The Great Rupert, is a 1950 comedy film family film, produced by George Pal, directed by Irving Pichel and starring Jimmy Durante, Tom Drake and Terry Moore (actress). 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".

Plot

The story revolves around a little animated squirrel who, with lots of charm, accidentally helps two economically distressed families overcome their obstacles.

Cast

• Jimmy Durante as Mr. Louie Amendola
• Terry Moore (actress) as Rosalinda Amendola
• Tom Drake as Peter 'Pete' Dingle
• Frank Orth as Mr. Frank Dingle
• Sara Haden as Mrs.Katie Dingle
• Queenie Smith as Mrs. Amendola
• Chick Chandler as Phil Davis
• Jimmy Conlin as Joe Mahoney
• Rupert, an animated squirrel
• Hugh Sanders as Mulligan
• Don Beddoe as Mr. Haggerty
• Candy Candido as Molineri - Florist
• Clancy Cooper as Police Lt. Saunders
• Harold Goodwin (American actor) as Callahan - F.B.I. Man
• Frank Cady as Mr. Taney - Tax Investigator

Notes

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 Film colorization special edition of the film, under the title A Christmas Wish. For that release, Terry Moore provided an audio commentary track.

See also

List of films in the public domain

Category:1950 films
Category:1950s comedy films
Category:American Christmas films
Category:Eagle-Lion Films films
Category:Films directed by Irving Pichel
Category:Fictional squirrels