The Under-Pup
| The Under-Pup | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Wallace |
| Written by | Grover Jones (screenplay) I. A. R. Wylie (story) |
| Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
| Starring | Gloria Jean Robert Cummings |
| Cinematography | Hal Mohr |
| Edited by | Frank Gross |
| Music by | Charles Previn |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | over $465,000[1] |
The Under-Pup is a 1939 American feature film by Richard Wallace that introduced soprano singing star Gloria Jean to the screen.[2]
Plot
[edit]Pip-Emma Binns is a New York tomboy with 11 uncles, who wear uniforms and teach her the professional tricks of their trades. Pip-Emma is invited -- as a charity case -- to a summer camp for wealthy girls. The snobby "Purple Order of Penguins" resent Pip-Emma's brash behavior, plain-spoken opinions, and streetwise skills learned from her uncles, and she is bullied by the other girls. Her only girlfriend is Janet Cooper, a poor little rich girl whose parents are on the verge of divorce. Pip-Emma calls upon her beloved grandfather to visit Janet's parents and talk some sense into them. Camp counselor Priscilla Adams and her football-playing suitor Dennis Lane carry on a reluctant romance while trying to sort out Pip-Emma's problems. Camp caretaker Tolio befriends Pip-Emma while his two bratty sons pester her. Pip-Emma stands up for herself and wins everyone over, including the girl who had bullied her the most.
Cast
[edit]- Gloria Jean - Pip-Emma Binns
- Robert Cummings - Dennis Lane
- Nan Grey - Priscilla Adams
- C. Aubrey Smith - Grandpa
- Beulah Bondi - Miss Thornton
- Virginia Weidler - Janet Cooper
- Margaret Lindsay - Mrs. Cooper
- Raymond Walburn - Mr. Layton
- Ann Gillis - Letty Lou
- Paul Cavanagh - Mr. Franklin Cooper
- Billy Gilbert - Tolio
- Shirley Mills - Cecilia Layton
- Bill Lenhart and Kenneth Brown as Tolio's sons
- Frank Jenks as Uncle Dan
- Doris Lloyd - Mrs. Binns
- Dickie Moore - Jerry Binns
- Ernest Truex - George Binns
- Selmer Jackson as Mrs. Cooper's attorney
- Harry Hayden as Mr. Cooper's attorney
- Samuel S. Hinds as Dr. McKay
- Cecil Kellaway as Mr. Wendelhares
- Jean Porter as Penguin member
Production
[edit]The screenplay by Grover Jones was based on a story by I.A.R. Wylie, which was published in 1938.[3]
Joe Pasternak held extensive auditions to find the lead throughout 1938, during which he discovered Gloria Jean. She later recalled:
There were hundreds of beautiful little girls there [at the audition]. I had been grabbed out of the sandbox, and I didn’t look so nice. I had pigtails and my teeth were a little crooked. But that’s what Joe liked.... I said, ‘I can’t sing, the piano’s out of tune.’ My mother almost shot me. Joe said, ‘I like this kid. Let’s get the piano tuned and bring her back tomorrow.’ I got all kinds of lectures on the way home about being a little more subdued. When I sang the next day, I knew it went very well.[4]
Filming took place from May to June 1939.[5] It was originally budgeted at $445,000.[6]
Robert Cummings had just appeared in Three Smart Girls Grow Up and been signed to a long-term contract with Universal.[7] Although The Under-Pup was his first above-the-title lead, he was overshadowed by screen newcomer Gloria Jean, on whom the publicity was focused.
Reception
[edit]The film had its premiere in Gloria Jean's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania on Thursday, August 24, 1939.[8][9] As Gloria Jean's biographers recounted, "In a surprise move that amazed both the studio publicity men and the national press corps, the local coal miners declared a strike, and shut down the community's major industry for the day in Gloria's honor."[10]
Variety called the film "surefire entertainment" and singled out Gloria Jean: "Typical American girl of her age, youngster has warm poise, winsome personality, and a screen presence that is remarkable considering this is the first time she faced the cameras."[11]
The film was well received, and was followed by an unofficial sequel, A Little Bit of Heaven (1940). Many of the cast members from The Under-Pup appear in the second film, but with different character names.
In 1946, Hollywood studios joined forces to create a special film library of feature films, intended specifically for children's matinées. All the studios contributed a few of their greatest hits with juvenile appeal; Universal supplied The Under-Pup.[12]
Radio adaptation
[edit]The film script was adapted for radio and was presented on Lux Radio Theater on April 15, 1940, with Gloria Jean and Nan Grey reprising their film roles.[13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ "United States Court of Appeals For the Ninth Circuit - Universal vs Cummings". Internet Archive. p. 93.
- ^ "The Under-Pup". FilmAffinity. filmaffinity.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ^ Complete text of story at Project Gutenberg
- ^ Biederman, Patricia Ward (30 September 1985). "No Regrets : Gloria Jean Savors Days of Child Stardom". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "United States Court of Appeals For the Ninth Circuit - Cummings vs Universal 1944". Internet Archive. p. 565.
- ^ Dick, Bernard K. (2015). City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. p. 121. ISBN 9780813158891.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (29 October 2024). "Movie Star Cold Streaks: Robert Cummings". Filmink. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ SCRANTON'S DAY OF GLORIA By EDWARD J. EUSTACE. New York Times 3 Sep 1939: X4.
- ^ "U plays Santa Claus in a big way". Variety. August 1939.
- ^ MacGillivray, Scott and MacGillivray, Jan. Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven, iUniverse, 2005, p. 23. ISBN 978-0-595-37080-1
- ^ "The Under Pup". Variety. 30 August 1939. p. 14.
- ^ Motion Picture Herald, "Aim 28 Reissues at Juvenile Trade", Sept. 14, 1946, p. 23.
- ^ "Lux Radio Theatre Log".
- ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 38 (3): 32–39. Summer 2012.