"The Great Rupert" is a thoroughly ridiculous and silly film. I do NOT recommend you rush to see it. Yet, on the other hand, despite it being a rather trite film, there is a certain likability to it--mostly because the characters are so nice.

The film begins with a strange man teaching his squirrel (Rupert) to do an insanely impossible dance number. Today, it's very obvious that George Pal used his stop-motion skills to animate this squirrel in most of the scenes but back in the day, it must have been pretty cool seeing a mega-talented squirrel! But, no one seem impressed by this amazing act and the man and his squirrel are tossed out of their apartment because they can't pay the rent. The guy lets Rupert go and Rupert sneaks back into the apartment.

In the meantime, a family of actors moves into this apartment. There is no way they can afford the meager rent and their landlord isn't exactly an angel--so you assume they'll soon get tossed. But, when the lady of the house is praying for help, it soon arrives--in the form of cash that comes flying out of the ceiling. It seems that Rupert has found the landlord's hidden stash and he has decided to give it to the nice family. Naturally LOTS of complications arise--only to have everyone (even the landlord) live happily ever after thanks to Rupert.

A silly plot, I know. But Jimmy Durante (the dad) is sweet and so is his wife and daughter. In fact, everyone but the landlord seems very likable. And, because of this likability, the film works on a basic level. Deep? No way...but mildly amusing.

The Great Rupert besides being the first feature film of master Puppetooner George Pal is a pleasant, gentle, and innocuous family comedy about the innocent antics of a very smart squirrel and the changes he wreaks in a neighborhood. Ironically enough no one knows he's the responsible party right up to the highest levels of government.

Rupert who is an animated squirrel courtesy of George Pal is a trained rodent by animal trainer Jimmy Conlin, but who can't sell the act to agent Chick Chandler and because of that he's evicted for lack of rent payment by landlord Frank Orth.

As luck would have it another group of vaudevillians, the family Amendola which consists of Jimmy Durante, wife Queenie Smith and their daughter Terry Moore. Mainly because Orth's son develops big eyes for Terry, he rents them the place without a deposit nor hopes of getting one.

But Rupert returns to his nest in the roof of that house and he causes miser Orth's fortune to fall upon the Amendolas, it's where the old skinflint stores his loot because he doesn't trust banks. Remember we were not too far from the Depression when many banks failed.

I can't go any farther, but suffice it to say it all works out financially and romantically in the end. Along the way Jimmy Durante provides us with a couple of numbers in his unique style.

The film is timeless in its humor, but it does show the age of the fashions involved. It probably could be remade today, I can see Steve Martin in Jimmy Durante's part.

But not with the Schnozz.

Joe has a trained squirrel named Rupert but he can't find any work. Joe is kicked out of his apartment and he releases Rupert back into the park. Joe runs into Louie Amendola (Jimmy Durante) and his family. They take over his apartment. Rupert can't survive in the wild and he goes back to the apartment to live in the rafters. The landlord's son Pete Dingle (Tom Drake) falls immediately for Rosalinda Amendola (Terry Moore). Mr. Dingle starts getting payments from his investment and he stuffs the money in the wall. Rupert throws the money down to the apartment and the needy Amendolas think it's a gift from heaven.

The squirrel is fun. The stop motion is rudimentary but very charming. There are a couple of songs from the energetic Durante. I wonder if the movie needs to bring Joe into this. It would be funnier to have the squirrel do all this stuff. The little puppy love romance is cute. The story gets a bit rambling. I'm not sure bringing the cops, IRS and the FBI into the movie is the best comedy. The story about the money probably needs to be simplified a little.