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.
