Rupert was the name given to the mannequins - dummy paratroopers - that were dropped by parachute from allied planes carrying real paratroopers to throw off and confuse the Nazi defenders as to where the real drops were happening. This prop Rupert - roughly 2.5 feet tall - was hyper-detailed, right down to the knife on his leg, the patches on his shoulder and the laces of his jump boots. But this was just for show. The real Ruperts were nothing more than burlap sacks that were vaguely human in shape...that's all they needed to be when descending by parachute from the night skies. A real Rupert can be seen here. When you look at the real one, you can see why Hollywood used the Rupert they did since it would be hard to pass burlap Rupert off on the movie audience.
