The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Little Lord Fauntleroy
Drama · Family · 1936
An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather.
Movie details
Little Lord Fauntleroy
“WHETHER YOUR HEART IS YOUNG OR OLD...THIS GREAT PICTURE TELLS A STORY THAT WILL TOUCH YOU DEEPLY!”
1936 Drama · Family 1h 42m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Little Lord Fauntleroy?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Cromwell
Written by
Hugh Walpole
Freddie Bartholomew
Cedric 'Ceddie' Erroll aka Lord Fauntleroy
Dolores Costello
'Dearest' Erroll
C. Aubrey Smith
Earl of Dorincourt
Guy Kibbee
Silas Hobbs
Henry Stephenson
Havisham
Mickey Rooney
Dick Tipton
Constance Collier
Lady Constantia Lorridaile
Court is in session
Put Little Lord Fauntleroy on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.