Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) :
Brief Review -
The evergreen classic tale is done well by the king of human dramas, John Cromwell. I absolutely love and adore Cromwell for exploring the human drama genre in the 1930s in its most positive form. He made films like "Of Human Bondage" (1934), "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1936), and "In Name Only" (1939) when Hollywood was shifting gears from one to another. Hollywood was upgrading in every genre, from musicals to rom-coms, screwball comedies, film noir, biopics, adventure films, and children's films. Cromwell, too, made films in different genres, but his most acclaimed and successful films were in the drama genre, especially human dramas that carried people's goodwill to teach you something pleasantly positive. Little Lord Fauntleroy was in a similar zone to some of the contemporary classics that featured a child in the starring role and had nothing but good things to say. Here we see a handsome, smart, and kind 9-year-old boy teaching his grandfather to be good. That's too much for a family film, man. You instantly fall in love with the story, while emotions follow blindly. The comedy isn't great, as it shouldn't be, but it's adequate. I kind of have two opinions on the American vs. British arguments. Was it slightly over-propagandised? Or was it an attempt to make things better between these two nations and what they think about each other? Freddie Bartholomew was a "little master" of cinema in those 10 years of his life. C. Aubrey Smith, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson Mickey Rooney and Dolores C. Barrymore are superb in their nicely written roles. Frances Hodgson Burnett's evergreen classic tale is justified by John Cromwell's steady direction, which amounts to a heartwarming experience.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
The evergreen classic tale is done well by the king of human dramas, John Cromwell. I absolutely love and adore Cromwell for exploring the human drama genre in the 1930s in its most positive form. He made films like "Of Human Bondage" (1934), "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1936), and "In Name Only" (1939) when Hollywood was shifting gears from one to another. Hollywood was upgrading in every genre, from musicals to rom-coms, screwball comedies, film noir, biopics, adventure films, and children's films. Cromwell, too, made films in different genres, but his most acclaimed and successful films were in the drama genre, especially human dramas that carried people's goodwill to teach you something pleasantly positive. Little Lord Fauntleroy was in a similar zone to some of the contemporary classics that featured a child in the starring role and had nothing but good things to say. Here we see a handsome, smart, and kind 9-year-old boy teaching his grandfather to be good. That's too much for a family film, man. You instantly fall in love with the story, while emotions follow blindly. The comedy isn't great, as it shouldn't be, but it's adequate. I kind of have two opinions on the American vs. British arguments. Was it slightly over-propagandised? Or was it an attempt to make things better between these two nations and what they think about each other? Freddie Bartholomew was a "little master" of cinema in those 10 years of his life. C. Aubrey Smith, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson Mickey Rooney and Dolores C. Barrymore are superb in their nicely written roles. Frances Hodgson Burnett's evergreen classic tale is justified by John Cromwell's steady direction, which amounts to a heartwarming experience.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.