The AC Presents THE GREAT RUPERT

ABOUT THE FILM

Based on a story by Ted Allen and also published as the children’s book Willie the Squowse, this bizarre and heartwarming Christmas comedy stars Jimmy Durante as Louie Amendola, a struggling vaudeville performer. When Louie must abandon his best friend – a dancing squirrel named Rupert (animated by the legendary George Pal of Puppetoon fame in his first live action venture) – the talented rodent gains access to a wealthy man’s home. The man’s neighbors are a family of impoverished acrobats; when Rupert discovers a hidden stash of money in the rich man’s walls, he throws it away to make room for his bed, scattering it onto the acrobats, who believe their prayers have been answered by God. Co-starring Tom Drake and Terry Moore.

FORMAT: 35mm print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive