The Misadventures of Merlin Jones

If you're looking for something clean, family friendly and funny, here it is. The Misadventures of Merlin Jones delights from beginning to end. In this classic Disney fare, Tommy Kirk plays Merlin, an eccentric college student at Medfield college who is interested in science, in this case, hypnosis.

Along the way, he and girlfriend Jennifer, payed by Annette Funicello, find themselves getting into all sorts of mischief. Included in the mischief is a chimp and a judge, who likes to write crime novels.

Between the judge writing crime novels, a mischievous chimp and an eccentric student who uses hypnosis, what more in a plot could you expect or ask for?

A great film for kids and adults alike that the whole family can enjoy.

Who wouldn't want to read the minds of everyone around you?!! Merlin Jones does this and more in this hysterical film! Annette sings the title song,but its lacking a bit in enthusiasm. It's a real 60's production,but it's great for kids!!

Given how horribly Tommy Kirk was treated and some of the horrible films he made after Walt Disney gave him the boot one might be inclined to say The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones is a classic. I'm not one of them, in fact one wonders how this became a hit looking at it today.

Kirk in the title role is a scientific genius with the fashion sense of one. He's conducting all kinds of wild experiments which even put his relationship to fellow student Annette Funicello at risk. Still she puts up with him only God knows why.

The film bisects neatly in two segments, one concerning Kirk being supercharged with mind reading ability which produces a wonderful day in court with Judge Leon Ames. Police chief Stu Erwin thinks he's found a new crime fighting tool and in fact it does work on one interrogation subject. The second part has Kirk conducting experiments on hypnosis with a chimpanzee and Judge Ames with another day in court for Kirk.

No one ever want wrong underestimating the taste of the American public and this rather witless film was a big hit and inspired another, The Monkey's Uncle.

A whole lot of talented people look rather silly here. I can't see how The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones would appeal to anyone over 9.

It's difficult to write one of the normal pithy little plot summaries I come up with. I have no firsthand knowledge, but The Misadventures of Merlin Jones smells suspiciously of two different television episodes (perhaps from The Wide World of Disney) cobbled together to create a feature length movie. In the first half, brainiac Merlin Jones accidentally develops the ability to read minds and almost immediately suspects the local judge of being a criminal mastermind. In the second half, Merlin uses hypnosis to force the same judge to actually commit a criminal act. None of it rises much above average as far as entertainment goes. I grew up on live action Disney movies like The Love Bug and The Snowball Express. The Misadventures of Merlin Jones pales in comparison. It's neither written as cleverly as it needs to be nor are Merlin's antics madcap enough to generate laughs. It's all safe (perhaps too safe) Disney fare.

Some of the supporting cast deserves mention. I always enjoy watching Leon Ames. Here, he does the most with what he's given to work with. Ames is easily the best actor in the bunch. I also got a kick out of seeing (and hearing) Dal McKennon. The name might not be overly familiar, but if you grew up watching cartoons in the 70s like I did, you'll definitely recognize the voice.

5/10

Reading about the history of this film, I discovered (as other reviewers pointed out) that this film was produced as a two-part production which was then stitched together and released theatrically. While this explains how disjointed it is, it really is two separate stories in one piece of media, as a viewer neither narrative is fully explored and feels unfinished.

These days, we're more likely to see one story cut into two feature-length films, so to see the opposite feels a bit jarring. There are plenty of films which feel like separate stories, such as Downsizing.

As for the two stories, I'm not sure 'misadventures' is the right word. The premise is classic Disney: what can go wrong when an inventor tries his whacky invention? The first half is enjoyable, where Merlin Jones exposes a court judge's life of crime. But the second half, which explores hypnotism, seems to lose the plot (so to speak).

It's interesting enough for fans of classic Disney, Tommy Kirk, and Annette Funicello, but for casual viewers, give it a miss.