Little Lord Fauntleroy - 1936

'Ceddie' Erroll (Freddie Bartholomew) and his widowed mother 'Dearest' (Dolores Costello) struggle to make ends meet in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Ceddie's prejudiced English grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt (C. Aubrey Smith), had disowned his son for marrying an American. However, the wealthy earl has Ceddie brought to England as his heir. Dearest accompanies her son, but is not allowed to live at Dorincourt castle. For Ceddie's happiness, she does not tell him it is because of his grandfather's bigotry.

Ceddie is uncomfortable as an English aristocrat, but soon wins the hearts of his stern grandfather and everyone else. Then, a woman named Minna Tipton (Helen Flint) shows up, claiming to be the widow of the earl's eldest son, and that therefore her son Tom (Jackie Searl) is the real heir. Heartbroken, the earl agrees. Fortunately for Ceddie, his American friend Dick Tipton (Mickey Rooney) reads about the affair in the newspaper and recognizes his sister-in-law. He takes his brother, Minna's husband, to England to disprove Minna's story. Vastly relieved, the Earl agrees to Ceddie's plea to reconcile with his mother.

The Fauntleroy suit, so well-described by Burnett and realized in Reginald Birch's detailed pen-and-ink drawings, created a major fad for formal dress for American middle-class children.

Little Lord Fauntleroy was also Jackie Kennedy's favorite book when she was a child.

Dolores Costello Barrymore was Drew Barrymore's grandmother.

Cast of Little Lord Fauntleroy

Freddie Bartholomew as Cedric 'Ceddie' Erroll
Dolores Costello as 'Dearest' Erroll, Ceddie's mother
C. Aubrey Smith as the Earl of Dorincourt, Ceddie's grandfather
Henry Stephenson as Havisham, Dorincourt's solicitor
Mickey Rooney as Dick Tipton, a Brooklyn bootblack
Eric Alden as Ben Tipton, Dick Tipton's brother
Helen Flint as Minna Tipton, Ben's wife
Jackie Searl as Tom Tipton, Minna's son
Walter Kingsford as Mr. Snade, Minna Tipton's lawyer
Constance Collier as Lady Constanzia Lorridale, Ceddie's great aunt
E. E. Clive as Sir Harry Lorridale, Ceddie's great uncle
Guy Kibbee as Silas Hobbs, a Brooklyn grocer
Jessie Ralph as a Brooklyn applewoman
Una O'Connor as Mary, a servant in the Errol's Brooklyn home