The Mudlark
| The Mudlark | |
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Jean Negulesco |
| Produced by | Nunnally Johnson |
| Screenplay by | Hilda Grenier Nunnally Johnson |
| Based on |
The Mudlark 1949 novel by Theodore Bonnet |
| Starring |
Irene Dunne Alec Guinness Andrew Ray Beatrice Campbell Finlay Currie |
| Music by | William Alwyn |
| Cinematography | Georges Périnal |
| Edited by | Thelma Connell |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1 million (US rentals) |
The Mudlark is a 1950 film made in Britain by 20th Century Fox. It is a fictional account of how Queen Victoria was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Prince Albert. It was directed by Jean Negulesco, written and produced by Nunnally Johnson and based on the 1949 novel of the same name by American artillery sergeant and San Francisco newspaperman Theodore Bonnet (1908–1983). It stars Irene Dunne, Alec Guinness and Andrew Ray.
"Mudlarks" were street children who survived by scavenging and selling what they could find on the banks of the River Thames. The film was a hit in Britain and made an overnight star of Andrew Ray, who played the title character.
A young street urchin (Andrew Ray), half-starved and homeless, finds a cameo containing the likeness of Queen Victoria (Irene Dunne). Not recognizing her, he is told that she is the "mother of all England". Taking the remark literally, he journeys to Windsor Castle to see her.
When he is caught by the palace guards, the boy is mistakenly thought to be part of an assassination plot against the Queen. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Alec Guinness) realises that the boy is innocent and pleads for him in Parliament, delivering a speech that indirectly criticizes the Queen for withdrawing from public life. The Queen is infuriated by the speech, but she is genuinely moved upon meeting the boy for the first time, and once again enters public life.
The Mudlark was nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design in a black-and-white film (Edward Stevenson and Margaret Furse).
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