| The Under-Pup | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Richard Wallace |
| Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
| Written by | Grover Jones (screenplay) I. A. R. Wylie (story) |
| Starring | Gloria Jean Robert Cummings |
| Music by | Charles Previn |
| Cinematography | Hal Mohr |
| Editing by | Frank Gross |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 1, 1939 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Under-Pup is the 1939 feature film that introduced soprano singing star Gloria Jean to the screen. The story, adapted by Grover Jones from a magazine story by Australian author I. A. R. Wylie, casts Gloria as a streetwise girl who is sent to a summer camp for wealthy girls. She is at first bullied by the other girls, but she stands up for herself and wins everyone over, including the girl who had bullied her the most, to earn a place in their group, "The Purple Order of Penguins".
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.
The tune for "The March of the Penguins", the theme song of the group, comes from the third segment of John Philip Sousa's "High School Cadets" march.
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.[1]