Little Lord Fauntleroy

One of Mary Pickford's most cherished films, this 1921 silent version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's venerable young person's novel is notable for providing America's petite sweetheart with two major roles. She plays, in trousers, Cedric Errol, the New York boy suddenly named heir to a British earldom, and also the youngster's devoted mother, referred to throughout merely as Dearest, a ploy that allows the star to exhibit her considerable range (the many double-exposure shots--devised by Pickford's favorite cameraman Charles Rosher--remain impressive even by modern standards). The same can't be said, unhappily, of Hodgson's plot, in which Cedric melts the heart of his misanthropic grandfather (the initially gruff Claude Gillingwater) while befriending the downtrodden local rustics before having his title-to-be falsely challenged by a scheming gold-digger. From today's perspective it's difficult to share the enthusiasm that audiences in the early 1920s exhibited for movies in which an actress in her late 20s played juvenile roles--which is why the 1936 sound remake of the film with Freddie Bartholomew has aged better (and there was also an extravagant 1980 TV version with Ricky Schroder and Alec Guinness). But you still have to admire Pickford's swaggering brio as little Cedric, and the production was certainly sumptuous for its day. Released with the imprimatur of the Mary Pickford Institute (and boasting a rousing score by Nigel Holton), DVD extras include stills galleries for the actress and the film. Recommended. (F. Swietek)