Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) YTS

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

This is a splendid telling of Frances Hodgson

This is a splendid telling of Frances Hodgson Burnett's literal tale of rags to riches. Freddie Bartholomew is "Ceddie" who is living in Brooklyn with his mother "Dearest" (Dolores Costello) when he discovers that he is the heir to a great British Earldom. With the assistance of solicitor Henry Stephenson he travels to his new stately home to meet his austere old grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), whose heart he completely melts... It's got a few twists and turns as he must deal with another claimant to his title, but that good will out is never in doubt. Batholomew is that rarest of child actors; he is engaging - no sign of any precociousness - and together with some good contributions from Guy Kibbee ("Mr. Hobbs") and a very dapper looking Mickey Rooney ("Dick") we have a delightful story of a thoroughly good-natured young boy who gives an old man a new lease of life.

Reviewed by tinman19602003 7 / 10

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.

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Little Lord Fauntleroy

1936

Action / Drama / Family

Little Lord Fauntleroy

1936

Action / Drama / Family

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Movie Reviews

This is a splendid telling of Frances Hodgson

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

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