Customer Reviews

The Great Rupert

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't recall ever seeing this movie but based on the reviews and the fact that I love Jimmy Durante, I bought it. Well, I was more than pleased that I purchased it for my collection. What an delightful film! I found myself laughing out loud so many times that my kids finally came in and sat down to watch it too- The actors are wonderful and as always... Jimmy steals the show!!! I consider myself somewhat of a 'movie buff' and I never heard of this film before so the same may go for many of you, but take a chance and get this wonderful film- Great for the whole family and not just at the holiday season, but all year long!

This is a really delightful picture directed by Irving Pichel, and staring the unflappable Jimmy Durante. Although George Pal's puppetoon technique is dated by today's standards, kids old and young alike will enjoy this picture. I was 10 years old when I first saw The Great Rupert in 1950 at the old Warwick theater in Kansas City, Missouri. It brought a tear or two of nostalgia, and the thought-why don't they make fun movies like this today? My hat's off to Arnold Leibovit for bringing us one of the best DVD transfers you'll ever see.

They dont make family films anymore like this...
Ive heard of it, but i never had the chance to see it.
Good old Jimmy Durante.... this guy is a classic act. Use to see
him on Ed Sullivan or other shows and we always enjoyed him, his
siging his jokes...
So this movie which depicts different characters which is set
in the good old no money ..depression days delivers the package.
With a excellent cast,good storetelling and Rupert, this movie
can be watched by anybody, and its guaranteed that it will entertain you and leave you with a smile.

Pleasant piece of whimsy about a dancing squirrel and a poor but plucky show-biz family headed by Jimmy Durante. Animated by stop-action special effects legend George Pal, who also produced the movie.
The squirrel, the great Rupert of the title, is owned by another down at the heels performer who is forced to vacate his shabby basement apartment. The entertainer leaves, Rupert stays, and Durante and brood move in. Soon fortune is not only smiling at the Durante clan, but literally raining down it largesse on them from the rafters.
You can probably put THE GREAT RUPERT into the holiday rotation of films to watch. It has something to do with Christmas, although it doesn't carry a strong Christmas theme. Aggressively positive and sweet, it's suitable for all ages. Rupert isn't ever directly threatened, as are so many other animal characters in films today. Even the cynical who don't do cute and find Durante a mite ingratiating should get an involuntary chuckle or two out of his readings of such goofy lines as "It's so difficult to find a job for a human pyramid!" and "Mama, what's a real home without a polar bear?"

The Great Rupert by sci-fi fantasy pioneer George Pal, directed by Irving Pichel ("Destination Moon") and starring Jimmy Durante (perhaps his best screen performance - was never ever better!) and Terri Moore (original "Mighty Joe Young") - is an absolute delight in every respect. I strongly recommend this touching and funny film for pure unadulterated family entertainment. I particularly thought the humor, Puppetoon animation of squirrel, and even Black and White photography was stunning. Also stunning is the wonderful Leith Stevens musical score who later did "Destination Moon", "The War of the Worlds" and "When Worlds Collide" for Pal (among others). It is really a goose pump piece of writing - with chorus and all. The DVD is first rate!!

Also noticed that Arnold Leibovit the director who did "The Puppetoon Movie" and "The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal" presented the film. Good job!

If you are looking for a movie to watch on Christmas day with your family, in addition to the well known Christmas classics of your collection, I would recommend this unknown movie starring Jimmy Durante. This is a heart warming story of a true Christmas spirit, much similar to Scrooge, involving the family of Mr. Amendola (Jimmy Durante), his wife Mrs. Amendola (Quinie Smith), and their only daughter Rosalinda (Terry Moore.) Jimmy Durante offers a brilliant performance as a faded vaudeville star who rents an apartment just before Christmas holidays during Great depression. With serious financial problem on one hand, on the other, they face the challenges of their penny pinching land lord, Mr. Dingle (Frank Orth) who is interested in collecting the rent money but not fix the apartment. He is a real Scrooge in person! But his wife Mrs. Dingle (Sara Haden) and their only son Peter Dingle (Tom Drake) are very compassionate and caring. One day during the prayer of Mrs. Dingle, she a finds large amount of cash ($100 bills) falling through the big hole on her roof. The family comes to believe that it is cash from heaven, a true Christmas miracle indeed! Actually this money belongs to Dingle who gets a check from his gold mine stock every week, and hides the cash in his attic which is innocently tossed by a squirrel named Rupert. Rupert belongs to the last resident of the apartment, Joe Mahoney (Jimmy Conklin) and The Great Rupert was his vaudeville act. This squirrel returns to the apartment when Joe releases him because he doesn't have a job and no money!

