The Great Rupert
Encyclopedia
The Great Rupert, is a 1950
comedy
family film
, produced by George Pal
, directed by Irving Pichel
and starring Jimmy Durante
, Tom Drake
and Terry Moore
. It is based on a story, written by Ted Allan
, which has also been published as a children's book under the title "Willie the Squowse".
who, with lots of charm, accidentally helps two economically distressed families overcome their obstacles.
George Pal's stop-motion animation used in creating the illusion of a dancing squirrel (Rupert) was so realistic that he received many inquiries as to where he located a trained squirrel.
In 1999, Arnold Leibovit
Entertainment re-released the film on DVD.
In 2003, 20th Century Fox
and Legend Films
revived the (now) public domain
film with a colorized
special edition
of the film, under the title A Christmas Wish. For that release, Terry Moore provided an audio commentary
track.
1950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
family film
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
, produced by George Pal
George Pál
George Pal , born György Pál Marczincsak, was a Hungarian-born American animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre...
, directed by Irving Pichel
Irving Pichel
Irving Pichel was an American actor and film director. He married Violette Wilson, daughter of Jackson Stitt Wilson, a Methodist minister and Socialist mayor of Berkeley, California. Her sister was actress Viola Barry...
and starring Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, Tom Drake
Tom Drake
Tom Drake , born Alfred Sinclair Alderdice in Brooklyn, New York, was an American actor. Drake made films starting in 1940 and continuing until the mid-1970s, and also made TV acting appearances....
and Terry Moore
Terry Moore (actress)
Helen Luella Koford , better known as Terry Moore, is an American actress. Terry Moore made her film debut at age 11 and grew up with all the icons of the Hollywood era that made Hollywood what it is today, also known as "The Golden Age of Hollywood". Moore is an Academy Award nominated actress...
. It is based on a story, written by Ted Allan
Ted Allan
Ted Allan was a Jewish Canadian writer, several of whose books were made into motion pictures.Ted Allan was born in Montreal as Alan Herman. In the 1930s he fought against fascism in Spanish Civil War, along with another Canadian, Norman Bethune...
, which has also been published as a children's book under the title "Willie the Squowse".
Plot
The story revolves around a little animated squirrelSquirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
who, with lots of charm, accidentally helps two economically distressed families overcome their obstacles.
George Pal's stop-motion animation used in creating the illusion of a dancing squirrel (Rupert) was so realistic that he received many inquiries as to where he located a trained squirrel.
In 1999, Arnold Leibovit
Arnold Leibovit
Arnold Leibovit is an award-winning writer, producer, and director of feature films and musical productions. An acting member of the Producers Guild of America, he has written, directed, and produced several feature films, including The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, a biopic of George Pal, and...
Entertainment re-released the film on DVD.
In 2003, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
and Legend Films
Legend Films
Legend Films, a San Diego-based company, was founded in August 2001. The company specializes in the conversion of feature films, both new release and catalog titles, and commercials from their native 2D format into 3-D film format utilizing proprietary technology and software...
revived the (now) public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
film with a colorized
Film colorization
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black-and-white films, or to restore color films...
special edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
of the film, under the title A Christmas Wish. For that release, Terry Moore provided an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
track.