Masterful Cinema

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

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

This film is very good and oh so cute. Even though it was made around 1950 there is still almost a "TIMELESS FEEL" to it. It almost a Fairy Tale and in some ways it is that but this Durante movie is one of those films you can not believe you never heard of. In this film a down on their luck family act find themselves broke. AS luck would have it they know of a vacant apartment and they move in to it without paying anything. What they don't know is that a squirrel from the previous tenant still resides in the wall. He ends up saving this family and more.So many laugh out loud moments that you will lose track. This is a great film for everyone. Trust me you will laugh.

It's hard not to like Jimmy Durante even though he was Jimmy Durante in all his movie appearances - no matter how you disguise him. He was a great performer on stage, screen or TV and in whatever material was provided for him. In "Rupert The Great" he injects life into what is basically a one-joke movie. He, his wife and daughter are out-of-work circus tumblers looking for place to stay in the Big City. As luck would have it they come across a fellow performer who has lost his living quarters and releases his trained squirrel as he is 'unable to support the two of them'. Durante and family take over his digs, and the squirrel, who has snuck back unnoticed. The squirrel funnels money from the landlord's stash above to the family below. Several funny sequences ensue, as you can imagine.The squirrel has precious little screen time, and this would have made a great kid's picture with a better screenplay. But there is enough Durante to save the day and this old veteran gives it all he's got, which is considerable. It must have been a good 'B' movie in its day and is passable entertainment now. At 87 minutes, length is no problem and is over before it wears on the viewer.

A down on their luck family, the Amendolas, (Jimmie Durante, Queenie Smith, and Terry Moore) have been out of work for months since their "human pyramid" vaudeville act is no longer popular. They've no money but manage to rent, without prepaying a month's rent, a small, ramshackle, one room dwelling from Frank Dingle (Frank Orth) who is a tight, cynical man. The previous occupant, Joe Mahoney (Jimmie Conlin), is also a destitute vaudevillian who cant't get any bookings for his trained squirrel act (Rupery - Himself the Squirrel). Mahoney vacates the premises without paying back rent and has to leave Rupert in a near by park. It's Christmas time and although Mr. Amendolas maintains his optimism and high spirits, the future looks grim. But then Rupert returns to the premises and the fun begins "when money is sent from heaven." There is a budding romance, a change of heart by a life long curmudgeon, an underlying faith in the power and importance of generosity and a happy ending for all - even Rupert. A fantasy world indeed but a charming and uplifting one. Best of all is Jimmie Durante - as ever, highly entertaining and engaging. I particularly enjoy his idiosyncratic singing style, in this case, his rendition of "Jingle Bells." For its day, the animation is also good. This movie is a winner and one the whole family can enjoy.

If you're as old as I am, you remember Jimmy Durante as the lovable and classic vaudevillian, who maintained his popularity well into the 1970s (I particularly remember his appearance on Sonny & Cher's variety series in 1972).Of course, this movie doesn't give the Schnozzola the freedom to be as zany as he could be on television, but it is a nice way to remember Durante. It's a very pleasant family comedy about a trained squirrel who just happens to inadvertently help a family of down-on-their-luck vaudevillians get back on their feet. There's a little romance along the way, and their landlord -- a bit of a Scrooge -- is redeemed when he learns the true value of friendship.Yes, it's a bit hokey, but I actually mean that in a good way! It begins around Christmas, so it is often classed as a holiday movie, although the second half of the film takes place well after Christmas.Durante is vibrant. Terry Moore, a Durante's daughter and the love interest in the film is fine. Tom Drake, as the skinflint neighbor's son and Moore's beau is fine also...such a pleasant actor. The other supporting actors are fine, the only one of which you might really recognize is Sara Haden, who portrayed Mickey Rooney's aunt in most of the Andy Hardy films.This is probably not one for your DVD shelf, but it is worth watching at least once, simply for the joy of Durante!