Mr. Amendola uses his suddenly found riches to help the community by starting various businesses and offer employment. Every one in town gets suspicious about his wealth including; local law enforcing authority, IRS, and FBI. In the meantime, when Dingle losses on his investment, the checks stop coming and his luck turns ugly. When his house burns in an accidental fire; he believes that all his hidden stash is lost. Then the kind hearted Amendola steps in to help him rebuild the house. At the same time the authorities find the case of Amendola's wealth is complex to solve and hard to prosecute, and they decide to leave him alone.

Tom Dingle who is in love with Rosalinda does everything to impress her, and to his disappointment she dates a wealthy song promoter named Chick Chandler (Phil Davis), but in reality she is in love with Peter Dingle, a penniless songwriter. The movie pitches the kind hearted souls of Amendola family and Dingle family together to teach the true spirit of Christmas to Mr. Dingle and the law enforcement agencies. The highlight of the movie also includes the special-effects of pioneer George Pal, and the technique of animated puppetry to bring life to the title character a lovable squirrel that rescues a family of vaudeville performers during the Christmas time.

You'd Know Why I've Given This 5 Stars, After You've Seen This!
To MAke The Long Difficult Plot Quick, Rupert Helps 2 Poor Families Overcome Their Obstacles. GREAT FILM! I RECCOMEND TO ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE A GOOD LAUGH AND A GOOD CRY!

Folks, you can't miss with this movie, which has something for everyone. The great Jimmy Durante doing a few of his trademark songs. The stop-action Rupert the Squirrel. The comical "villian" Mr Dingle, who exhibits all the negative qualities that provide a great counterpoint to Jimmy Durante's positive qualities. While the movie is fulla laughs, there are a few truly sad scenes, such as when Rupert's original owner has to give him up. There's also a little wisdom in this movie, such as when Queenie McBride, who believes the money comes from Heaven prays, in vain, for more money. "I guess God didn't answer," she says. "Maybe he did answer--and the answer is no," replies Durante. Everyone in the family will love this one. My 5 year-old son recently took this for his afterschool class to watch and, after they got over the fact that it was in black-and-white, they really enjoyed it. You'll love it!!!

DO NOT BUY THIS VERSION!

Even if you get it free, even if you only pay a penny for it... the print and audio is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad you will wish you never watched it. This movie is worth a few extra dollars so read on:

You can get a super clean restored version called A Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert) (Rupert has several titles in various re-packaging). I believe the 20th Century FOX edition has both the colorized and original B&W with great sound and print.

GEORGE PAL'S THE GREAT RUPERT is a miracle! A heart-warming tale about a lovable trained squirrel who inadvertently helps a family of vaudeville performers who are down on their luck. The incomparable Jimmy Durante is the unemployed Mr. Amendola, whose family moves into a converted garage adjoining the home of the only one in town getting rich during the Depression. The stingy landlord thinks he's hoarding his money in the wall between the two houses, but when Rupert the squirrel moves in, miracles can happen! Audiences thought Rupert was a real animal, but actually he was a puppet animated through Pal's Academy Awardª - winning PUPPETOONª technique, a forerunner to the computer-generated images of "Toy Story" and "Jurassic Park". Oscar winning sci-fi fantasy film pioneer George Pal went on to make such classics as "THE TIME MACHINE" "WAR OF THE WORLDS" "WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE" "DESTINATION MOON" "7 FACES OF DR. LAO" and many other influential pictures in the genre.

Osar winner George Pal took off his short pants making the glorious *PUPPETOONSª and put on his long pants to make his first feature THE GREAT RUPERT - it certainly defined the original sort of entertainment this Hungarian born film genius would go on to make. A real charmer starring Jimmy Durante in one of his most memorable screen performances and a truly inspiring musical score by composer Leith Stevens (Pal's WAR OF THE WORLDS & DESTINATION MOON) alone worth the price of admission.

The unmistakable stamp of hope and optimism Pal felt about the human condition comes shining through RUPERT. You can't help feeling good about yourself when watching this film. There is simplicity, great humor and resonance you never seem to forget. Of course this is true for all of George Pal's creations. Whether it be an image, sound, musical moment, spoken word, special effect or an action - all seemingly defining moments in the genre of fantasy and science fiction he so dearly loved and inspired others like Geoge Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Gene Roddenberry to pursue in later years. It is the opinion of this reviewer that George Pal stands then and stands now as a Giant in the annals of movie history and the little charmer THE GREAT RUPERT - Pal's roots in features - is just one more testament to his timeless legacy!