ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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_______ Now You See Him, Now You Don't - clip


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This was the 2nd Disney film — and the funniest for me — concentrated around Medfield College and Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell) and his gang (the first one was The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes in 1969), and in which the young students — notably Dexter — are in the middle of some new, astounding scientific phenomenon and invention.

In this case, it's the funny take on the Invisible Man concept.

Dexter is working on this theory in the science lab, but naturally there's little or no chance of him actually producing any results. However, one night during a thunder storm (just like in the previous film), lightning strikes the building and affects his solution. Anything dipped in this solution instantly becomes invisible.

Dexter and his buddies quickly modify it into a spray gun which can make a person invisible with a couple of quick sprays.

NBC promo Now You See Him, Now You Don't 1978


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There follows a number of hilarious sight gags, especially on the golf course, where the eternally clueless Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn) becomes a golfing phenomenon thanks to an invisible Dexter. Higgins needed to impress a bigshot (Jim Backus) and this he certainly does.

Unfortunately, Dexter is unable to be around the next time that Higgins is on a golf course.

The plot revolves around Medfield's continuing financial problems, and they need to win the prize money in a science competition. Dexter's invisibility formula would certainly make that possible, but this also features the return of rich crook Arno (Cesar Romero) — mysteriously out of prison — where he had been sent at the end of the last film.

Arno soon steals the solution and uses it for a bank robbery. Besides invisible people, this also has an invisible car. The other hilarious scene is with Dexter's buddy Schuyler (Michael McGreevey), who is sprayed by a fake solution and thinks he is invisible when he's not!

Now You See Trivia: small early role for Ed Begley, Jr. as the one true science nerd who planned to use bumblebees in his science project. The next and last film was The Strongest Man in the World (1975).

Star Trek TOS actor alert: William Windom plays the school's professor. He was terrific as the doomed commodore Decker in the episode The Doomsday Machine.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Krel]

[Pow]

The exterior scenes for Medfield College were filmed on the Walt Disney lot.

How come Medfield is always so desperate for $$$. You would think that good ole' Professor Brainard's Flubber discovery would have created an enormous source of revenue for the college.

The green Volkswagen Beetle that is used by Schuyler are two re-purposed "Herbie" vehicles from the Love Bug movies.

One was a gutted car that was used when it was carried by Tang Wu's Chinese camp students.

The other was used for driving scenes.

[Bud Brewster]

[Pow]

Oh I saw "Son of Flubber" but I never bought the whole premise regarding Prof. Brainard's miraculous scientific breakthrough.

Even if the US government declared his Flubber as being a national security issue, they'd still be required to pony-up major $$$ to him. Government contracts, NASA, military and so forth would still owe him big bucks.

How the IRS got into the act I don't know. If the government has sole possession of the Flubber and the IRS is a part of the government, what's the problem. This a case of the government going after the government.

I realize it was all a plot point creating obstacles for Brainard in the sequel. But between the Flubber solid and Flubber gas, Brainard should have ended up wealthier than Bill Gates.

[Bud Brewster]

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You're absolutely right, Mike.

However, the whole bit about the government taking over Brainard's invention (while the IRS tries to collect taxes on money he hasn't been paid) is all part a running joke about how incompetent the government and the military are.

For example, the meetings in Washington with the three top brass from the Army, Air Force, and Navy are funny.

The naive Secretary of State thanks them for their admirable inter-branch cooperation — while the two generals and the admiral each quietly conspire to get control of Flubber as they sit at the conference table side-by-side wearing bogus smiles.

Of course, we all know how honest and trustworthy the government is, so these scenes are just pokin' fun at our True Blue Boys in Washington.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Gee....Are you trying to say that we can't trust the government?

The biggest lie is..."I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." Regardless of the party or affiliation it seems that they'll tell you what you want to hear...and then actually do whatever they feel like!l
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Have you ever scene that terrific Tom Cruise movie, Knight and Day (2010)?

Tom is a government agent on the run from rogue elements of this own agency, and he calmly tells heroine Cameron Diaz to beware of certain phrases if she's "asked" by "friendly" men in black suits to come along because they want to take her into "protective custody" at a "safe location".

Later, when Cameron ends up in hands of the government agents, they smile and promptly start spouting the very terms and phrases Tom warned her about!

