Son of Flubber

(1963) Black and White, 100 minutes
Walt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Distribution Company
Story: Samuel W. Taylor ("A Situation of Gravity")
Screenplay: Don DaGradi, Bill Walsh
Music: George Bruns
Cinematography: Edward Colman
Produced by Ron Miller, Bill Walsh, Walt Disney
Directed by Robert Stevenson

With: Fred MacMurray (Professor Ned Brainard), Nancy Olson (Elizabeth 'Betsy' Brainard), Keenan Wynn (Alonzo P. Hawk), Tommy Kirk (Biff Hawk), Ed Wynn (A.J. Allen), Charlie Ruggles (Judge Murdock), Leon Ames (President Rufus Daggett), Ken Murray (Mr. Hurley), William Demarest (Mr. Hummel), Paul Lynde (Sportscaster), Elliott Reid (Prof. Shelby Ashton), Bob Sweeney (Mr. Harker), Joanna Moore (Desiree de la Roche), Edward Andrews (Defense Secretary), James Westerfield (Officer Hanson), Alan Carney (Referee), Stuart Erwin (Coach Wilson), Forrest Lewis (Officer Kelly), Alan Hewitt (Prosecutor), Jack Albertson (Mr. Barley), Eddie Ryder (Mr. Osborne), Harriet MacGibbon (Mrs. Edna Daggett), Beverly Wills (Mother in Commercial), Wally Boag (George, Father in Commercial), Wed Miller (Baby Walter in Commercial)With the success of THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR, Walt Disney decided to produce a sequel, THE SON OF FLUBBER. The screenplay was influenced by the popular “Danny Dunn” books by by Jay Williams/Raymond Abrashkin, with a story by Samuel W. Taylor called “A Situation of Gravity.”

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The film opens as Professor Ned Brainard (Fred MacMurray) and Biff Hawk (Tommy Kirk) fly to Washington, D.C., in Brainard’s Flying Model T to get paid for the Professor’s creation, “Flubber.” Unfortunately, at the meeting with top military and members of the scientific community, Brainard becomes upset, for Ned and Hawk are informed that their invention will have to be kept “top secret,” and that reimbursement will have to wait, as the Government decides how to best use the strange new invention. (The Chairman is played by Edward Andrews, and the secretary is played by Robert Shayne, best remembered as Police Inspector Henderson on “The Adventures Of Superman” TV show.)

The meeting breaks up as the Chairman and his committee leaves for their golf game. This does not bode well for Medfield College, who needs the money from Uncle Sam to pay off their debts to Alonzo Hawk, Biff's crooked loan-shark father. The school board and their trustees still owe a fortune to Hawk (played once again by Keenan Wynn) and if the debts are not repaid soon, Hawk will force the collage to close. He will tear the institution down and punish everyone for preventing him from obtaining the Flubber secret. The Dean of the College (Leon Ames) is shocked that Brainard was unable to get the money from the US government, and Hawk is confident that he will finally get even with Brainard, extracting his revenge in due course.

When Brainard returns home, he is met by a group of business execs. (The lead CEO is played by Ken Murray, a veteran vaudeville, radio and TV performer who was the host of “Ken Murray's Blackouts” and “The Ken Murray Show”). The CEO wants Brainard to sell his invention to his company for a fortune, so that they could create and market Flubber products. They bestow gifts and money to Betsy Brainard (Nancy Olsen), and the execs even show a promotional film that demonstrates what a “Flubberoleum” floor could do for the American Home (The narrator of the film is Joe Flynn, who would go onto fame in “Mchale's Navy,” while the poor schnook of a husband in the film is comic actor Wally Boag). The CEO is about to present a check for $1,000,000 to Brainards, until he finds out that the professor has sold the invention to the US Government.

Betsy is angry that her husband sold the invention to the government, who didn’t even pay him for his efforts. The couple is struggling financially, and soon the IRS sends a treasury agent (Bob Sweeney, best remembered as crooked circus vendor Harry Tupper in Walt Disney's TOBY TYLER) to take away the Brainard's remaining funds for non-payment of taxes. However, Ned is undaunted, because he has been working on another invention which ultilizes his Flubber process; a gas that can inflate items to larger size and also control the weather. He begins to experiment with his Flubber gas process. The experiments are not without their drawbacks. They create rain at inopportune times, and they also create loud, high-pitched sounds which break glass. Soon, items and structures made of glass are being totally destroyed, and flooding is reported all over the city. This becomes upsetting for the citizens of Medfield, especially for Hawk, because most of the items and buildings made of glass belong to him.

In the meantime, Betsy has invited Brainard's old romantic rival, Shelby Ashton and his wife, to dinner. Ned is angered that his spouse has invited Shelby to his home. He wants no part of Shelby and he asks his wife to cancel. Betsy disagrees, and wants the pair to reconcile. As soon as Shelby arrives, he once again tries to woo his wife, and makes snide remarks about his rival's inventions. After the couple leave for the night, Ned begins more work on his Flubber gas experiments. More damage is created and eventually, Hawk finds out that Brainard is responsible. He comes to the professor’s lab and warns him that if he doesn't repay him for the damages to his property and repay his debts to the college, Hawk will not only close down the school, but will sue both for a fortune and throw the professor into jail.

Ned begins to worry about his situation, which is not helped by the fact that Betsy has walked out on him, and is staying with Shelby and his wife. Seeing that he needs a diversion from his troubles, the professor's housekeeper (once again played by Belle Montrose Allen, Steve Allen's mother) insist that her employer go to the Medfield costume party. Seeing that he needs to get away from his troubles, he agrees and dresses in a fur coat, beat up fedora hat and takes alone his saxophone.

Ned arrives at the party to see Shelby pitching more woo with his wife and acting like a jerk. Ned entertains everyone with his music, which doesn't impress Betsy, who leaves the party. Seeing that he will have to best his rival with his "Flubber Gas," Ned and his dog Charlie take to the skies and they bounce upon Shelby's station wagon, which forces him to drive wildly thru the streets of town again and into the same police car driven by James Westerfield and his fellow officer. Again, they arrest Shelby, and Ned flies home. This brief bit of success does little to solve his problems. When he finds out that the school is having it's fall football playoffs, Ned decides to use his Flubber gas process to inflate his football uniform and play in the playoffs on Saturday night. Ned manages to win the game and frustrate the opposing team. (The coach of the rival team is played by Gordon Jones, and commentary for the game is done by Paul Lynde, years before his TV success as Uncle Arthur on “Bewitched”).

Unfortunately, Ned is spotted by Hawk and the police and is arrested. He is brought to trial and it looks like he will end up in jail, until Biff brings in a local game warden (another funny character played by Ed Wynn). The game warden tells the judge (Charlie Ruggles) and Hawk's lawyer (Alan Hewett) that the fallout from the Flubber gas has encouraged all of the local plants to grow, creating a bumper crop of foodstuffs for the whole state. The Governor and the College President reimburse Brainard for this new discovery, and with his debts and the College's debts fully repaid and with more monies coming in, Hawk is forced to drop his charges against the professor. Ned is free, and Betsy finally forgives him, as the couple climb into the Flubberized Model T and fly into the skies.

This sequel to THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR did very well and is as enjoyable as the original. Fred MacMurray is charming as the befuddled collage instructor and Nancy Olsen is funny as his put-upon wife. Keenan Wynn is hilarious as the film's villain, and performances from the supporting cast are equally endearing. The special effects even top the first film in their ingenuity. This film is miles ahead of the forgettable remakes starring Harry Anderson and Robin Williams.

Kevin S. Butler