Cedric "Ceddie" Errol (Freddie Bartholomew) lives with his mother in 1880's Brooklyn. His late father had been disowned by his grandfather, Earl of Dorincourt (C. Aubrey Smith),for marrying an American. When the Earl loses all of his sons, Ceddie becomes his last heir. The Earl brings Ceddie back to England to live in his mansion but refuses to allow his mother inside.

Mickey Rooney has a small role. Freddie is the quintessential little lord. This role seems tailor made for him but it may fit him too perfectly. This movie is begging for some fish out of water fun. It all feels very stuffy like a moose head mounted over the mantle. Quite frankly, Mickey Rooney would generate some fun interactions. The pieces all fit here but it doesn't add up to much. It could have had some humor with a fish out of water American boy bringing life into the stuffy English society. The Earl is so cold and the story has no intensity until the later heir. By then, the movie really has no momentum.

"Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a tale about a lonely but extremely gruff old English Lord discovering that his estranged grandson in America is a wonderful child. It also includes the boy teaching the man humility and gentleness along the way.

This is the third version of this story that I have seen and the second one I've seen recently. While I am sure there are other versions of this classic tale out there as well, I can't imagine any of them being better than this lovely 1936 version.

Even with the ridiculous casting of the very English-sounding Freddie Bartholomew in the lead (he's supposed to be an American),the film is just wonderful. C. Aubry Smith is delightful as Bartholomew's gruff grandfather, but everyone else in the film also seemed so well-cast. This, combined with great sets, direction and the full David O. Selznick touch make this a terrific film for all ages. One not to be missed.

The famous children's novel later made into a play is a vehicle that is perfectly suited for MGM's British born child star Freddie Bartholomew. Little Lord Fauntleroy can well be said to be his perfect role during his childhood years with Leo the Lion.

Little Lord Fauntleroy was first published in 1885 and it concerns young Cedric Erroll who is living in Brooklyn in reduced circumstances with his mother due to the recent death of his father. Who as it turns out was the last surviving heir to an earldom back across the pond. Which brings Henry Stephenson over from the United Kingdom to tell Dolores Costello and her son Freddie Bartholomew that the young lad is now the new Earl to be of Dorrincourt once the old Earl, C. Aubrey Smith has passed on.

Smith is one crusty old dude, but if you had lived as long as he had and seen all your sons predecease you, you might be bitter as well. And set in your ways and prejudices. One of the conditions is that Dolores Costello can come over as well, but she has to live separate and apart from her child as the Earl of Dorrincourt does not like those rebellious colonials and never forgave his son for marrying one.

But cute and mannered young Freddie charms the old guy as only Freddie Bartholomew could back in those days and Smith warms up to the lad. However then another claimant comes on the horizon, Helen Flint says that she was the wife of an older deceased son and she's got a son by him played by Jackie Searl.

Rounding out the principal players are Guy Kibbee who is the local grocer where Costello and Bartholomew live, in Brooklyn of all places and Mickey Rooney a pal from those mean streets who actually hold the key to the inheritance problem.

Little Lord Fauntleroy was old fashioned even for 1936, it is set perfectly during the time of 1885. With the UK and USA going through two hot World Wars and one Cold War, the prejudices shown by Smith and Kibbee who starts out as a big Anglophobe despite liking Bartholomew are quaint to say the least. But the film does have a nostalgic charm about it though I daresay the play made from the original novel hasn't been too much revived. Probably the novel itself is still on a reading list in some public schools.

The film is a great example of why both Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney were held in such esteem by the movie going public. MGM teamed them in a few films during these years, Captains Courageous and The Devil Is A Sissy also made good money for the coffers of Louis B. Mayer. One can still enjoy this film today.