Aventuras de un yanki

Fun Mickey Rooney picture with Mickey as an American teenager who's a big shot and football star at his high school before his mom marries a stuffy Brit and forces Mickey and his little sister to move to England. Cue the expected clichés that come with fish out of water stories like this. Despite its formulaic plot, it's pretty solid entertainment thanks to that great old MGM gloss and a wonderful cast. Mickey is enjoyable as always, of course. The rest of the cast includes Ian Hunter, Edmund Gwenn, Alan Mowbry, Freddie Bartholomew, and a young Peter Lawford. Not too shabby. The scene stealers are the younger actors, Juanita Quigley and Raymond Severn. Quigley reminds me a little of Virginia Weidler. It's a good movie, though not a great one, that will likely entertain most classic film fans on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It's got heart and humor and feel-good patriotism like they excelled at in the old days. Give it a look if you're a Mickey Rooney fan. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Kept back in high school, to possibly improve his football prowess, exuberant Mickey Rooney (as Timothy "Tim" Dennis) is shocked by the appearance of little sister Juanita Quigley (as Jane, "The Runt") in the boys locker room. The adolescent "Baby Jane" has some not-so-swell news - single mom Marta Linden (as Winifred) has just married wealthy British Ian Hunter (as Roger Carlton), and the family is relocating to England. Needless to say, Mr. Rooney is excited, but not about the move; he was hoping to play football at Notre Dame, but finds himself, instead, "A Yank at Eton".

Teenage brother-by-marriage Freddie Bartholomew (as Peter Carlton) shows Rooney the ropes at jolly old Eton, and later becomes involved in the obligatory disciplinary misunderstanding. Bullying young Peter Lawford (as Ronnie Kenvil) provides conflict. Gruff Edmund Gwenn (as Justin) is the headmaster. Adorable little Raymond Severn (as "Inky" Weeld) sends the cute quotient off the charts, especially when paired with Ms. Quigley. This film seems to be a follow-up to "A Yank at Oxford" (1938), with Bartholomew swiped from RKO's "Tom Brown's School Days" (1940).

Terry Kilburn has a bigger part than King Baggot.

There are a few heart-tugging scenes, and an unmistakable wartime message. One of the comedy highlights occurs when most of the featured players eat a cake Rooney makes with glue - it's either awkward, stupid, or funny, depending on your level of appreciation for Mickey Rooney off the MGM production-line. "A Yank at Eton" had all the ingredients needed to keep box offices busy, which it did. Rooney was sitting comfortably at #4 in the Quigley "Top Ten" stars list; he gets a strong supporting cast, top flight crew, and proved formula. Producer John Considine's kid stayed in the picture.

***** A Yank at Eton (10/8/42) Norman Taurog ~ Mickey Rooney, Freddie Bartholomew, Juanita Quigley, Peter Lawford

By some strange coincidence I caught this movie on the same day that I saw "Lord Jeff"(1938), from M-G-M. I note this because it had some of the same cast (Mickey Rooney, Freddie Bartholomew, Peter Lawford). However, in 1938 Bartholomew was the lead and received top billing. Only four years later, Rooney was the top rated star in Hollywood, and Bartholemew had only a couple of movies left, before M-G-M cut him loose.

The stories come from basically the same formula, as well. Both involve boys who are put into a new location, both feel they are better than the others around them, both are shunned by their peers, only to win them over in the final reel. Both are also extremely predictable.

This film (the better of the two), will appeal to Rooney fans, and is a decent way to spend an hour and a half. Not a classic.

6 out of 10

If you're considering skipping A Yank at Eton, don't. It's extremely cute, and amidst the turmoil of the United States entering WWII, it came out at the perfect time. Providing a united front with our brothers across the pond, it shows that cultural differences don't matter, as long as we become friends in the end.

Mickey Rooney's mother marries the English Ian Hunter, and right in the middle of his high school heyday on the football field, Mickey and his sister are yanked-no pun intended-out of their world and forced to live in England with their new stepfather. Mickey has to go to Eton, and he doesn't like it. He doesn't appreciate the strings Ian had to pull to get him enrolled, and he doesn't appreciate the amount of rules headmaster Edmund Gwenn insists he abide by. In America, Mickey was the top dog, but at Eton, he's an underling who has a curfew, shares a room, and has to do little errands for upperclassmen, no questions asked. If you recognize one of the upperclassmen with the distinctive accent, you'll see the very young face of Peter Lawford!

Six years earlier, Mickey Rooney and Freddie Bartholomew starred in The Devil Is a Sissy together. Freddie played the newbie who didn't fit in, and Mickey was older and wiser who befriended him. Now in A Yank at Eton, Mickey is the newbie who doesn't fit in, and an older, taller, lower-voiced Freddie plays a student who tries to help him adjust. It's really too bad that Freddie's career petered out, since when he grew up, there was nothing wrong with his talent.

As much as Freddie threatens to steal the show, as much as Mickey threatens to steal the show, and as much as Edmund Gwenn threatens to steal the show, it's little Raymond Severn who succeeds. You might not know his name, but you'll recognize those big eyes on him and his seven siblings who acted in movies in the 1940s. He's an absolute doll. He idolizes Mickey Rooney, standing by him when no one else does, and his positive attitude just can't be doused. He gets bossed around by the upperclassmen and teased, and he takes it all with a smile. When he tries to catch on to American slang, it's too cute for words.

The end gets a bit silly, but keep in mind when it was made. The overwhelming theme of the movie is camaraderie, and the Americans and the English needed to become fast friends to fight the Germans. Rent this cute movie. If you like classic boys' school stories and would prefer one on the lighter side, you'll love it.

I always thought Mickey Rooney could do it all and here he is very good as an American who gets uprooted to England. It's pretty funny to see how he contrasts his Americanness (slang etc.) with the stuffy British ways. The the girl who plays the visiting American snob is a little too much though. The best scenes are Rooneys when he is battling the school system though I was annoyed with him when he took the prize horse out of the stable -- you just knew something bad was going to happen. I also like Ian Hunter as his stepfather; His films are always good too. Freddie Batholomew showed why MGM had great child stars. A nice diversion.