Movies Depicting Fauntleroy Suits: Donovan's Reef, 1963

Figure 1.--Kevin Cocoran plays the younger brother who is dressed up in a short pants Fauntleroy suit for a formal occasion.

A snooty girl from a respected Boston family arrives on a small island in French Polynesia in the South Pacific after World War II in search of her missing father. She finds two salty old sea dogs that conspire to hide the doctor's secret, interacial children. The mismatched trio provided comic relief.

This John Wayne film dealt with racism and inter-racial marriage in a light-hearted way. Three children play a prominent role, including one boy. He usually wears play shorts and a baseball cap, but for a formal event, he is dressed up in a Fauntleroy suit and wide-brimmed cap--much to his disgust. He keep his baseball cap in the back pocket of his velvet shorts. The boy is played by Kevin Cocoran, a Disney stalwart. He played in costume films like Polyana

The Fauntleroy suit is quite old fashioned for the 1940s. I believe this is the latest setting that I have ever seen a Fauntleroy suit used in the costuming. He wears a frilly lace collar and matching wrist cuff trim with a floppy bow. His short pants even have buttons like knee pants. Kevin is one of the few boys costumed in Fauntleroy suits that is not portrayed as a terrible brat. His outfit includes a broad brimmed hat, which he soon replaces with a more respectable baseball cap that he carries in the back pocket of his his velvet shorts.