ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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One of Disney's most fondly remembered films still delivers a good time. Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray) invents Flubber (what else would you call flying rubber?). He uses its incredible properties to power a flying Tin Lizzy and turn a mediocre basketball team into the "Harlem Globetrotters From Krypton".



One of the film's many treats is the sight of MacMurray driving his Tin Lizzy along the side of a building. And you'll love what he does to villain Keenan Wynn when he pastes a pair of Flubber patches to the souls of Wynn's shoes!



Also starring the immortal Tommy Kirk ("Mars Needs Women"). Directed by Robert Stevenson.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Son of Flubber, the sequel was also a fun movie.

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Certain concepts leaked into other Disney comedies, most particularly the character of Alonzo P. Hawkes played by Keenan Wynn in various Herbie, The Love Bug movies.
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Pow]

I recall buying Flubber at the time the film was released. Fun to play with, but I believe Disney had it withdrawn from the market when some kids ate it & became ill.

Bounced real good but when I applied it to the soles of my sneakers I could not bounce like they did in the movie.

I was crushed.

[Bud Brewster]

Pow, think back to that fond childhood memory and try to remember exactly how you applied the Flubber to the souls of your shoes.

Did you iron it on the way Fred did in the movie?

No?

Well, that explains why it didn't work! The heat would have energized the Flubber, and you'd have been bouncing back and forth over your house in no time.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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A very interest trivia item is listed on IMDB:

"Three generations of the Wynn family act in this film: Ed Wynn; his son Keenan Wynn; and Keenan Wynn's son, Ned Wynn."

And for fans of movie musicals, this item:

"The song "Medfield Fight Song" was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, the first of many they would write for Disney."

Neither of these video are the official trailer for the movie, but the first one is a promotional compilation and the second one is a nice clip of the Keenan Wynn bouncing scene.

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________ The Absent Minded Professor Promo


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__________ The Absent-Minded Professor clip


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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The basic principal behind the behavior of Flubber — when a ball of this material is dropped onto the floor or thrown against a wall — is to increase the kinetic energy and make the ball bounce back even more energetically each time it impacts a surface.

Every time a Flubber ball hits a surface, it adds energy (somehow) and increases its kinetic energy. This is a profound concept.

Science doesn't support the concept that the expenditure of energy could actually ADD energy to the recreation.

Unless . . . the expended energy could be reflected back from a parallel universe, in which energy was reflected back to its source in our own universe!

Think of this like two mirrors positioned face-to-face, in which a light source is focused and caused to bounce back and forth, over and over again.

The energy from the source isn't being lost in the process — its being amplified by the original source by repeatedly bounced back and forth within a closed system!

With that in mind, the events in this movie are consistent with the story!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

Bud, it seems like it would make a pretty good, clean power source. Depending on how it's manufactured.

David.

[Pow]

Some Flubber Fun Facts.

The character of Professor Ned Brainard (Fred MacMurray) was partially based upon professor emeritus of chemistry at Princeton University Hubert Alyea (1903~1996).

Alyea was known as "Dr. Boom" for the explosive demonstrations he'd perform.

Hubert was giving a demo at the International Science Pavilion of the Brussel's World Fair where Walt Disney was in attendance. Disney said that watching Hubert's demo gave him the early idea for "The Absent-minded Professor."

The film was also based upon the short story by Samuel W.Taylor, "A Situation of Gravity."

Walt Disney invited Alyea to California in order to meet with Fred MacMurray and perform a demo for him. MacMurray would use some of Hubert's mannerisms for the character of professor Ned Brainard.

Both of the Flubber films take place at the fictional Medfield College of Technology.

Medfield would again be used in the Disney films "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," in 1969, "Now You See Him, Now You Don't," in 1972, and "The Strongest Man in the World," in 1975.

It's a shame they did not have Fred MacMurray do a cameo in those later movies.

[Bud Brewster]

[Pow]

From IMDB:

At the height of the film's popularity, "Time" Magazine printed the "Disney" special effects department recipe for Flubber.

To one-pound of salt water taffy add one-heaping teaspoon of polyurethane foam, one cake crumbled yeast, mix till smooth, allow to rise. Pour into saucepan over one cup of cracked rice
with one cup of water. Add topping of molasses. Boil till lid lifts upwards and says "Quip."

This was the fifth most commercially successful movie at the U.S. box office in 1961.

Film debut of Belle Montrose. Belle was a Vaudville star and the mother of Steve Allen.

Tommy kirk was impressed how realistic looking Fred MacMurray's toupee was.

Fred was twenty years older than his leading lady, Nancy Olson (Betsy Carlisle.)

The toy version of Flubber was sold courtesy of "Disney" licensee Hassenfeld Brothers, Inc of Rhode Island.

The toy was discontinued due to health issues. It ruined clothes and rugs as it would melt into fabrics.

Sidebar: Yep, I had that toy Flubber when I was a kid after seeing the movie. Used to bounce it all around and it did bounce pretty good. Never ironed it onto my sneakers because I would have caught heck for that.
Though about putting it on my bike tires to see if I could fly with it like Professor Brainard did with his Model-T.

Sidebar: Besides being a successful actor that Fred was also one of the wealthiest gents in America?

Sidebar: Tommy Kirk also co-starred as Fred's son in the Disney movie "Bon Voyage." Tom admitted that by that time his ego was getting pretty out of hand. Fred finally got so fed up with Tom's antics during shooting that he really read him the riot act about his behavior.
Tommy said that he had it coming.

This film spawned a sequel: "The Son of Flubber." Walt Disney was not a fan of producing sequels to his films. However, there was so much unused left over source material from "The Absent-Minded Professor" that he gave the greenlight for a follow up movie.