Little Boy Lost (1953 film)
| Little Boy Lost | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | George Seaton |
| Produced by | William Perlberg |
| Screenplay by | George Seaton |
| Based on |
Little Boy Lost (novel) by Marghanita Laski |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Victor Young |
| Cinematography | George Barnes |
| Edited by | Alma Macrorie |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3million (US) |
Little Boy Lost is a 1953 American drama film directed by George Seaton and starring Bing Crosby, Claude Dauphin, and Christian Fourcade. Based on the novel Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski, the film is about a war correspondent stationed in Paris during World War II and once married to a French girl who was murdered by the Nazis. Following the war, he returns to France trying to find his son, whom he lost during a bombing raid but has been told is living in an orphanage in Paris.
Costumes were designed by Edith Head. Makeup was supervised by Wally Westmore.
During World War II an American war correspondent, Bill Wainwright (played by Crosby), was stationed in Paris. He met and fell in love with a French singer, Lisa Garret (played by Maurey). They married and had a son, Jean.
Wainwright was then assigned to cover the Battle of Dunkirk and after the evacuation of Allied troops and the French surrender he could not return to Paris. He later learned that his wife was murdered by the Nazis for participating in the French Resistance and that his small son went missing during a bombing raid.
This background information is presented via a flashback narrated by Wainwright. The war is now over and the grieving widower has returned to Paris to find his lost little boy. His best friend is Pierre Verdier (played by Dauphin).
Wainwright has been told that his son is living in an orphanage. There, he finds a sad and confused boy, Jean (played by Fourcade), who does bear a resemblance to Lisa, and Wainwright believes he might be his son. The Mother Superior (played by Dorziat) insists that the boy is his, but Wainwright is skeptical and sets out to test him. He begins to form an emotional attachment to the boy, but eventually, when the boy fails the test, Wainwright realizes that the child has been fed information in order to help him pass the test. He confronts the nun, who confesses to having tried to help the boy because of her determination to have her orphans placed in good homes and have happy lives.
Though Wainwright and the boy have formed a bond, he cannot get over his grief until he speaks to a friend who advises him to face up to his wife's death. While out and about, he has seen a stuffed toy identical to one that Wainwright had won at a carnival for Lisa, and which was named "Binky". He buys the toy and has it sent to the orphanage. The movie ends as Wainwright returns to the orphanage, having realized that he needs the boy, even if he may not be the son he lost. Jean, seeing the stuffed dog, hugs it and calls it "Binky", thus revealing that he is Wainwright's son.
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