Son of Flubber

Son of Flubber

1963 Theatrical Poster
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Produced by Walt Disney
Bill Walsh
Written by Don DaGradi
Bill Walsh
Starring Fred MacMurray
Nancy Olson
Keenan Wynn
Ed Wynn
Music by George Bruns
Cinematography Edward Colman
Edited by Cotton Warburton
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
Release dates
  • January 16, 1963 (1963-01-16)
Running time
 100 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $22,129,412[1]

Son of Flubber is the 1963 sequel to the Walt Disney children's movie comedy The Absent-Minded Professor (1961). Both films star Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber ("flying rubber") that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky. The film co-stars Nancy Olson and Keenan Wynn, and was directed by Robert Stevenson. Many of the cast members from The Absent Minded Professor also appear in this film, including Elliott Reid and Tommy Kirk. The film was originally black-and-white, a colorized version was released on VHS in 1997.

Plot

Professor Ned Brainard's discovery of Flubber has not quite brought him or his college the riches he thought. The Pentagon has declared his discovery to be top secret and the IRS has slapped him with a huge tax bill, even if he has yet to receive a cent. He thinks he may have found the solution in the form of "Flubbergas," (the "son" of Flubber) which can change the weather. His wife Betsy becomes fed up with all the stress and starts separating from him, and the professor's old rival Shelby starts trying to woo her again. Brainard's experiments continue, by making it rain inside people's houses, as well as in Shelby's car too while he's driving, which causes him to get into an accident with a police car. It also helps Medfield College's football team to win a game, but it also has one unfortunate side effect: It shatters glass, which eventually places Brainard on the lam. At home, his wife Betsy is jealous of the attention lavished on him by an old high school girlfriend. On trial, Ned's future seems hopeless, until a farmer shows the court that his crops grew extra large because of Ned's experiment, which the farmer names "Dry Rain", and the professor is acquitted, and he and Betsy are reunited.

Cast

Production notes

Plans to make a sequel to The Absent-Minded Professor were announced in November 1961.[2] According to Walt Disney's daughter, her father (who abhorred sequels) made the film only because there were unused gags from The Absent-Minded Professor.

The football game was filmed on a field constructed in a studio, with players suspended by wires.[3]

Medfield College, which was also the setting for the earlier film The Absent-Minded Professor, was later used for a trilogy of Disney's "Dexter Riley" films: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975), each starring Kurt Russell and Cesar Romero.

Reception

Son of Flubber was a critical and commercial success. It grossed $22,129,412[1] at the box office, earning $7.1 million in theatrical rentals,[4] making it the 7th highest grossing film of 1963. The film currently holds an 86% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Box Office Information for Son of Flubber. The Numbers. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  2. ↑ MacMurray Set in 'Professor' Sequel: Disney Film About King Arthur; Peter Finch and Wife Co-star Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 04 Nov 1961: B6.
  3. ↑ DISNEY IMPROVES ON FLYING TACKLE: Football Players Soar in the Air in 'Son of Flubber' By BOSLEY CROWTHER Special to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 05 May 1962: 18.
  4. ↑ "All-Time Top Grossers", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross.
  5. ↑ Film reviews for Son of Flubber. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 5, 2013.

External links

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