This Month

Walt Disney Studios entered the field of live-action features in the early 1950s, first with a series of historical adventures filmed in England (Treasure Island [1950], The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men [1952], The Sword and the Rose [1953], and Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue [1954]), followed by several adventure fantasies filmed in Hollywood, starting with the prestigious 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). The tone of Disney's live-action films changed following the surprising success of The Shaggy Dog (1959); rather than a rollicking adventure, here was a slapstick situation comedy involving a family setting and a strong fantasy element. Two of the stars of The Shaggy Dog, Fred MacMurray and Tommy Kirk, were recruited for the like-minded romp The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), which proved to be an even bigger box-office bonanza for Disney; it was imitated by that studio for years.

The story by Samuel W. Taylor was simple and well-suited for supporting a series of inventive special effects sequences. Professor Ned Brainard (Fred MacMurray) teaches science at small-town Medfield College. His experiments lead to comic explosions, both in his classroom and at his home garage laboratory. One particular explosion causes him to miss (for a third time!) his nuptials to fiancee Betsy Carlisle (Nancy Olson). Brainard's attentions are diverted by a new discovery: a gooey substance which defies gravity by bouncing ever higher with each impact. The Professor dubs the flying rubber substance "Flubber." When the greedy town tycoon Alonzo Hawk (Keenan Wynn) threatens to close down Medfield College, Prof. Brainard sets out to use Flubber to save the school. He discovers that a bit of the stuff applied to the sneakers of the school's basketball team does wonders for their scoring percentage! Other applications of the substance eventually lead the professor on a dangerous mission to the White House via his flying, Flubberized Model T automobile!

Songwriters Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman penned "The Medfield Fight Song," for The Absent-Minded Professor. It was the first song the Sherman brothers wrote for a Disney film; they would go on to compose numbers for many animated and live-action features at the studio, including The Parent Trap (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

The Absent-Minded Professor was nominated for three Oscars®: Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), Best Art Direction, and Best Special Effects. The Hustler (1961) took home the first two honors, and while the Disney film should have been a shoe-in for the Best Special Effects prize, that honor went instead to the only other nominee, The Guns of Navarone (1961).

The success of this film led to a direct sequel which reunited almost the entire cast and crew, although Son of Flubber (1963) proved to be even more lightweight than its predecessor. The formula for Disney's live-action success was hit upon, however, leading to a seemingly endless series of madcap science-situation comedies from the studio such as The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964), The Monkey's Uncle (1965), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), and many others. The setting of Medfield College itself was repeated in several of Disney's other live-action comedies. The Absent-Minded Professor has been remade twice – as a 1988 TV movie starring Harry Anderson, and a big-budget Robin Williams vehicle, Flubber (1997).

Producer: Walt Disney
Associate Producer: Bill Walsh Director: Robert Stevenson
Screenplay: Bill Walsh, story by Samuel W. Taylor
Cinematography: Edward Colman
Film Editing: Cotton Warburton
Art Direction: Carroll Clark
Set Decoration: Hal Gausman, Emile Kuri
Music: George Bruns
Special Effects: Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett, Robert A. Mattey, Joshua Meador
Cast: Fred MacMurray (Prof. Ned Brainard), Nancy Olson (Betsy Carlisle), Keenan Wynn (Alonzo P. Hawk), Tommy Kirk (Biff Hawk), Leon Ames (President Rufus Daggett), Edward Andrews (Defense Secretary), Ed Wynn (Fire Chief).
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by John M. Miller