Watch The Great Rupert For Free

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely the worst movie.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

When i started seeing this movie I did not really have any idea what it was. But I was met with a scene with an old man playing music and a squirrel dancing. As I may be a bit crazy and love fantasy and adventure so I could see this movie go in interesting ways.But just as getting ready to follow the squirrel it took back seat in the movie to something that was a bland love story and I think maybe comedy. (not sure as I never laughed. But they did look like it should be funny)So would I recommend this movie? Yes if the 10 minutes the squirrel was in the movie to the whole movie. Otherwise no. After the 10 first minutes nothing really happens with the squirrel. It is only there a few short scenes. In my opinion none of persons in the main body was very likable or interesting.

No, this isn't the beloved pet teddy bear of "Family Guy's" Stewie. This is a cute little squirrel who has run off from his trainer (Jimmy Conlin) back to the old apartment that Conlin has been tossed out of. An old vaudeville pal of Conlin's (Jimmy Durante) moves in with his down and out family, and the little prankster squirrel plays a trick on the miserly owner (Frank Orth) by tossing down bills hidden by Orth in the walls. Thinking that a Christmas miracle has happened, the family's fortunes begin to rise but Orth becomes puzzled as his stash begins to dwindle.This sweet low budget Christmas fantasy was created by George Pal, best known for some of the most groundbreaking science fiction films of the 1950's. The cheapness of the film is obvious, but it is done with such humanity that it really doesn't matter that you can tell that this is a mechanical squirrel. You really begin to care about this family as they go through a series of bad circumstances, and hope that the miserly Orth will learn some lessons from this and begin to care more about people than money, and that includes his long-suffering wife (Sara Haden). There are a lot of familiar character actors from the golden age of movies and television, including Frank Cady of "Green Acres" and that queen of the bit part Queenie Smith in a much larger role than normal. Terry Moore of "Mighty Joe Young" fame is the romantic heroine. While younger audiences of our high-tech era might find this silly and sappy, those of us who grew up in more innocent times can sit back and enjoy the film from a non-cynical point of view and hope the younger generation will eventually realize the charm of film like this.

Originally known as THE GREAT RUPERT, this is a charming tale about a talented squirrel (that would be Rupert) who lives in the attic of a down and out family of struggling vaudevillians, and who accidentally helps them gain wealth and prosperity during the Christmas season. The vigorous Jimmy Durante is a lot of fun to watch as the well-meaning father who sings, and he's got a couple of silly "so bad they're funny" lines that made me laugh, though it's too bad he wasn't given more. Terry Moore (MIGHTY JOE YOUNG) is his young daughter who falls for Tom Drake (MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS). This is a somewhat charming, if not great, family film to watch for the holidays. Rupert the Squirrel is brought to life via George Pal's animation. **1/2 out of ****

When a slightly miserly landlord takes to hiding his savings he inadvertently intrudes into a squirrel's nest--which wastes no time in shoving the money out of his nest and into the hands of the down-on-their-luck Amendola family, who rent an apartment below. Originally released under the title of THE GREAT RUPERT, in 1950 the film was primarily admired for its then-artful blend of live action and puppet animation to create Rupert, the squirrel; today, however, it is best regarded as a very mild mannered and entirely inoffensive little movie that just happens to offer the legendary Jimmy Durante one of his final film roles.The script and story are as memorable as school cafeteria banana pudding, but the performances are reasonably engaging. As head of Amendola family, Durante is brash is only Durante could be, doing doubletakes and pounding out an occasional tune on the piano in his unique style. He is well supported by the likes of Terry Moore, Tom Drake, and such veteran character actors as Queenie Smith, Frank Orth, Sara Haden, and Jimmy Conlin. It's all in good fun.The 20th Century Fox DVD release consists of two versions of the film: the original black and white and a colorized version. There is nothing visually impressive about the film, so it is not hurt by colorization per se; as for the colorization, it is reasonably well done, at least so far as such effects go. Most astonishingly, the release includes a commentary track by Terry Moore and various people associated with the colorization and the DVD release.The commentary track is not tremendously informative; Moore freely admits that she had seen the film only once before, and that some fifteen years earlier. Even so, Moore proves good company, offers the occasional insight into the cast, and now and then proves unwittingly amusing--with her comments on actor Tom Drake, who was both gay and deeply closeted, a case in point. On the whole, I'd say the commentary is actually more engaging than the film itself, but whatever the case Durante fans, Moore fans, and those in search of truly innocent family fare should find it pleasing.GFT, Amazon Reviewer