Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Frances Hodgson Burnett (from the book by)
Hugh Walpole (screen play)

Release Date:

6 March 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

An American boy turns out to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. He is sent to live with the cold and unsentimental lord who oversees the trust.

Plot Keywords:

Lord | Heir | Disowned | England | Grandfather Grandson Relationship

Cast

Freddie Bartholomew	...	Ceddie
Dolores Costello	...	'Dearest' (as Dolores Costello Barrymore)
C. Aubrey Smith	...	The Earl of Dorincourt
Guy Kibbee	...	Mr. Hobbs
Henry Stephenson	...	Havisham
Mickey Rooney	...	Dick
Constance Collier	...	Lady Lorridaile
E.E. Clive	...	Sir Harry Lorridaile
Una O'Connor	...	Mary
Jackie Searl	...	Tom
Jessie Ralph	...	The Applewoman
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Rev. Mordaunt (as Ivan Simpson)
Helen Flint	...	Minna
Eric Alden	...	Ben
May Beatty	...	Mrs. Mellon
Virginia Field	...	Miss Herbert
Reginald Barlow	...	Newick
Lionel Belmore	...	Higgins
Tempe Pigott	...	Mrs. Dibble
Gilbert Emery	...	Purvis
Lawrence Grant	...	Lord Chief Justice
Walter Kingsford	...	Mr. Snade
Eily Malyon	...	Landlady
Fred Walton	...	Landlord
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Policeman
Elsa Buchanan	...	Susan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Atkinson	...	Townsman at Church (uncredited)
Daisy Belmore	...	Mrs. Baines - Cook (uncredited)
Dewey Bender	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
Eddie Bernard	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
Georgie Billings	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
Arthur Blake	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Robert Bolder	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Barlowe Borland	...	Townsman at Church (uncredited)
Tommy Bupp	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
Jack Cameron	...	Charles - Earl of Dorincourt's Carriage Footman (uncredited)
Alec Craig	...	Townsman at Church (uncredited)
Barbara Denny	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Billy Dooley	...	Dick's Shoeshine Customer (uncredited)
David Dunbar	...	Jeffries - Carriage Driver (uncredited)
Cecil Elliott	...	Farmer Woman at Church (uncredited)
Harold Entwistle	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	Farmer's Wife on Way to Church (uncredited)
Donald Haines	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
William Ingersoll	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Lilyan Irene	...	Bridget - the Maid (uncredited)
Lorimer Johnston	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Dickie Jones	...	Ceddie at Age 7 (uncredited)
Anthony Kemble-Cooper	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Leonard Kibrick	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
Edith Kingdon	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Walter Lawrence	...	Huckster (uncredited)
Mary MacLaren	...	Maid (uncredited)
Dan Maxwell	...	Stout Farmer on Way to Church (uncredited)
J.P. McGowan	...	Townsman at Church (uncredited)
Lionel Pape	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Marjorie Plecher	...	Farm Woman's Daughter (uncredited)
Alexander Pollard	...	Footman (uncredited)
Mickey Rentschler	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
Tom Ricketts	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
C. Montague Shaw	...	Mr. Semple (uncredited)
Peter Shaw	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Renee Shearing	...	Maid (uncredited)
Buster Slaven	...	Fighting Boy (uncredited)
Joan Standing	...	Dawson (uncredited)
Agnes Steele	...	Castle Cook (uncredited)
Joseph R. Tozer	...	Thomas (uncredited)

Directed by
John Cromwell

Writing credits
Frances Hodgson Burnett		(from the book by)
Hugh Walpole		(screen play)

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Charles Rosher		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Hal C. Kern		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Sturges Carne

Costume Design by
Sophie Wachner		(wardrobe by)

Production Management
Robert Ross	....	unit manager (uncredited)
Phil L. Ryan	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eric Stacey	....	assistant director
Robert Stillman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Casey Roberts	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Earl A. Wolcott	....	recordist

Special Effects by
Virgil Miller	....	special effects (uncredited)
Jack Wagner	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Jack Cosgrove	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Bert Mayer	....	stunt double: Freddie Bartholomew (uncredited)
Henry Stone	....	stunt double: Freddie Bartholomew (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Thompson	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
G.O.T. Bagley	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Art Keenan	....	stand-in: Guy Kibbee (uncredited)
Barbara Keon	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Corynn Kiehl	....	production secretary (uncredited)
William Law	....	stand-in: C. Aubrey Smith (uncredited)
Edd Russell	....	stand-in: Henry Stephenson (uncredited)
Ray Sperry	....	stand-in: Freddie Bartholomew (uncredited)
Marian Webb	....	stand-in: Doloros Costello (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Selznick International Pictures (as Selznick International Pictures, Inc.)

Distributors

• United Artists (1936) (USA) (theatrical) (released by)
• Hauser & Co. Filmverleih (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Film Classics (1944) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1966) (Finland) (TV)
• CBS / Fox Video (1991) (USA) (VHS) (For Fox Video and ABC Entertainment)
• Castle Communications (1993) (Finland) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• YLE Teema (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Finnkino (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• JEF Films (????) (Finland) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #1959) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Portugal:M/6 (Qualidade)

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

Due to the demise of Selznick International Productions, this movie is now in the public domain.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ceddie writes the note telling the estate manager not to evict Mr. Higgins, Lord Dorincourt folds the letter and puts his eye monocle in. Just as he is handing the note to Mr. Mordaunt, the shot changes to wide view and Lord Dorincourt is no longer wearing the eye monocle.

Quotes:

Cedric "Ceddie" Erroll:Are you the Earl? I'm your grandson, you know, that Mr. Havisham brought. I'm Lord Fauntleroy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Club Dread (2004)

Soundtrack:

Jingle Bells

Exquisite!

They just don't make 'em like this anymore. You can take all your Culkins and Woods and Osments and roll them into one, and they still couldn't shine the shoes of Freddie Bartholemew (as Mickey Rooney does in this film). The difference, I believe, is that these contemporary performers think of themselves as CHILD actors, where Bartholemew and his contemporary Shirley Temple thought of themselves as ACTORS -- just as Rooney's character thought of himself as a BUSINESSMAN. The effect is palpable: you just can't fake being a real person. This of course is the familiar story of an American boy in the 1880's who learns he is the heir to an English earl and must go live with the old bloke, who parenthetically hates his mother, in an old castle. Needless to say, it is the earl who is transformed by the strength and purity of the boy's character, and not the intended reverse. Every scene and every line in this film is perfect, and if it is a "period piece," then I say we'd be so much better off if we could return to that "period."