Skippy (film)
| Skippy | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Norman Taurog |
| Produced by |
Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky B.P. Schulberg |
| Written by |
Norman McLeod Joseph L. Mankiewicz Don Marquis Sam Mintz |
| Starring |
Jackie Cooper Robert Coogan Mitzi Green Jackie Searl |
| Music by | John Leipold |
| Cinematography | Karl Struss |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Skippy is a 1931 American Pre-Code comedy film. The screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Don Marquis, Norman Z. McLeod, and Sam Mintz was based on the comic strip Skippy by Percy Crosby.
The film stars Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green and Jackie Searl. Director Norman Taurog won the Academy Award for Directing (at age 32, he remains the youngest winner in this category). The film also did well enough to inspire a sequel called Sooky (1931). The film was released on April 5, 1931, by Paramount Pictures. For his performance, Cooper, at the age of nine, also became the youngest person to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
This film was going to be one of Universal's first Manufacture on Demand (MOD) titles, but was withdrawn from retail sale without explanation. It has yet to be announced as an MOD title.
Skippy (Jackie Cooper) is the feisty son of the strict Dr. Herbert Skinner (Willard Robertson) and his wife Ellen (Enid Bennett). Skinner forbids his son Skippy to play in the pauperized Shantytown, because of the unhygenical and criminal surroundings there. But Skippy and his friend Sidney (Jackie Searl) still go to Shantytown where Sidney meets a new boy named Sooky (Robert Coogan, Jackie Coogan's little brother). He saves the small boy Sooky from the much bigger bully Harley Nubbins (Donald Haines). 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), 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.
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