Plucked from poverty-stricken 1879 New York, kind and compassionate Cedric Errol (Michael Benz) is summoned by his hard-hearted grandfather (George Baker) to “live among the swells” in England as Lord Fauntleroy, the future Earl of Dorincourt. This engaging feature-length version of the lavish BBC miniseries captures all the heart of Francis Hodgson Burnett’s classic story of redemption that has captivated generations of readers. The story concludes at Christmastime. Adapted by Julian Fellowes.
Starring George Baker, Betsy Brantley, Michael Benz, Bernadette Shortt, Christopher Bowen.
Note: When it was aired, this TV mini-series was shown in six parts and ran at around 300 minutes, but the DVD release has been edited to 171 minutes. Despite this being a BBC adaptation by Fellowes, most prefer the 1980 version starring Alec Guinness. The 1995 version is listed here as unfortunately there are not many BBC Christmas costume period dramas.