Flipper

Flipper is a very old movie, released in 1963. Though I have always been fascinated by dolphins, and even worked as a dolphin researcher, I never saw the movie, put off by that silly "King of the Sea" song. The movie is much better than I expected. It was done before animatronics and CGI, yet the stunts were completely believable. I worry that they were not stunts, but actual animal cruelty done in the days before SPCA oversight.

The father, played by Chuck Connors, is authoritarian. He never asks what happened in his absence; he tells everyone. No one dares contradict him. He likes to grab his wife and kiss her unexpectedly and passionately, reminiscent of a Siamese fighting fish. I detested him, but he was a typical movie father for the era.

The hero is what I took to be a 10 year old boy from his height, later revealed in the dialogue to be 12, and played by a 15-year old actor, Luke Halpin. The boy, Sandy, is ridiculously docile by modern standards, and obsequiously does whatever father wants without complaint. Sandy is still every boy's hero, skilled, brave, outgoing, strong, handsome, respected by the community, trusted to run his own boat and fishing nets. Sandy has an erotic obsession with a male dolphin (played by a female dolphin to help tone down the obviousness of the mutual arousal). His parents pretend not to notice, pretending all that bumping and grinding is just cute.

There are a few things that don't make sense in the movie. For the first half of the movie, Sandy and an adoring younger girl whom he ignores are the only people his age in the vicinity. Then in one scene suddenly dozens of children appear, and sing that idiotic "King of the Sea" song then disappear again. It is just totally out of place. The song belongs in some animated short for toddlers or in a commercial to sell inflatable dolphin toys.

I was rather distressed by the "tricks" scene when they got Flipper to perform various fetch tricks, treating him as if he were a dog. Dolphins have bigger brains than we do, but you would never guess from that silly dog and pony show. They tossed an dachshund into the ocean with Flipper. To me the dog look panicked and could not get out of the enclosure, and tried climbing on Flipper's back to avoid drowning. This was all treated as great fun.

Sandy lives shirtless outdoors in the Florida sun on the ocean all day. Yet he never gets a sunburn or even a dark tan. Nobody ever reminds him to put on sun screen. I worried about the actor and whether making that film would have lead to skin cancer.

A "red plague" has hit the Florida Keys and fisherman Porter Ricks (Chuck Connors) and son Sandy (Luke Halpin) can't find fish to make a living. But Sandy saves a dolphin from dying and they became buddies. (I know I know--but this IS a kids film). Flipper (as the kid names him) leads them to a place with plenty of fish and saves Sandy from a killer shark (stop smirking!).

OK--the plot is ridiculous and the same shots are used a LOT but it's really hard to hate this film. The underwater photography is impressive and Flipper himself is so cute he's hard to resist. Despite the totally stupid plot I found myself grinning whenever Flipper did cute things like jump out of the water or "talk" to the kid. Also Connors is surprisingly good as a tough (but nice) father and Halpin is easily one of the most likable child actors I've ever seen. He's nice and friendly--he acts just like a kid would. I admit the title song (first played about an hour in) is hysterically bad but I sort of enjoyed it. This is a perfect kids movie--especially if they love animals. I know not everyone loves dolphins but I do and I found this silly movie quite enjoyable. I give it a 6.

A plague in the waters off the Florida Keys has left fisherman Chuck Connors and his son scrambling to make a living; luckily, a dolphin rescued by young Luke Halpin seems to understand their predicament and leads the boy to fresh fish. Rather dingily-produced underwater tale for kids has a thin plot (with echoes of "The Yearling" besides), but also a marvelous mammal at the center of the action. When Flipper is doing tricks for the locals--even interacting with a swimming dog--it's hard not to smile; otherwise, the relationship between the boy and his parents is so stiff (with lots of homilies and fearsome dialogue) that the picture drags whenever Flipper is off-screen. Followed by a 1964 sequel, "Flipper's New Adventure ", and a popular TV series. ** from ****

Set in Coral Key, a rustic island in the Florida Keys. The Florida Keys have been hit by hard times of late. First, a red plague kills off much of the fish in the area. And second, Hurricane Hazel unexpectedly changes course to hit the Keys. Regardless, the Ricks family formed by fisherman father Porter (Chuck Connors) , wife Martha (Kathleen Maguire), their preteen son Sandy (Luke Halpin) , and Sandy's pet pelican Pete, live in all its aspects by the sea, even during these hard times. When Sandy witnesses the accidental spearing of a dolphin, he, on his own, decides to find the dolphin to put it out of its misery. Upon finding the injured dolphin, Sandy, not having the heart to shoot him, decides instead to tow the dolphin home. Sandy is distraught when, having saved Flipper by pulling out a spear, his father insists the dolphin be released. A grateful Flipper, however, returns the favor when Sandy is threatened by Sharks. The wonderful story of a boy and his amazing underwater friend!.You'll have to see it to believe it!. It's Absolutely FIN-tastic!.The wonderful story of a boy and his dolphin pal...!.The Fabulous Dolphin !.

An adventure movie with an ecological angle, stars the famous dolphin and co-star Luke Halpin who seems to be genuinely fond of his dolphin friend , which will add to the realism of the thing youngsters. There're enjoyable ecological messages about the care of the environment , against the polluting the seas and responsibility for the animal and human life in Coral Key Park, Florida.

Wonderfully well captured in colour by cameraman Lamar Boren and underwater photography by Ricou Browning is really breathtaking. As well as attractive and catching score and song from Henry Vars. Well produced by Ivan Tors who was the notorious producer of numerous popular family friendly TV shows and movies in the 1950's and 60's including both Flipper movies and the TV series. The storyline is intelligent and director Clark has a deep feel for the Florida Keys locations. The motion picture was professionally directed by James B Clark . Filmmaker Clark was a craftsman who usually directed episodes for TV series , such as : Batman series , The High Chaparral , Lassie , The Monroe , Daniel Boone , Here comes the brides, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea , Firehouse , Loner , The Legend of Jesse James, and ocassionally for cinema , such as : One Foot in Hell, Misty , A Dog of Flanders , Villa ! , Sierra Baron , Under Fire . Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable . The picture will appeal to nature buffs and children films lovers. A film highly recommended for young children, great for five to 11-year-olds, if a bit a slog for their parents

It was followed by ¨Flipper and the pirates¨ 1964 , by Leon Benson with Luke Halpin, Pamela Franklyn, the second screen adventure of the dolphin that became a superstar of Sixties' television. A successful 1960s television series: ¨Flipper¨ (88 episodes, 1964-1967) with Brian Kelly, Luke Halpin as Sandy Ricks who did all his own stunts throughout the Flipper TV stories; it centers on 15-year-old son Sandy and 10-year-old Bud and, especially, on their pet dolphin Flipper. Flipper was played by five female dolphins. Remade in 1996 in an amiable revival: ¨Flipper¨ by Alan Shapiro with Elijah Wood, Paul Hogan, Jonathan Banks.

Porter Ricks and his young son Sandy are fishing off the Florida coast. They scramble home ahead of a big hurricane. After the storm, they go spearfishing. Sandy saves a dolphin which got accidentally speared. He brings it back to health and becomes his best friend.

The legacy of this film has grown murky over the years. It created the space for SeaWorld and other water parks. As a movie, the story has limited tension. It's a family picture and it doesn't get more family than watching the dog swim with the dolphin. They seem to have used all the wind machines to create the hurricane. There is a lot of swimming with the dolphin which would have amazed everybody back in the day. The underwater adventure is good cinema. All in all, it's a mixed bag.