A Little Princess

A Little Princess is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, better known for Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden. It concerns the troubles of a wealthy young girl, Sara Crewe, who is sent to an oppressive London boarding school during her father's campaign in India. Thanks to Capt. Crewe's money, Sara is treated as a little princess until, one day, word comes of her father's tragic death. Miss Minchin, the school's greedy headmistress, wastes no time in putting the now-penniless Sara to work for her room and board. It is only through the friendship of two other girls, her own resolute nature, and some astonishing luck that Sara eventually finds her way back to happiness.

Film and TV adaptations

A Little Princess has been made several times into a full-length feature film. Numerous versions have taken significant liberties with the plot http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122364/.

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The first, released in 1917, had silent star Mary Pickford in the lead, and is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion.

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1917 - Mary Pickford - Frances Marion

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The second, released in 1939, featured child star Shirley Temple as Sara Crewe. It introduced a number of new characters, including Hubert Minchin, played by actor Arthur Treacher. Temple and Treacher had a showcase musical number together, performing the song "Knocked 'Em in the Old Kent Road." The film also altered the story to include the return of Capt. Crewe, Sarah's father, at the end. In the book, his death is not just a rumor.

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1939 - Shirley Temple - Arthur Treacher

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British TV adaptations of the story were produced in 1973 (BBC) and 1986 (LWT), as well as a Filipino film version in 1995. Neither the BBC nor Filipino versions are easily available today.

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1973 - 1986 - 1995

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Also in 1995, director Alfonso Cuaron returned to the story for a live-action Warner Brothers film. Once more, liberties were taken; the action was moved to New York during World War I, the servant Becky was changed from Cockney to African-American, and again, the ending was altered to have Capt. Crewe return for Sara. Although elegantly filmed, with British comedienne Eleanor Bron as Miss Minchin, the film was a disappointment for many of the book's fans.

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1995 - Alfonso Cuaron - Warner Brothers - World War I - Eleanor Bron

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To date, the only proper adaptations of the book have been for television: the 1986 mini-series co-produced by LWT in Britain and PBS in the United States, and the earlier 1973 BBC production. The 1986 mini-series featured child actress Amelia Shankley ably filling the role of Sara, supported by British character actors Maureen Lipman, Miriam Margolyes, and Nigel Havers. The 1973 BBC series starred Deborah Makepeace as Sarah and Ruth Dunning as Miss Minchin. These productions were faithful to the book in almost every respect.

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1986 - LWT - PBS - 1973 - Amelia Shankley - Maureen Lipman - Miriam Margolyes - Nigel Havers

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The only other major television production was a 1985 Japanese anime series, A Little Princess Sara, which in turn formed a single season of World Masterpiece Theatre (an anime series that featured a different children's classic each year, including Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, and Peter Pan). The story was stretched out over forty-six half-hour episodes, including a few new characters and adventures along the way.

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1985 - Anime - A Little Princess Sara - World Masterpiece Theatre - Heidi - Anne of Green Gables - Peter Pan

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