquote>There is a benign aura about the photoplay, a mellow haze of things long past which should lull even the most adamant anti-Fauntlerite into a state of restful receptivity. This may be due to the period settings which have been contrived so handsomely, or to the performance of a perfectly attuned cast, or to Hugh Walpole's adaptation, or to John Cromwell (director)'s sentient direction. Whatever the cause, and it probably was the combination of all four, the picture has a way with it and, unless we are very much in error, you will be pleased."<></></blockquote>

Home media releases

Long in the public domain, Little Lord Fauntleroy was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Kino International (company) in 2012. The film was remastered by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department,

2012: Kino Classics K914, UPC 738329091422

See also

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  • Public Domain Movies: Little Lord Fauntleroy
  • Film at Free Full Videos .co.nr http://willwinuk.drupalcafe.com/?q=node/16
  • Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) at Free Full Movies
  
  
  
  Category:1936 films
  Category:American films
  Category:Black-and-white films
  Category:1930s drama films
  Category:English-language films
  Category:Films based on novels
  Category:United Artists films
  Category:Films directed by John Cromwell