LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY

1936 / 98:00 / B/W / Drama/ Family

Director: John Cromwell

Starring: Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello Barrymore, C. Aubrey Smith, Mickey Rooney

SYNOPSIS:

A boy raised in Brooklyn and his American mother, the widow of a British aristocrat, are brought to England when it is discovered the boy is heir to his grandfather's fortune and title. Things are complicated by the grandfather's snobbery and prejudice, and a false claimant threatens, but it all works out in the end. A touch of melodrama, maybe, but it adds up to a fine film. David O. Selznick transforms the story into artful piece with vivid depictions of 1880's Brooklyn and Victorian England. The first production by David O. Selznick's own production company, he shrewdly resists the tendency to over sentimentalize. Instead, he mixes restraint with sensitivity and warmth and the characters come to life. Mickey Rooney as the Brooklyn bootblack and Guy Kibbee as the local grocer kindle fond impressions as does the entire cast.

REVIEWS:

"It may not be a classic in the literary sense, but it approaches that stature in the warm, sentimental and gently humorous film edition..." The New York Times Film Review, April 3, 1936

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