Flipper's New Adventure

Filmed in colour in Florida and the Bahamas by veteran cinematographer Lamar Boren, despite being a sequel to that most American of kidflicks, 'Flipper's New Adventure' largely has a cast of Britons unfamiliar to Hollywood.

Of the damsels in distress, the nice sensible one is played by Pamela Franklin, while Francesca Annis draws the booby prize in the form of the thankless role of the whiny elder sibling.

To the cineliterate the biggest surprise comes in the presence as the girls' father of Tom Helmore, who brings to the proceedings all the dubious connotations you'd expect from the actor best known as the two-timing Gavin Elster in 'Vertigo'.

Luke Halpin (as Sandy Ricks) is home alone when he's informed said home is going to be taken away by the state of Florida; apparently, the state has let the land to the Ricks family, and they need it back. Mr. Halpin's father Brian Kelly (as Porter Ricks) is away, and mother Martha has passed away since the original "Flipper" (1963). Halpin is majorly concerned, because losing the home means losing the shore where he lives with pet dolphin Flipper.

Halpin and Flipper run away from home; incredibly, they find an isolated island nearby, and take up residence. AND, wouldn't you know it? - kidnappers are also nearby; they snag a British father, and let his wife Helen Perry (as Julia) and daughters Pamela Franklin (as Penny) & Francesca Annis (as Gwen) drift to Halpin's island paradise. Ms. Franklin performs well as Halpin's emerging co-star. Halpin's performance is touching; he and Flipper carry the film.

With all of the newness and nuances gone, this sequel is certainly not up to the original. The story is so wildly implausible, Flipper should have shouted, "RE-WRITE!" Just for starters, Ms. Perry and "Gwen" must have very poor vision, hearing, and critical thinking skills not to figure out about Halpin. And, the songs are awfully lush. The ending holds some excitement, if you last. Halpin is still cute - older by a few years, due to the first "Flipper" being on the shelf for a few years. Flipper is still cute, too; and, TV father Brian Kelly is on board, replacing Chuck Connors as father Ricks.

**** Flipper's New Adventure (6/24/64) Leon Benson ~ Luke Halpin, Pamela Franklin, Brian Kelly

(Note: This comment has been re-written as of July 28th, 2020)

If anyone thinks this film is bad, they're wrong. Sure, it might not stack up to the original, or the TV series, but i'd rather go pop the 1990 VHS restored version into my VCR, or the DVD re-release and waste 2 hours on a movie I can almost recite line-by-line than any other dolphin movie available now. This, and the original 1963 film turned me & many other young men & women into Aquaphiles, people who love being in the water, swimming with fish and other creatures, and some have become marine biologists and learned more about the oceans and discovered new things.

Teenaged Sandy Ricks spends a lot of his time at home, alone with only his dolphin (Bud didn't exist in the movies yet) the 2 are inseparable, and this is tested when he has to leave home for a place with his aunt, leaving flipper behind because the land they live on is government property and the government wants it back. To avoid being separated, Sandy escapes with flipper to a deserted island. When he arrives at this island, it is his home. but little does he know that a British mother and her 2 children will be dumped off at this island by 3 murderers who recently escaped Prison. It will take all of his and flipper's wits and abilities to help the helpless family and to thwart the killers' plans.

Yeah, it's a hackplot meant for kids, simple & predictable, but films with friendships between man & animal never go out of style. The presentation that makes it so good. A good chunk of the movie takes place underwater, an already beautiful place to bring a camera, with Henry Vars's beautiful score giving the film it's tropical flavor. Plus, Flipper always drags the audience out of a sour moment. If something goes wrong for the characters, Flipper always swims in and lends a fin, sometimes with a little bit of humor.

It's highly unlikely we'll ever see a movie like this ever again due to laws prohibiting people from interacting with wild animals in the united states. Plus, it's sad to think the dolphin who played Flipper ended her life prematurely in her trainer's arms.

Another cool thing to comment on is that there is Advertising inside of the movie. How is that? the characters talk about the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty" Which is a real MGM film. they also Talk about "Showdown in Samoa" but that's not a real film, perhaps it was a project MGM was working on, but abandoned halfway through.

For me, this will always be the ultimate summertime film. Even the original box art said that "it's the next best thing to a day at the beach."

9/10

Silly, kids movie that is not even close to realistic. A young runaway boy trying to save his dolphin friend witnesses pirates stealing a yacht off the coast of Florida and forcing a mother and her two children in a small boat. The pirates kidnap the father and sail off while the women row to a small, nearby island. Trying to remain hidden, has the dolphin assist the women to the island. More concerned about saving his dolphin than reporting the crime. The young boy tries to help the 3 women without their knowledge. Later the pirates return to the island, kidnap the women and try to shoot the dolphin. The premise of the movie is beyond ignorant.

I only saw about the last 45 minutes of this movie or thereabouts. I only came to the review page to express my wonderment that the great British actress, Francesca Annis, played in this at the age of 19! I didn't even recognize her as the sister Gwen, until I caught a glance at the credits. I had no idea she started out so young, which I learned by looking at her page. And Pamela Franklin! it just seems like she pops up in everything during this time period. Her resume is not that packed, but the movies she was in were so high profile and also starred some of the great stars of the screen. Bette Davis...Deborah Kerr...Maggie Smith... Michael Redgrave...William Holden...Marlon Brando...Dirk Bogarde. She was also in one of my favorite Disney movies, The Horse Without a Head. As she got older she guest-starred in many American TV series back in the day when there were only 3 channels so she would come to my attention time after time. What a memorable presence she was in everything! A great actress indeed. If she ever writes an autobiography, I'd definitely read it. I think she's is long retired now from the antiquarian book business, so that is probably not on the horizon.