Movies Depicting Fauntleroy Suits: Other Films


Figure 6.--This is a picture of child star Jacki Searl. I think the picture was taken about 1929-31, although I'm not sure what film he was appearing in. He often played brats, such as Cousin Sid in "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Fin".

Boys appeared in Fauntleroy suits in a wide range of movies. For the most part the boys only had small roles There were only a few actual productions of Little Lord Fauntleroy.

Child Stars

Sometimes even established child actors wore Fauntleroy suits, like Jacki Searl, but usually in their younger years before they were well established stars. One they had achieved star staus, the studios generally did not want more elaborate Fauntleroy suits for them, regardless of the role. Even when Freddy Bartholmew played Little Lord Fauntleroy, his costuming bore little resemblence to those worn by Cedric in the classic tale written by Mrs. Burnett and displayed by the brilliant Reginald Birch illustrations.

Styles

Some of these films depict Fauntleroy suits in the classic era. Others show suits worn in the 1920s and 30s. Often these were fanciful outfits. One image of Jacki Searl shows him in a Fauntleroy suit with black socks, shortpants, and a sash. These were unlikely combinations. Sashes were worn with kneepants and stockings with classic suits, but rarely with the short pants suits worn in the 1920s and 30s.

Film Images

Interestingly, the boys depicted in these outfits are usually bratty kids. The image was that rich wealthy kids were pampered, spoiled kids and often dressed this way. It was an aid to developing the character. Not only was a bratty role written for the boy, but the outfit helped to furthur confirm the character. This was the image that Little Lord Fauntleroy assumed in the popular mind. Which of course was a far cry from the character written by Mrs. Burnett.

This image was certainly the one develooped for boys wearing Fauntleroy suits in American films. I'm not sure if this was the case in films made in other countries.





Christopher Wagner

histclo@lycosmail.com



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Created: April 17, 1999
Last updated: August 18, 1999