Flipper's New Adventure

RELEASED IN 1964 and directed by Leon Benson, "Flipper's New Adventure" has Luke Halpin returning as teenager Sandy who runs away to an island where he discovers three female castaways, a mother and two daughters (Helen Cherry, Francesca Annis & Pamela Franklin). Meanwhile there are three escaped convicts on the loose. Brian Kelly replaces Chuck Connors as the kid's father, Po.

As a family adventure/fantasy/animal flick, this sequel has even more "Yeah, right" moments than the first one, but I like it better because there's more human interest and sense of adventure. Luke was 16 during filming and Pamela 13. Their chemistry is real seeing as how Pamela was Luke's first girlfriend and he later traveled to England to see her, although it never morphed into anything permanent.

It's amusing to observe Sandy basically becoming a teenage Tarzan as he aids the three females: Penny (Franklin) secretly receives his help while humorously pretending to possess great survival skills to her mother & sister. The showdown with the three convicts in the last act is actually kinda thrilling for a kid's adventure.

The dolphin Mitzie played Flipper in the first movie whereas Suzy performs as Flipper in this one. Right before the film's release Luke confessed that Mitzie was more affectionate.

THE MOVIE RUNS 94 minutes and was shot in Bahamas and Key Biscayne & Miami, Florida. WRITER: Ivan Tors. ADDITIONAL CAST: Lloyd Battista plays the lead convict while Tom Helmore plays the Brit patriarch.

GRADE: B

For Flipper's New Adventure the writers at MGM came together and mixed the plots of The Admirable Crichton and The Desperate Hours and came up with a story that is cute and entertaining, but also for juveniles. I don't think any adults would buy it. A little bit of Bomba the Jungle Boy thrown in as well.

One phone call to his father who was studying to be a Park Ranger after giving up his career as a fisherman from the first Flipper movie might have eased Luke Halpin's concern for his pet. But he hears some folks from the Miami Seaquarium are going to take Flipper and so he runs away and finds a nice island off the Florida coast to live or at least until the Seaquarium folks go away.

Of course if Luke had made that phone call to Brian Kelly playing his father for the first time, he and Flipper would not have been around to help Tom Helmore's family who are stranded on the same island. He's been kidnapped for the use of his boat by three escaped convicts and they strand Helen Cherry and daughters Francesca Annis and Pamela Franklin on the island Luke took refuge on.

Here's where it gets really dumb. These three are fugitives being hunted by law enforcement and they hit upon the brilliant scheme of holding Helmore and family for a getaway insurance. So they go back to that island and take them all save Halpin whom they don't know about. Absolutely brilliant, these clowns would have killed Helmore and kept on going with that cabin cruiser of his in real life. No wonder a kid and a dolphin take them.

A bit unbelievable for adults, strictly for kids is Flipper's New Adventure.

(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

It is largely due to the participation of handsome Luke Halpin that this film drew my attention. Although Flipper the dolphin is well trained and does a good job it's also nice to see "Sandy Ricks" appear in a movie again.

Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin) is losing his Florida home and fears separation from his beloved Flipper. He decides to run away with the dolphin and finds refuge on an island. Only their isolation is pierced by three escaped convicts and a very dumb British family.

I can see Sandy taking down the convicts but they really can't have guns. The guns raise the danger level too high. It stretches reason beyond its limit and it contravenes its light family fun premise. Then there is the British family. Dad knows that these could be the escaped convicts and yet he goes right up to them. A reasonable man would radio the authorities and keep his distance. Once on the island, it gets even dumber. Here's the thing. The movie has to choose. It can be dumb or it can be dangerously thrilling. A Flipper movie should probably dial back the danger. It can survive being a silly family film.