Son of Flubber

Son of Flubber
File:Son of Flubber - 1963 - Poster.png 1963 Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Robert Stevenson
Produced by	Walt Disney
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	Walt Disney Productions
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

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

• Fred MacMurray as Professor Ned Brainard
• Nancy Olson as Betsy Carlisle
• Keenan Wynn as Alonzo P. Hawk
• Ed Wynn as A. J. Allen
• Bob Sweeney as Mr. Harker
• Paul Lynde as the sportscaster
• Tommy Kirk as Biff Hawk
• Ginny Tyler as Baby Walter (voice)
• Joe Flynn as TV Announcer Rex Williams (uncredited)
• Clegg Hoyt as George (silent uncredited part with Paul Lynde)

Production notes

Plans to make a sequel to The Absent-Minded Professor were announced in November 1961.

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

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 at the box office, earning $7.1 million in theatrical rentals, making it the 7th highest grossing film of 1963. The film currently holds an 86% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.

See also

• List of American films of 1963

External links

• Official website
• Son of Flubber at IMDb
• Son of Flubber at the TCM Movie Database
• Son of Flubber at AllMovie