![]() ![]() Back in 1931, kids acting in the movies weren’t even entitled to the money they made: the California Child Actor's Bill, which safeguards part of the money earned by a child star until they are of age, wouldn’t be passed until 1939. However, that doesn't mean that their rights have always been respected. And that’s where little Jackie Cooper’s problems started.Ĭhild actors have been a part of Hollywood ever since the early days of cinema. Thus, it is no wonder that its script required its actors to produce a few tears from time to time. Sure, Skippy is full of wonder and childlike shenanigans, but it is also quite sad. Skinner doesn’t initially see his son’s friendship with poorer kids with good eyes and the overall poverty of the United States in the aftermath of the Great Depression, and you have a movie that is certainly going to wring a few tears out of you. Nubbins ( Donald Haines).Īdd to the dead dog the fact that Dr. Skinner ( Willard Robertson), delivering a good beating to the mean Mr. Skippy ends with Sooky getting a new, licensed dog from her wealthier friend, and Skippy’s father, Dr. Sadly, the kids fail to get Sooky’s pet back, which, of course, leads to a lot of celluloid tears. The central plot of the film has the titular Skippy trying to help his friend Sooky ( Robert Coogan) retrieve his dog from a cruel neighbor that is threatening to kill the animal over a broken window. Cooper, that had already been making the rounds in Hollywood since he was a three-year-old boy, in the Silent Age, was then selected to play the role of a relatively well-off child that strikes up a friendship with a kid from the nearby shantytown. The movie was directed by Norman Taurog, who, at the time, was married to Jackie Cooper’s aunt. Based on the successful comic strips of the same name by Percy Crosby, Skippy was adapted to the screen by Joseph L.
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