Lord Jeff (1938)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Bradford Ropes (story) and
Endre Bohem (story) ...

Release Date:

17 June 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Spoilt child Geoffrey Bramer teams up with a pair of small time crooks to pose as an aristocrat and steal jewelry from exclusive shops...

Plot Keywords:

Sailor | Great Britain | Orphan | Jewel Thief | Party

Cast

Freddie Bartholomew	...	Geoffrey Braemer
Mickey Rooney	...	Terry O'Mulvaney
Charles Coburn	...	Captain Briggs
Herbert Mundin	...	Bosun 'Crusty' Jelks
Terry Kilburn	...	Albert Baker
Gale Sondergaard	...	Doris Clandon
Peter Lawford	...	Benny Potter
Walter Tetley	...	Tommy Thrums
Peter Ellis	...	Ned Saunders
George Zucco	...	James 'Jim' Hampstead
Matthew Boulton	...	Inspector Scott
John Burton	...	John Cartwright
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Briggs
Monty Woolley	...	Jeweler
Gilbert Emery	...	Magistrate

Also Known As:

The Boy from Barnardo's (UK)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #4362)

Filming Locations:

Piccadilly Circus, Piccadilly, London, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Screenwriter James Kevin McGuinness placed an ad in the Hollywood Reporter titled "Facts" breaking down the writing credits for the script by number of lines, as follows: Himself - 853; Walter Ferris - 51; Sam Wood - 17; Frank Davis - 20; Ferris, Val Burton, Endre Bohem and Bradford Ropes - 37; Ropes, Burton and Bohem - 48; Ropes and Burton - 4 for a total of 1,030 lines of dialogue.

Soundtrack:

London Bridge is Falling Down

Mickey Rooney Steals The Show!

A young & talented thief, masquerading as the obnoxious LORD JEFF, is captured and sent to a naval school to rehabilitate. There he meets an Irish lad, whose decent behavior has a profound effect upon him.

Think CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS meets BOYS TOWN, and you have an idea of this good, but unremarkable, little picture. Freddie Bartholomew, coming to the end of his glory days as MGM's reigning child star, is hampered mightily by the fact that his character is so rotten, the audience has an overwhelming desire to loathe him for most of the film. Mickey Rooney, on the other hand, right on the cusp of his tremendous stardom, steals his every scene with his unique & infectious bravado. Notice that the boys get equal billing. That would not happen again. Rooney was the major star from here on out.

The rest of the cast all do a fine job, especially Charles Colburn, Herbert Mundin & Emma Dunn, all memorable as supervisors at the naval school. That's Monty Woolley, soon to be an important character actor, as a London jeweler. Gale Sondergaard (in good disguise) & George Zucco have small roles as the adult thieves, while Terry Kilburn (nicely effective) & Peter Lawford play two of the young fellows.

Movie mavens will recognize Rex Evans as the hotel doorman & Doris Lloyd as the hostess of a party the boys attend.