Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)

In 1855 Brooklyn, a young boy (Freddie Bartholomew) discovers he is the heir to the Earl of Dorincourt (C. Aubrey Smith) in England. When the boy and his mother (Dolores Costello) arrive in England, the Earl separates the mother from the child and refuses to acknowledge her but he takes an immediate liking to the boy. Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett (THE LITTLE PRINCESS) and directed by John Cromwell. This slightly creaky piece of sentiment isn't hard to take. Bartholomew's Fauntleroy is a near angelic child with a kind word for everybody but Bartholomew manges to make him a likable chap rather than sickly sweet. It helps that he's paired for most of the movie with C. Aubrey Smith's curmudgeon to offset the halo. Dolores Costello (billed with her then married name of Barrymore as in Mrs. John) doesn't have much to do but look lovely which she does without effort. The film was a huge hit in 1936. With Mickey Rooney, Constance Collier, Una O'Connor, Henry Stephenson, Virginia Field and Eily Malyon.