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Skippy

  • 1931
  • Passed
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
859
YOUR RATING
Jackie Cooper in Skippy (1931)
ComedyDramaFamily

Skippy, the mischievous son of a wealthy doctor, meets Sooky in poverty-ridden Shantytown, and together they try to save Sooky's pet from a cruel dogcatcher.Skippy, the mischievous son of a wealthy doctor, meets Sooky in poverty-ridden Shantytown, and together they try to save Sooky's pet from a cruel dogcatcher.Skippy, the mischievous son of a wealthy doctor, meets Sooky in poverty-ridden Shantytown, and together they try to save Sooky's pet from a cruel dogcatcher.

  • Director
    • Norman Taurog
  • Writers
    • Percy Crosby
    • Sam Mintz
    • Joseph L. Mankiewicz
  • Stars
    • Jackie Cooper
    • Robert Coogan
    • Mitzi Green
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    859
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Norman Taurog
    • Writers
      • Percy Crosby
      • Sam Mintz
      • Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    • Stars
      • Jackie Cooper
      • Robert Coogan
      • Mitzi Green
    • 8User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 3 nominations total

    Photos6

    Jackie Cooper in Skippy (1931)
    Robert Coogan in Skippy (1931)
    Skippy (1931)
    Jackie Cooper in Skippy (1931)
    Jackie Cooper in Skippy (1931)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jackie Cooper
    Jackie Cooper
    • Skippy
    Robert Coogan
    Robert Coogan
    • Sooky
    Mitzi Green
    Mitzi Green
    • Eloise
    Jackie Searl
    Jackie Searl
    • Sidney
    Willard Robertson
    Willard Robertson
    • Doctor Skinner
    Enid Bennett
    Enid Bennett
    • Mrs. Skinner
    Donald Haines
    • Harley Nubbins
    Helen Jerome Eddy
    Helen Jerome Eddy
    • Mrs. Wayne
    Guy Oliver
    Guy Oliver
    • Dad Burkey
    Jack Rube Clifford
    Jack Rube Clifford
    • Dog-Catcher Nubbins
    • (as Jack Clifford)
    Carl R. Botefuhr
    Carl R. Botefuhr
    • Skippy Skinner (age 3)
    • (scenes deleted)
    Beaudine Anderson
    • Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Dannie Mac Grant
    Dannie Mac Grant
    • Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Douglas Haig
    • Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Payne B. Johnson
    • Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Buddy McDonald
    • Boy
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Norman Taurog
    • Writers
      • Percy Crosby(story)
      • Sam Mintz(story)
      • Joseph L. Mankiewicz(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      To induce crying, Jackie Cooper was fooled into it by director Norman Taurog--his uncle, having married Jackie's mother's sister. Taurog yelled out, "Where's that dog? Just go shoot him!" (The dog was Jackie's own.) Somebody got a gun with a blank in it, went behind the truck where the dog had been taken, and fired the gun. It worked, though a little too well. It took Jackie a very long time to stop crying, even after the scene was over and the director tried to kindly tell him they were just fooling; they only did that to get Jackie to cry for the scene. In addition, Jackie said he lost a lot of respect for his uncle that day; he seemingly never forgave him for this cruel stunt.
    • Connections
      Featured in Glamour Boy (1941)

    User reviews8

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A good set of values
    Paramount Pictures was one step from receivership until Mae West and Bing Crosby signed with them during the Depression. But this film I'm sure kept the wolf from the door for a little while. Skippy which is based on a popular comic strip of the day was the career role for little Jackie Cooper while he was a child star.

    Cooper was one of the few child stars to have a real career in front of and behind the camera and it was a long one. He also played a wide range of characters. Yet when his name is mentioned today the first thing that comes to mind is the little kid with the knickers and somewhat pouty, but with a good heart and a set of values that he did not get from home completely.

    Skippy is the child of town doctor Willard Robertson and Helen Bennett and he's a good kid at heart. But Robertson who's a fundamentally decent man doesn't want him playing with the kids on the other side of the railroad tracks. That's shantytown and there were plenty of them in America in 1931. Skippy is a film of its time although I'll bet that people who lived in those shantytowns did not part with the nickel needed to see Skippy, it was needed for important things like food.

    Robertson as director of the board of health also wants to clean the place up. But with scant regard for the people who live there. So when Skippy makes friends with a slum kid who lives there played by Jackie Coogan's brother Robert and his mother Helen Jerome Eddy and their dog it turns out to be a turning point in everyone's lives.

    With his decent, but thickheaded father and a mother oblivious to all except what's within the four walls of their home, Skippy grows up with an intuitive sense set of good values. It's what makes Jackie Cooper's character such an appealing one to this day.

    Skippy brought home a Best Director Oscar for Norman Taurog and a few other nominations. Taurog gets it for some superb direction for a flock of kid players who are the ones carrying the film. It musn't have been easy, but the results are great.

    Skippy is a film firmly within the Depression times it was made, but it has a universal family appeal to this day.
    helpful•3
    1
    • bkoganbing
    • Jan 23, 2016

    Details

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    • Release date
      • April 25, 1931 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Pappas pojke på äventyr
    • Filming locations
      • San Bernardino, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.20 : 1

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