Sooky (1931)

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Percy Crosby (story)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 December 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure

Plot Keywords:

Family

Cast

Jackie Cooper	...	Skippy Skinner
Robert Coogan	...	Sooky Wayne
Jackie Searl	...	Sidney Saunders
Willard Robertson	...	Mr. Skinner
Enid Bennett	...	Mrs. Skinner
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Mrs. Wayne
Guy Oliver	...	Mr. Moggs
Harry Beresford	...	Mr. Willoughby
Gertrude Sutton	...	Hilda
Oscar Apfel	...	Krausmyer
Tom Wilson	...	Officer Duncan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leigh Allen	...	Mr. Saunders

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Movie Connections:

Follows Skippy (1931)

Sooky and Skippy

"Looky, looky, looky, here comes Sooky ....as played by Robert Coogan, Jackie's kid brother, appearing in another, Jackie Cooper movie again."

SOOKY (Paramount, 1931), directed by Norman Taurog, reuniting most of the cast members (Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Willard Robertson, Enid Bennett, Jackie Searle and Helen Jerome-Eddy) from Percy Crosby's comic strip characters in SKIPPY (Paramount, 1931), an immediate sequel about the friendship between two little boys living on opposite sides of the railroad tracks, is another good outing. Jackie Cooper and Robert Coogan reprise their original roles as well as their wardrobes ("Skippy" in short pants, hat, large coat, white shirt with polka-dot tie, and Sooky with his oversized dark striped holey sweater, large cap which covers most of his straight hair bangs, and knee-high pants). As before, Sooky frequently addresses his pal with the catch phrase, "Hi, ya, Skip!" or "Okay (pause), Skip!" as well as nervously jumping up and down whenever he gets happily excited.

In this second (and final) installment, based on Percy Crosby's story, "Dear Sooky," the plot begins with the same premise as the previous film. It is 6 A.M. where most of the residents in the small town are sleeping. A morning newspaper is dropped on the front porch, with the headlines reading about rival candidates Herbert Skinner and Phillip Saunders running for mayor. Next scene finds Doctor Skinner (Willard Robertson) practicing his upcoming speech while in his sleep only to be awaken by a ringing alarm clock he mistakes for a telephone call. It is soon realized that it was his son, Skippy (Jackie Cooper) who not only set off the alarm clock to go off at 6 a.m., but several others as well in order to wake up real early and blow his bugle. As usual in most family matters, it is the father who slowly loses his patience with his son while the mother, Ellen Skinner (Enid Bennett) is more tolerant and understanding. Skippy, who prefers being dirty to taking a morning shower, pretends to be washing himself while the water in heard running in the background until Skippy notices his father standing right behind him. After breakfast, Skippy goes over to the poor section of town called Shantytown to spend the day with his best pal, Sooky (Robert Coogan). Skippy begins to show come concern over Skippy's mother (Helen Jerome-Eddy), who's been having some occasional fainting spells lately. As for Sooky, this time he wants become a member of the Boomboys, and to wear a uniform like a soldier. But all that's keeping him from joining the Boomboys military club is the extremely unlikeable leader, Sidney Saunders (Jackie Searle). He'll allow Skippy to join but won't have anything to do with Sooky because of his poor upbringing. After Sidney finds Sooky in a local grocery store ordering day-old bread and some cat meat, Sidney sarcastically teases him openingly in saying, "He has no cat. Sooky eats cat meat. He's so poor that he HAS to eat cat meat!" Of course with all of Sidney's conniving does Skippy get to step in Sooky's defense. (Good for him!). Skippy, a true friend as he is, wanting Sooky to be an accepted member of the Boomboys, agrees in helping Sidney campaign for his father, unaware that by marching in the parade carrying a sign which reads to vote for Phillip Saunders (Leigh Allen) does Skippy realize that he is amongst the crowd listening to his own father's electorial speech which makes Mr. Skinner the laughing stock. After some other amusing misadventures between Skippy and Sooky, such as Sooky trying to obtain a kitten for a home pet so not to be teased by Sidney, the story takes a dramatic turn when Skippy and Sooky become separated, with Sooky coming over to Skippy's house where he explains the situation during the campaign speech to Mr. Skinner while Skippy finds himself at Sooky's home where he comforts his pal's mother before she slowly dies. The duration of the story centers upon what's is to become of Sooky.

Featured in the supporting cast are Harry Beresford as Mr. Willoughby, Skippy's neighborhood friend who loses his home and taken to a shelter; Gertrude Sutton as Hilda; Guy Oliver as Mr. Moggs; and George "Gabby" Hayes, among others. Mitzi Green, who appeared as Sidney's sister in SKIPPY, is noticeably missing this time out.

Not as well known or revived as SKIPPY, SOOKY, which capitalizes on the success its predecessor, is well characterized by the cast, especially those two principal players (Cooper and Coogan), acting out their roles in a carefully constructed story, compliments of Joseph Mankiewicz, Norman McLeod and Sam Mintz. Director Norman Taurog presents Skippy and Sooky as the modernized carnation to Mark Twain's beloved boy characters of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, going as far as showcasing these two young boys from different backgrounds, one poor and the other middle class, through their daily activities of innocent fun, but minus the painting of a wooden fence and travels along the Mississippi. As with Tom and Hunk, there is also an unlikeable character named Sidney (no different from Jackie Searle's characterization of Sidney Sawyer as performed by him in both TOM SAWYER (1930)and HUCKLEBERRY FINN (1931)), indicating that even children could be "little devils" and instigators, as portrayed in many films by Jackie Searle. Taurog brings out the good as well as the bad side in the likes of children, and as in SKIPPY, "pulls no punches," with the exception of Skippy having Sidney get to the full feel of his fist placed on his jaw. Once again, Jackie Cooper shoots off his waterworks of tears with another sad situation pertaining to death, closing with a positive outlook. In fact, the story leaves open for another sequel, which never happens. The adults play an important part in this story as well, bringing forth Willard Robertson as Skippy's father who not only has to keep his standing as the husband and father, but take the time to show that a father can be the one to come to for comfort and understanding, in spite of times when the father can't find time to be with his son in his time of need. Helen Jerome Eddy's performance as Sooky's ill-fated mother also gives a commendable performance.

By this time of this release, Jackie Cooper was at the height of his career and had recently scored success at MGM, where he remained for the next few years, after being cast opposite Wallace Beery in THE CHAMP (1931). As for Bobby Coogan, Jackie Coogan's look-alike younger brother, he never achieved the popularity Jackie did in the 1920s, and after a couple of more films, drifted to obscurity, returning occasionally in second features after reaching adulthood. SKIPPY would never referred to again until ten years later when the now adult Jackie Cooper, who returned to Paramount by 1939, appeared in a Hollywood-based comedy titled GLAMOUR BOY (1941) in which he played a former child star looking for a youngster to appear in a remake of his movie hit, SKIPPY. Clips from the original SKIPPY were shown. But a remake or a new movie series never materialized.

Both SKIPPY and SOOKY, which sporatically played on commercial television back in the early 1960s (depending on which state, city or town had the license to show it), were each resurrected briefly on the USA cable network back in the 1980s, making its final showing on that network on a double bill during the late night hours in 1988. Frequent commercial breaks did guarantee cut scenes to fit in this 80 minute movie into a 90 minute time slot. While not in the same league as SKIPPY, which also brought forth Warner Brothers' own childrens tale of PENROD AND SAM featuring Leon Janney and Junior Coughlan, also in 1931, SOOKY is a pleasant, moderately entertaining, warm and human comedy drama that should make recommended viewing for kids and adults alike.