Little Boy Lost

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This article is about the 1953 movie. For other articles using the name, see Little Boy Lost (disambiguation).
Little Boy Lost
Little Boy Lost FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by George Seaton
Produced by William Perlberg
Screenplay by George Seaton
Based on Little Boy Lost (novel) 
by Marghanita Laski
Music by Victor Young
Cinematography George Barnes
Edited by Alma Macrorie
Paramount Pictures
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)
  • September 21, 1953 (1953-09-21) (USA)
Running time 95 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $3. million (USA)[1]

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.

The original score was written by Miarka Laparcerie. The song "Mon Coeur est un Violon" was written by Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Victor Young. Costumes were designed by Edith Head. Makeup was supervised by Wally Westmore.

Filmed on location in Paris, Little Boy Lost received the Golden Globe Award for Best Film Promoting International Understanding. It was also entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival.[2]


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.

The above information was learned by the audience in a flashback, which is 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. He finds a sad and confused boy (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 see that the orphans are 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", and has bought it and sent it to the orphanage. The movie ends as Wainwright returns to the orphanage, having realized that he needs the boy he no longer sees as his son. Jean, seeing the stuffed dog, hugs it and calls it "Binky", thus revealing that he is Wainwright's true son.


See also[edit]


  1. ^ "The Top Box Office Hits of 1953", Variety, January 13, 1954.
  2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Little Boy Lost". Retrieved 2009-01-25. 

External links[edit]