I had never heard of 1940’s Tom Brown’s School Days before watching it this afternoon. It was an intriguing view on honesty, integrity, and strictness at an English school called Rugby.
What fascinated me the most was the appearance of Cedric Hardwicke as Dr. Thomas Arnold. At the beginning of the movie, he’s offered the job of
being the headmaster at the school, and he takes it. He makes a lot of big speeches about honesty being important.
New to the school of Rugby is Tom Brown (Jimmy Lydon). He and a boy named East (Freddie Bartholomew) become fast friends. However, as a newcomer, Tom Brown is the subject of all kinds of bullying, particularly from a chap by the name of Flashman (Billy Halop). This leads to all kinds of drama and angst for Tom Brown and his friend.
Before I go further, I have to mention a young Gale Storm in the part of Effie. She was delightful to watch in this movie.
This movie is, in my opinion,