The Little Lord (1936)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The little Lord |
| Original title | Little Lord Fauntleroy |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1936 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Cromwell |
| script | Hugh Walpole |
| production | David O. Selznick for Selznick International Pictures |
| music | Max Steiner |
| camera | Charles Rosher |
| cut | Hal C. Kern |
| occupation | |
| |
The Little Lord (Original Title: Little Lord Fauntleroy ) is an American drama film directed by John Cromwell from 1936 based on the novel of the same name, The Little Lord (published 1886) by Frances Hodgson Burnett . The leading roles are played by Freddie Bartholomew , Dolores Costello and C. Aubrey Smith . The film was made under the direction of star producer David O. Selznick . Internationally this is perhaps the best-known film adaptation of Burnett's novel, but in Germany the film adaptation from 1980 is far more famous.
action
In the 1880s, after the death of his father, the young Cedric "Ceddie" Errol grew up in Brooklyn , New York with his mother Mrs. Errol and his befriended midwife Mary. He always calls his mother "Dearest" (dearest, dearest - translated as "treasure" in the German dubbed version), as his father did. He is friends with the adolescent shoeshine boy Dick and the patriotic general merchant Silas Hobbs, who is disparaging about the customs of the English aristocrats. His paternal grandfather, the English Earl of Dorincourt, has ignored the family for years because his son married a commoner, and an American one at that.
When all other possible heirs have died, the Earl sends his attorney and administrator Havisham to New York to bring Cedric to Britain. Mrs. Errol hesitates at first, as the Earl previously ignored Cedric, but also knows about the chances that her son would have with the title of Earl. Finally she agrees with Mr. Havisham and travels with her son and Mary to England to see grandfather. Cedric is addressed with the title Lord Fauntleroy, but his mother is not allowed to live in the castle, but only in a nearby country house. Cedric soon conquered the hearts of the people in the castle and that of his strict, at first grouchy grandfather. Originally only with the intention of not contradicting the very positive image Cedric has of his grandfather, the grumpy old man actually changes. He begins to live up to his responsibility for his subordinates and especially those in need, and gradually shows interest and helpfulness. Finally, the Earl gives a feast at which Cedric is introduced to English society, such as the Earl's sister, Lady Lorradaile, and her husband Sir Harry and the beautiful Miss Herbert.
Shortly after the festival, Mr. Havisham learns that Cedric is not supposed to be the right heir after all. The American Minna Tipton and her deceitful attorney Snade explain that Minna's son is also the earl's grandson and, as the son of an older son of the earl, is the legal heir. The acquaintance with the audacious, cheeky Minna brings the Earl to the realization, among many other impressions, that Cedric's mother is a decent and kind-hearted woman. Meanwhile, the shoe shiner Dick recognizes Minna in a newspaper in New York as the separated wife of his brother Ben. Tom is the son of Ben and Minna. Mr. Hobbs, Dick and Ben travel to England and expose Minna as a fraud. At the happy end there is a birthday party for Cedric, at which the grandfather fulfills his heartfelt wish - that his mother can finally live with him in the castle.
backgrounds
The aspiring film producer David O. Selznick had produced box office hits like Anna Karenina and David Copperfield for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1935 . Selznick wanted freedom of choice and greater power in his films, which is why he founded his own film studio Selznick International Pictures . Little Lord became the first film by the studio, which later also produced classic films such as Gone With the Wind and Rebecca . In order to achieve a financially successful start for his film studio, Selznick chose a popular, if - as some critics such as Ben Hecht noted - already quite old material: the novel The Little Lord by Frances Hodgson Burnett from 1886, which too was a worldwide success in its time. It was filmed for the first time in 1914, a second film adaptation was made in 1921 with The Little Lord , in the lead role with Mary Pickford in a double role as Cedric and his mother. Selznick had to buy the rights to the film from Pickford.
The main role was chosen for Freddie Bartholomew, who had risen to become Hollywood's greatest male child star last year through the Selznick productions David Copperfield and Anna Karenina . The shoulder-length curls - which Cedric wears in the novel and all other film adaptations - Selznick left out the black-haired Bartholomew because he did not want his child star to look like a "sissy" (dt .: wimp). Mickey Rooney , who regularly played supporting roles at Bartholomew's side, was used as the shoe shiner Dick . By 1940, however, Bartholomew's popularity declined and Rooney became a successful star, which is why in their last collaboration A Yank at Eton (1942) not Rooney, but Bartholomew had the supporting role. The cast was Cedric's mother, Dolores Costello, who was a big star in Hollywood in the 1920s. After marrying film star John Barrymore , she retired from the film business in 1928 to raise her children. But Barrymore's alcoholism destroyed the marriage and they divorced in 1935. Her comeback with The Little Lord was quite successful, but her appearance suffered noticeably from the damage of her heavy make-up, so that in 1942 she retired into private life after only eight more films. For the role of the grandfather, C. Aubrey Smith was chosen , a striking-looking ex-cricketer and supporting actor in numerous Hollywood films of his time, who had specialized in the impersonation of British aristocrats or the military. In the many supporting roles, Selznick largely relied on experienced British character actors.
The script was written by the well-known and widely read writer Hugh Walpole , who had already worked with Selznick on David Copperfield . John Cromwell was hired to direct the film, who valued Selznick's work and was a client of Selznick's brother Myron. The film was shot in California in the last two months of 1935. The budget of $ 500,000 - an average value for a movie at the time - was exceeded by $ 90,000. The film was on April 4, 1936 by United Artists released and posted to 1939 a profit of about $ 450,000, bringing the little Lord to Gone with the Wind is the most successful film of Selznick International Pictures was.
In 1980 the British television film The Little Lord appeared with Alec Guinness and Ricky Schroder in the lead roles, which was partly influenced by this film version. This film has been repeated every Christmas on ARD since it was first broadcast in 1982 . Since then, the 1936 version, which previously aired more frequently in the 1970s, has barely been broadcast. In many other countries, however, this film is still the most popular adaptation of Burnett's novel. The film has been available on DVD with a German dubbing since 2012, after being restored by the George Eastman House Film Archive .
The film has been public domain in the United States for many decades , so it can be legally downloaded from the Internet.
criticism
“There is a benign aura about the photoplay, a mellow haze of things long past which should lull even the most adamant anti-Fauntlerite into a state of restful receptivity. This may be due to the period settings which have been contrived so handsomely, or to the performance of a perfectly attuned cast, or to Hugh Walpole's adaptation, or to John Cromwell's sentient direction. Whatever the cause, and it probably was the combination of all four, the picture has a way with it and, unless we are very much in error, you will be pleased. "
“There is a loving aura in this drama, a mild clouding of the long gone time that should make even the most relentless Fauntleroy enemy pay respect. Maybe it's because of the set of the film, which was so beautifully designed, or the performances of a perfectly coordinated cast, or Hugh Walpole's script, or even John Cromwell's sensitive direction. Whatever the reason, and it was probably a combination of all four, there is something about the film, and if we're not very mistaken, they'll like it. "
“Emotional film adaptation of a well-known youth book. Narrated in a straight line, with good actors. "
Web links
- Little Lord Fauntleroy in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Little Lord Fauntleroy at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- The little Lord on YouTube (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Margarita Landazuri: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved November 19, 2019 .
- ^ Frank S. Nugent : 'Little Lord Fauntleroy,' a Pleasant Film Version of the Familiar Novel, at the Music Hall. In: The New York Times . April 3, 1936, ISSN 0362-4331 ( online ).
- ↑ The little lord. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 19, 2019 .