Sooner or later, movies with children in the title roles come to a point where neither the child nor his supporting adults can look at one another without becoming highly emotional. Those who like these eye-wetting denouements will find. "The Mudlark" both heartwarming and soul-satisfying; others should leave five minutes before the end of the film.

Up to that time, there is a good deal of interesting and humorous scenario, and some fine acting. The picture is all about a little boy who digs in the mudbanks for a living and decides one day that he would like to visit the Queen, who is living in seclusion at Windsor, mourning her fifteen-years-dead husband. It is an understandable wish, one that any red-blooded little English lad might well harbor, and as long as he is thwarted in his efforts the picture keeps up a lively pace.

Andrew Ray plays the little boy from the mudbanks, and can only be described as "winsome." However, Finlay Currie, as the Queen's physician, and Alee Guinness, as Prime Minister Disraeli, both turn in excellent performances. Currie's portrayal of the frequently "sozzled". John Brown is reminiscent of W. C. Fields, though his humour is more often bellowed than muttered. Guinness brings an easy-going dignity to the role of Disraeli, and makes a stirring speech in the one brief House of Commons scene. In the part of Queen Victoria, Irene Dunne seems rather awkward and is inclined to sputter, especially when addressing "Mr. Tsraeli."

But the enjoyment of Currie's antics and Guinness' speeches is marred by the realization that everything must eventually turn out for the worst. In this case the means do not justify the end.