I have to say I typically don't like movies like this because the main characters tend to annoy me with how steeped in royal and aristocratic culture they are. After watching this, my opinion hasn't really changed since the protagonist of this film is a 9 year old boy who is somehow able to speak more eloquently than most modern day adults. I realize people back in this time period were probably more studious and cared more about sounding sophisticated, but not many of the other characters here mirror the boy's behavior. Anyway, this movie is about a young kid named Cedric played by the acclaimed child actor Freddie Bartholomew, and his life in late 19th century New York City after his father dies. Cedric is actually half English genetically, but was born in America. His British grandfather, whom he meets later on, cut relations with his son for marrying an american woman. Cedric, or Ceddie as he is known, is brought to england following a visit from one of the Earl of Dorincourt's associates. Ceddie meets the Earl (C Aubrey Smith), who actually turns out to be his grandpa. Because the Earl has no more living sons left, Ceddie is next in line to claim the title of Lord Fauntleroy, but his mother isn't permitted to stay in his grandfather's estate. The Earl keeps insisting that Ceddie is english because his father was english, but Ceddie says he's american because he was born there, frustrating his grandfather. Ceddie is eventually able to win the gratitude of the Earl by showing everyone how well mannered and aristocratic he is, leading everyone to think he's indeed worthy of his new title. Unfortunately, Ceddie's decadent lifestyle is to be short lived. Someone tells the Earl that a brat named Tom is the real heir to the title of Lord Fauntleroy, since Tom's mother was the spouse of the Earl's oldest son. Extremely disappointed, Ceddie's grandfather travels to meet with Minna, the american girl who makes this claim, and finds that both her and her son are terrible human beings. They have barely any manners and Tom doesn't look like someone who deserves the title of Lord at all. He's slovenly and doesn't even say hello to his grandfather when he arrives. Back in america, Ceddie's friend Dick (Mickey Rooney), a shoeshine boy, finds Minna's photo in a newspaper and travels to england with his brother Ben, who is Minna's actual husband. After Minna's deceit is exposed, Ceddie is allowed to be Lord Fauntleroy after all, and his entire family is allowed to live in the Earl's castle. Like I said earlier, the main problem I have with this movie is the behavior of the main character featured. There's nothing really wrong with the movie itself, it just irritates me for some reason when I see such young characters in such high societal positions. It's only natural they got Freddie to play this character, since even as a child actor, he's able to sound classy in most films he's been in (probably because he was british). It's also strange how this is only the second film I've watched with him in it (the first being The Devil Is a Sissy), and both these productions have another character played by Mickey Rooney who acts as a friend to Freddie. Overall, I felt most areas of this movie were lacking. Nothing really exciting happens throughout its entire runtime, since it's strictly focused on Ceddie's rise to prominence in british society, having his prestige threatened, and then discovering he's Lord Fauntleroy after all. The movie had a lot of potential, but didn't really know what to do with it. Just weird to think the person behind this was also responsible for Gone With the Wind.
Review of Little Lord Fauntleroy
