''Skippy'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

about the scrappy boy portrayed in the popular

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

and novel '' Skippy'' by

Percy Crosby Percy Lee CrosbyPercy Lee Crosby
at FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on January 8, 2016 ...

. The screenplay was by Joseph L. Mankiewicz,

Don Marquis Donald Robert Perry Marquis ( ; July 29, 1878 – December 29, 1937) was an American humorist, journalist, and author. He was variously a novelist, poet, newspaper columnist, and playwright. He is remembered best for creating the characters Arc ...

Norman Z. McLeod Norman Zenos McLeod (September 20, 1898 – January 27, 1964) was an American film director, screenwriter and cartoonist. McLeod's most acclaimed work was made in collaboration with major comic performers of the 1930s, and included such films as ...

, and

Sam Mintz Sam Mintz ( be, Сэм Мінц; July 12, 1897 – September 13, 1957) was an American screenwriter from Russia during the Russian Empire period, who was nominated in the category of Best Adapted Screenplay at the 4th Academy Awards. He was nomi ...

. The film stars

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

in the title role,

Robert Coogan Robert Coogan (December 13, 1924 – May 12, 1978) was an American film and television actor. Biography Robert Coogan was born in Glendale, California, to parents Jack Coogan Sr. and Lillian Coogan. His older brother was Jackie Coogan, perha ...

Mitzi Green Mitzi Green (born Elizabeth Keno; October 22, 1920 – May 24, 1969) was an American child actress for Paramount and RKO, in the early "talkies" era. She then acted on Broadway and in other stage works, as well as in films and on television ...

and

Jackie Searl John E. Searl (July 7, 1921 – April 29, 1991) was an American actor. He portrayed bratty kids in several films, and often had only small roles, such as "Robin Figg" in 1934's ''Strictly Dynamite''. Early years His name is sometimes written ...

. Director

Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...

won the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...

(at age 32, he remained the youngest winner in this category until

Damien Chazelle Damien Sayre Chazelle (; born January 19, 1985) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is known for his films '' Whiplash'' (2014), '' La La Land'' (2016), and '' First Man'' (2018). For ''Whiplash'', he was nominated for t ...

won for the 2016 film ''La La Land''). The film also did well enough to inspire a sequel called ''

Sooky ''Sooky'' is a 1931 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Norman Taurog and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Norman Z. McLeod and Sam Mintz. It is a sequel to the 1931 film '' Skippy''. The film stars Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Jack ...

'' (1931). ''Skippy'' was released on April 5, 1931, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. For his performance, Cooper, at the age of nine, became the youngest person to earn an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for

Best Actor in a Leading Role Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Plot

Skippy (

) is the feisty son of the strict Dr. Herbert Skinner (

Willard Robertson Willard Robertson (January 1, 1886 – April 5, 1948) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California. Biography Robertson first ...

) and his wife Ellen (

Enid Bennett Enid Eulalie Bennett (15 July 1893 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian silent film actress, mostly active in American film. Early life Bennett was born on 15 July 1893 in York, Western Australia, the daughter of Nellie Mary Louise (''née'' Wa ...

). Skinner forbids his son Skippy to play in the pauperized Shantytown, because of the unhygienic and criminal surroundings there. But Skippy and his friend Sidney (

) still go to Shantytown where Skippy meets a new boy named Sooky (

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic '' The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in t ...

's little brother). He saves the small boy Sooky from the much bigger bully Harley Nubbins (

Donald Haines Donald Haines (May 9, 1919 – February 20, 1943) was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1930 to 1933. He appeared in ''Our Gang'' during the early sound days along with No ...

). Skippy and Sooky become friends. One day Harley accidentally breaks the windshield of his father's car with Skippy's yo-yo. Harley, who has a very aggressive and brute father, blames it on Skippy and Sooky. Mr. Nubbins (

Jack Rube Clifford Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

), who works as a dog catcher, takes Sooky's dog and demands that they pay him for the damages if they want their dog back. The boys gather three dollars by breaking Skippy's savings bank, but Mr. Nubbins accepts it only for his windshield. He gives them three days to get another three dollars for a dog license and he threatens that he'll kill their dog if they don't get the money. Sooky and Skippy spend the next two days selling bottles, lemonade and wood, and staging a performance to earn money. Skippy's father doesn't want to lend them the remaining thirty cents. Then Mr. Nubbins kills their dog and Skippy blames his father for it. The next morning, Skippy gets a new bicycle from his father. But he trades the bicycle to his friend, Eloise (

), for her new dog. Skippy takes the dog to Sooky. Dr. Skinner has a change of heart and buys Sooky a licensed dog, finds his mother a job, and refrains from ordering Shantytown destroyed, instead offering assistance to its citizens. For the first time, Dr. Skinner plays with Skippy in Shantytown. There they accidentally break Mr. Nubbins' new windshield. Dr. Skinner wins a fight against Mr. Nubbins and shows that he is a good father.

Cast

as Skippy Skinner *

as Sooky Wayne *

as Eloise *

as Sidney *

as Dr. Herbert Skinner *

as Mrs. Ellen Skinner *

as Harley Nubbins *Jack Rube Clifford as Mr. Nubbins, Dog-Catcher *

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a motion picture actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Edd ...

as Mrs. Wayne *

Guy Oliver George Guy Oliver (September 25, 1878 – September 1, 1932) was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent film era motion pictures and 32 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at l ...

as Dad Burkey

Production

In the scene where the dog dies, director Norman Taurog needed to get his nephew, Jackie Cooper, to cry, so he told young Jackie that he was going to kill his own dog. Jackie did the scene and afterward found out his dog would be unharmed. From this point on, Jackie had mixed feelings toward his uncle, almost to the point of hatred, and rarely spoke to him again.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skippy 1931 films 1931 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films about children Films based on American comics Films based on comic strips Films directed by Norman Taurog Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award Films with screenplays by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Live-action films based on comics Paramount Pictures films 1930s American films