That's a great movie.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Michael McGreevey's (Schuyler) memories of making this production.

"My favorite film of the Medfield College trilogy was Now You See Him, Now You Don't. I probably feel that way because it was the film that featured me the most and contained my all-time favorite scene (the demonstration where I think I'm invisible, but I'm not). I feel that everybody and everything improved from the first film because we were coming off a success and wanted to outdo ourselves. The writing was better, the direction sharper, the entire cast was more at ease and comfortable in their roles and with one another. All the characters were more defined and better realized than they were in Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. Everything just came together perfectly on this film and we had a blast making it. Even the crew had a good time on this film. I don't think I ever laughed so much during a production."

Walt Disney &, Recollections of the Disney Studios: Charles Tranberg.

[Bud Brewster]

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Well I'll be darned, look what I found on Archive.org!

I downloaded it and put it on WeTransfer. Get it soon if you want it, 'cause I delete older uploads from time to time.
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NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON'T (1972)] — Link is NOW active!

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The opening scenes are funny, and science lab scene (about seven minutes into the movie) is energetic and amusing.

I was especially impressed with the special effects in lab when lighting strikes the building, and animated blue electrical bolts jump around amidst the equipment.

It looks a lot like Josh Meador's work (a Disney animator) in Forbidden Planet, but I learned that Mr. Meador passed away in 1965, seven years before this movie was released.

The cast of this light heart comedy is impressive.

Cesar Romero is the villian of the piece, and he's pitted against Joe Flynn, Jim Backus, Cesar Romero, William Windom, Alan Hewitt (American's favorite blowhard), Edward Andrews (America's second favorite blowhard), and Bing Russell (Kurt's favorite daddy).
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As for the premise of the story, it's the same concept as the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2001). Here's how Wikipedia describes that series, in which the main character becomes invisible via the implantation of a special "Quicksilver gland" in his head.
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The gland allows Fawkes to secrete a light-bending substance called "Quicksilver" from his pores and follicles. The substance quickly coats his skin, hair, nails, clothes, and whatever he is carrying, and renders him invisible.
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This Disney movie has Kurt Russel concoct a liquid that does the same thing to any object which is coated with the solution. And it can we rinsed off quickly with water!

Frankly this makes much more sense than Claude Rains procedure, in which he bleached his skin and then . . . well, I can't remember the rest of the process, but I've never really bought the idea.

The only material that can be entirely transparent is a flat pane of glass. Any distortion in the glass will refract the light and warp the image which is viewed through it.

Claude Rains should have looked like he was made of glass, because his body would have distorted the light passing through it!

Admittedly the idea of "bending light around an object" is only possible for strong gravity sources like stars and black holes. But at least this movie doesn't involve making a human body totally colorless and perfectly transparent!

Anyway, the clever way that Kurt Russel makes himself and a friend invisible when they want to spy on the bad guy is with a large spray gun. They're both sprayed with the solution, and they vanish from sight.

The FX are well done, including a pair of tennis shoes worn by Kurt's friend which become visible when he steps in a puddle and washes off the solution!

The walking-shoes scene was a practical FX, but it doesn't quite look like shoes-on-strings walking across the room! Perhaps the shoes were heavily weighted to stabilize them, and the "walking" was filmed in slow motion to smooth out the gate.

In the proud tradition of The Absent Minded Professor and Son of Flubber, the athletic event which is humorously effected by the strange science in this one is agolf game. Joe Flynn (the dean of Medfield College) desperately needs to impress two money men (Jim Backus and Alan Hewitt) who can save the school from defaulting on a loan.

Unfortunately, poor Joe has only played "miniature golf", so his performance on the links is disastrous.

But an invisible Kurt comes to the rescue by helping Joe's golf balls archive miraculous distances! And Joe's putts defy the laws physics, while his opponents putts somehow end up in the sand traps!

I was amused by the fact that Kurt picked up a three-foot stick before becoming invisible, and then he used it to manipulate the ball on greens. We can actually see the way he tapped the ball gently to change its direction as it rolled off course, and then curved it around to finally go into the hole!

That was a remarkable nod to realism by the production crew — one that I doubt many viewers even noticed! (Other than lil' ole me . . . )

Gentlemen, as you can see, there is much to admire about this light-hearted Disney comedy if you're a science fiction fan and a movie enthusiast.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)