Five Little Peppers film series is a collection of 4 movies, loosely based on the Five Little Pepper novel series written by Margaret Sidney between 1881 and 1916. The movies were released in 1939 and 1940, and together would have been the family sitcom of it’s time, but instead were released to the silver screen since the television technology was still in it’s infancy.
The Pepper clan consists of widowed Mrs Pepper and her 5 children, Polly (who becomes the housewife when her mother is working), Ben (who helps as much as he can), Joey (Played by Tommie Bond from Our Gang aka Little Rascals, is playful and mischievous), Davie (kind and quiet) and Phronsie the littlest, too sweet and adorable for words.) The Peppers are terribly poor, but happy and loving.
Mr. Pepper died in a collapsed mine to which he owned half the shares. He wills those shares to his eldest daughter hoping that if she waits until she is of age before selling, by then the mine might be productive and the shares would be worth more. John Pepper was partner with J.H King junior, who also passed during the fateful cave-in that killed the Pepper family patriarch. Leaving an orphaned son, Jasper King to be raised by his father JH King Sr, a man driven by business acquisition, who rarely acknowledges the boy. JH King Sr. wants to acquire the mine shares and encourages his grandson to develop his friendship with the Peppers. A quarantine forces them to stay together and the loving family eventually wins his heart.
The movies in order are:
1939 – Five Little Peppers and How They Grew – The children meet the benefactor
1940 – Five Little Peppers at Home – The children get trapped in a mine
1940 – Out West with the Peppers – The children experience a lumber camp
1940 – Five Little Peppers in Trouble – The children are sent to a private snobbish school
