Skippy (1931) - Norman Taurog

Description:
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.

Review:
The passage of time and a loss of innocence have somewhat dampened the impact of Skippy, but it still stands as a powerful and affecting film. Although aimed at children, most adults will find a great deal to enjoy in Skippy, starting with Jackie Cooper's moving performance. Cooper pushes all the right buttons, and while occasionally his work feels somewhat calculated, most of the time it's natural and effortless. He can be both innocent and conniving, shrewd and naïve, and when he's happy, joy radiates from within. And both he and Robert Coogan are incredible at turning on the waterworks and tearing the heart out of the audience. Coogan's work is also exceptional, even if he is occasionally more manipulative than Cooper, and the two work together as if they really were two pals instead of actors. A great deal of credit for their success, of course, must go to director Norman Taurog, who handles the entire film with delicacy and sensitivity. Much of Joseph Mankiewicz's dialogue still packs a punch, even if some of it now seems a bit hokey; much the same can be said of the plot, especially since viewers have seen so many of its elements in other films through the years. But none of this will matter to younger kids, and little of it will matter to adults, who will likely forgive Skippy its flaws in favor of the nostalgic pleasures and pains that it brings back.

Awards:
won oscar Best Director. Nominated for 3 oscars: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay & Best Actor (Jackie Cooper).