The Mudlark

It is 1875 in London. Wheeler is a boy who lives on the street. He gets by on what he finds along the river. One day he finds a cameo. Queen Victoria’s likeness is on it, and he wants to see her. He sets off for Windsor Castle. He gets past the guards and inside. A state dinner is being prepared there at the time. He falls asleep in a corner. When he is found he is accused of being part of a plot against the queen, who had been threatened before. Disraeli sees that the boy is innocent and defends him in Parliament, in a speech that also criticises the queen for her long seclusion. She is angry at first, and then softens when she meets the boy. Irene Dunne and Alec Guinness appear in the ninety four minute film, an American and British production Jean Negulesco finished in 1950.