Skippy (1931)
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100% of critics liked it
(6 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(275 ratings)
Percy Crosby's popular newspaper comic strip Skippy comes to life in this 1931 film. Designed as a vehicle for Our Gang's Jackie Cooper -- then all of nine years old -- Skippy jettisons most of the trenchant cynicism of Crosby's creation (the strip was something of a 1930s Calvin and… More Percy Crosby's popular newspaper comic strip Skippy comes to life in this 1931 film. Designed as a vehicle for Our Gang's Jackie Cooper -- then all of nine years old -- Skippy jettisons most of the trenchant cynicism of Crosby's creation (the strip was something of a 1930s Calvin and Hobbes) in favor of sentiment. Skippy, the son of the local health inspector (Willard Robertson) conspires with his best friend, Sooky (Robert Coogan), a poor kid, to raise enough money for a dog license. The mutt in question is eventually shot by the mean dogcatcher, and the effect on Skippy and Sooky (not to mention the audience) is devastating. The tragedy leads Skippy's dad to soften his disciplinarian stance and to draw closer to his son. Skippy was followed by an even more lachrymose sequel, Sooky, also released in 1931. Twenty-five years later, Jackie Cooper, by that time a prominent TV producer/director, tried to revive Skippy as a weekly series, with future My Three Sons co-star Stanley Livingston in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Norman Taurog
- Written By
- Percy Crosby
- Genres
- Drama, Kids & Family, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 25, 1931 Limited
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Cooper's playing could not be improved upon.
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Mordaunt Hall, New York Times
This youthful player [Jackie Cooper] gives a truly remarkable portrayal in a film that is endowed with wholesome amusement and affecting tenderness.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A charming children's picture that doesn't neglect adults.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Norman Taurog won the Best Director Oscar for this charming tale, based on Crosby's comic strip featuring child star Jackie Cooper in one of his endearing performances.
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Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt
Skippy is very effective at showing the world through a child's eyes: issues like class divides, deep pockets and public perceptions are meaningless.
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Cast
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Jackie Cooper
as Skippy Skinner
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Robert Coogan
as Sooky Wayne
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Mitzi Green
as Eloise
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Jackie Searl
as Sidney
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Willard Robertson
as Dr. Herbert Skinner
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Enid Bennett
as Mrs. Ellen Skinner
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Donald Haines
as Harley Nubbins
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Helen Jerome Eddy
as Mrs. Wayne
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Jack Clifford
as Dogcatcher Nubbins
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Guy Oliver
as Dad Burkey
