flipp525 wrote:I found Skippy on "Retroplex" (channel 168, Washington, D.C. Comcast) which airs everything from Ssssss (a mad researcher with a penchant for turning his lab assistants into cobras) to The Fortune Cookie (Walter Matthau's Oscar-winning performance), and Xanadu (just about the gayest movie ever).
LOL... I just saw Xanadu a few months ago and you're absolutely right... I guess with my love for Barbara and Cher, and considering the fact that I thought Xanadu was quite entertaining I'm in a dangerous zone right now... LOL.
"If you place an object in a museum, does that make this object a piece of art?" - The Square (2017)
Unfortunately, being in NY and having Cablevision won't help me get that channel. Maybe I'll have to wait for TCM to play it.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
criddic3 wrote:How to find this film, in good condition? I have hopes it will be brought to DVD.
I found Skippy on "Retroplex" (channel 168, Washington, D.C. Comcast) which airs everything from Ssssss (a mad researcher with a penchant for turning his lab assistants into cobras) to The Fortune Cookie (Walter Matthau's Oscar-winning performance), and Xanadu (just about the gayest movie ever). There are entire channels devoted to Love Stories, Westerns, Dramas, etc. It's hilarious.
This week I also taped "Kate's Secret" (1986) off of Lifetime starring Meredith Baxter Birney as a bulemic suburban housewife, a TV movie I saw when I was 8. Yeah, I like my cheese, too .
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
How to find this film, in good condition? I have hopes it will be brought to DVD.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT A PLOT POINT SPOILED
I saw this about 20 years ago (it turned up, for some reason, on USA Network overnight). My strong recollection is how devastating it was to learn the kids were too late to save the dog, and how completely unsatisfying the presumably meant-to-be-happy ending was -- anyone who thinks simply getting a new dog is a solution to that situation has never had a pet of their own.
I don't know if anyone ever cried onscreen to more effect than Jackie Cooper -- he carries you away with emotion, but, you're right, it doesn't feel like manipulative/sentimental. I assume there was great resistance to nominating a child even once for best actor, but he was just as deserving of a nod the following year for The Champ -- Beery's good in the picture, but it's Cooper who completely breaks your heart.
SKIPPY (1931) starring Jackie Cooper, Robert “Bobby” Coogan, Mitzi Green, Jackie Searl, Willard Robertson, Donald Haines; dir. Norman Taurog
Skippy (1931) starts out as a cutesy comic-strip-to-film adaptation. However, the film quickly belies its humble cartoonish beginnings to become an endearing piece of social commentary, a literal screen capture of Depression-era America.
The plot is simple: cute, loveable, and precocious Skippy must save Shantytown and its residents from emminent destruction initiated by his own father, the town physician, who's recommended the eradication of the vermin and germ-infested ramshackle town. Along the way, he meets Sooky, a resident of Shantytown whose hidden dog has been taken away by the dogcatcher, Mr. Nubbins, because he’s an unlicensed pet (as a result of another directive from Skippy's father, Dr. Skinner). Hilarity and adventure ensue as Skippy and Sooky come up with fun and inventive ways to raise the $3.00 necessary to free Penny the Dog from Mr. Nubbins. Somewhere along the way, between the magic show and the trips to the pound, this little film becomes quite an affecting piece as the protagonist finds himself complicit in the shuffling of the poor, destitute denizens of the Shantytown he loves more than his own stable, opulent dwelling.
Reminiscent of the saving of the destitute man-cum-gentleman in My Man Godfrey, this film takes the plight of Depression-starved America and figures it into the backdrop and plot of the story thus elevating the film from a cute comic delight to something with a little more social and historical relevance. It puts a face on the poor and panders to the idea that every little kindness helps in the face of adversity, blurring the line between the "haves" and the "have-nots". And it accomplishes all this without becoming treacly and overly-sentimental. The sound quality is great for such an old film. The picture jiggles a little in the beginning, possibly from being warped at one point, but there's never that tinny quality that overwhelms some of the early talkies.
Jackie Cooper is an absolute delight as the title character, Skippy, and his chemisty with Robert Coogan (who plays new best buddy, Sooky) is very believable. Coogan almost upstages Cooper at times turning in a great supporting performance (I actually thought he was little girl in the beginning when he says his name three times!). Cooper’s standout scene takes place at Mr. Nubbins’ when Skippy slowly learns of his own family’s implications in the tragedy that occurs toward the end of the film. Sentimental or not, you might just shed a tear.
Mitzi Green is hilarious as Eloise. Her comic timing is impeccable and she enthusiastically inhabits her role.
Norman Taurog (who was Jackie Cooper’s uncle) won an Oscar for his direction and Cooper himself was nominated at ten years old making him, to this day, the youngest male actor nominated in the lead acting category.
Hard to find, but well worth checking out. *** 1/2 out of ****
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
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