Regular Price $9.98

Starring: Don Beddoe,  Frank Cady,  Candy Candido,  Chick Chandler,  Jimmy Conlin, 
Directed By: Various, 
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Release Date: 1950-03-01
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Format: Dolby,  DTS Surround Sound,  DVD-Video,  Full Screen,  Live,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about A Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert)

Product Description
No Description Available.
Genre: Christmas
Rating: NR
Release Date: 12-OCT-2004
Media Type: DVD

Amazon.com
Although it's now more of a curiosity and a quaint reminder of a time when movies possessed a quality of innocence that has long since vanished, The Great Rupert was something of a marvel when it was released in 1950. Produced by special-effects pioneer George Pal, who had delighted audiences of the 1940s with his innovative series of Puppetoon shorts, this charming comedy employs Pal's technique of animated puppetry to bring life to the title character--a lovable trained squirrel that comes to the rescue of a down-and-out family of vaudeville performers in the depths of the Great Depression.

Jimmy Durante leads the struggling clan, barely able to pay rent in a converted garage adjoining the home of a man who's been stockpiling lucrative investment dividends in the floorboard between the two homes. From his cubbyhole in the wall, resourceful Rupert has been tossing wads of $100 bills to Durante's wife, who thinks it's cash from heaven! Ol' Jimmy cracks wise with ancient puns and one-liners, making this a treat for Durante fans looking for squeaky-clean family entertainment. And once he's saved the day for all involved, furry-tailed Rupert goes back to his own vaudeville gig with his devoted owner, played by another veteran of vaudeville, Jimmy Conlin. It's all a bit too sweet by today's tarnished standards, but The Great Rupert stands as a testament to George Pal's optimistic spirit and creative imagination, which would later bless the productions of such films as The Time Machine and The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews for A Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert)

True to life squirrel behavior in a fun movie
We have a tame (uncaged) squirrel and a bagpiper in the family so when I saw this dvd in a used bookstore I had to buy it. I put it on today, intending to grab 5 minutes to see how they managed the puppetry. The next thing I knew my entire family was riveted and laughing out loud, so we dropped everything and watched the whole thing. It was much better than I'd have expected. It's a great story, and my son kept saying it was essentially the same tale as a favorite childhood book called The Sqouse about a half squirrel, half mouse.

THe behavior of the squirrel, especially when she (Rupert is actually played by a female) found the money, was dead on, except that she would have feathered her drey (nest) with the bills instead of tossing them away. Leaf sized paper and fabric is a favorite of our squirrel. Today I retrieved a chiffon scarf, a WW2 food ration book ( it was my MIL's) and some jewelry from our squirrel's drey.

We all found the characters interesting and more complex than found in most movies of the era, and even though some of the time their actions made little sense (the author was quite lazy when it came to moving the story along), this didn't detract from the overall film, because the whole premise was a bit goofy to begin with.

When the movie ended each of us named someone we want to share it with, and hours later we're still laughing at some of the antics.A Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert)

Cute oldie
We enjoyed the interaction between characters in this movie. It is one we can watch with the whole family. The unselfish person has the most in the end.A Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert)

Overpriced Rot
Really bad especially in color...save your money, unless you are a really diehard old movie fan. I do mean diehard. Get The Bishop's Wife instead with your moneyA Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert)

The Scrooge Reinvented
If you are looking for a movie to watch on Christmas day with your family, in addition to the well known Christmas classics of your collection, I would recommend this unknown movie starring Jimmy Durante. This is a heart warming story of a true Christmas spirit, much similar to Scrooge, involving the family of Mr. Amendola (Jimmy Durante), his wife Mrs. Amendola (Quinie Smith), and their only daughter Rosalinda (Terry Moore.) Jimmy Durante offers a brilliant performance as a faded vaudeville star who rents an apartment just before Christmas holidays during Great depression. With serious financial problem on one hand, on the other, they face the challenges of their penny pinching land lord, Mr. Dingle (Frank Orth) who is interested in collecting the rent money but not fix the apartment. He is a real Scrooge in person! But his wife Mrs. Dingle (Sara Haden) and their only son Peter Dingle (Tom Drake) are very compassionate and caring. One day during the prayer of Mrs. Dingle, she a finds large amount of cash ($100 bills) falling through the big hole on her roof. The family comes to believe that it is cash from heaven, a true Christmas miracle indeed! Actually this money belongs to Dingle who gets a check from his gold mine stock every week, and hides the cash in his attic which is innocently tossed by a squirrel named Rupert. Rupert belongs to the last resident of the apartment, Joe Mahoney (Jimmy Conklin) and The Great Rupert was his vaudeville act. This squirrel returns to the apartment when Joe releases him because he doesn't have a job and no money!

Mr. Amendola uses his suddenly found riches to help the community by starting various businesses and offer employment. Every one in town gets suspicious about his wealth including; local law enforcing authority, IRS, and FBI. In the meantime, when Dingle losses on his investment, the checks stop coming and his luck turns ugly. When his house burns in an accidental fire; he believes that all his hidden stash is lost. Then the kind hearted Amendola steps in to help him rebuild the house. At the same time the authorities find the case of Amendola's wealth is complex to solve and hard to prosecute, and they decide to leave him alone.

Tom Dingle who is in love with Rosalinda does everything to impress her, and to his disappointment she dates a wealthy song promoter named Chick Chandler (Phil Davis), but in reality she is in love with Peter Dingle, a penniless songwriter. The movie pitches the kind hearted souls of Amendola family and Dingle family together to teach the true spirit of Christmas to Mr. Dingle and the law enforcement agencies. The highlight of the movie also includes the special-effects of pioneer George Pal, and the technique of animated puppetry to bring life to the title character a lovable squirrel that rescues a family of vaudeville performers during the Christmas time.

Christmas Classics:
1. It's A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Set) (B/W & Color)
2. It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)
3. Scrooge (1935)
4. Scrooge
5. The Bishop's Wife
6. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Special Edition)
7. Home Alone
8. Home Alone 2 - Lost in New York
9. Miracle on 34 TH Street
10. Miracle on 34th StreetA Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert)

Good, but over rated
Based on other reviews I bought this dvd as I love Christmas-Family shows. It was good but I didn't think it was a classic. It was like a long tv episode for me as most of the footage is shot in the little apartment the family lives in. I really didn't like the commentary, Terry Moores comments about her wild life and her "shoulda coulda been top billing" kind of ruined the movie for me.A Christmas Wish (aka The Great Rupert)