Après lui, le déluge

Son of Flubber

Fred MacMurray returns to his famous role of a wacky, absent-minded professor who invents a strange substance that he calls "flubber." In this sequel (the strangely named "Son of"), he does little but jump through the same hoops.

Entertaining, but not fresh.

2.5/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

Perhaps it's just the vivid memories from my childhood, but this is a far underrated Disney film from the 60s. Is it moving? Not really. Is it groundbreaking? Not really. Is it the best Disney film ever made? Not even close. But something about this film entertains me even as an adult.

There are a few sequences in this film that are comedy gold. I laughed hysterically as a kid. But even now that I'm a grown man, I can't help but find these sequences still hilarious.

It's a really whacky film with whacky characters and whacky scenes. But you know what? It's also a unique film. It's a snapshot of 1960s Americana that's very, very special, in my opinion, and even better than the first installment The Absent Minded Professor.

There is no disguising that this is an obvious attempt on Disney to cash in on the success of "The Absent Minded Professor" made 2 years earlier. No one can fault them for that - however, there seems to be little originality in this version. You would think they would have made a greater attempt at new gags and originality. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

There is the same sports scene set-up. In AMP it was a basketball game. In SOF it is a football game. There is the same romantic rivalry between Brainard (Fred McMurray) and Professor Shelby Ashton (Elliott Reid), over Brainard's wife, Betsy (Nancy Olsen). They do throw in a 4th party in this film for good measure -Desiree de la Roche (Joanna Cook Moore) - as Brainard's old flame who has her sights set on him again. There is another prank on Professor Shelby while he is driving in his car (this time its filling with water from a Brainard created rain cloud inside the car). You still have Alonzo Hawks (Kennan Wynn) trying to destroy Medfield College by calling in their overdue loan. You have the same cops from the prior moving getting their new squad car destroyed again. So as you see, not a lot of originality here.

The worst scene in my opinion is the ending of the court room scene. The giant fruit and the marching band were way over the top. I did like the stunts on the football field, however. Some of the jumping and flying ball players looked very realistic. I also liked the closing shot of the satellites, the flying football, and earth in the background. Pretty good special effects.

It is interesting that McMurray was an accomplished saxophone player, so look for him playing the actual music during the Halloween party. Also, Paul Lynde makes his film debut in this movie. I liked seeing William Demarest (later to be Uncle Charley on "My Three Sons") in a small role that matches him up with McMurray. He doesn't begin "MTS" until 1965 which is 2 years after this film. Also, you may remember Joanna Cook Moore as the actress that played Andy's girlfriend Peg on "The Andy Griffith Show" for 4 episodes in 1962. Perhaps it helped her land this role. She has another claim to fame - she married Ryan O'Neal in 1963 and is the mother of Tatum O'Neal.

Overall, this sequel doesn't play quite as well as the first. It is still entertaining in places and has a host of noteworthy supporting players.

This is the sequel to "The Absent Minded Professor" [1961]. Slower, and more uneven. The "Absent Minded Professor" was mainly a one-joke affair; Fred MacMurray's fantastic invention "flubber", and by the time "Son of Flubber" came out, it had worn a bit thin. For instance, the SoF copied the AMP with a sports contest. In AMP it was the basketball game half-way through, but in SOF it was a football game as the grand finale [which shows you the tired plot line]. It does have its moments, though...watch for Paul Lynde as the sportscaster, as well as the father/son team of Ed and Keenan Wynn.

By the time Son of Flubber was released by Walt Disney in 1963, Fred MacMurray was firmly established in the third phase of his career as star of G-rated Disney films and television situation comedies. MacMurray was able to do this because of a unique clause he had written into his contract with CBS which produced the My Three Sons show that he starred in for a dozen or so years. All of MacMurray's scenes in all episodes were filmed at the beginning of the cycle so as to allow him to do those Disney films as well. It worked out great for him.

Disney took virtually the entire cast of The Absent Minded Professor and added several new faces as well. In the previous film, MacMurray revolutionizes rubber by making a substance that bounces higher with each bounce than lower. That film ends with MacMurray flying to Washington in his Model T (you read it right) to give flubber for the defense of the free world.

But Washington, DC red tape being what it is MacMurray and his new bride Nancy Olson aren't seeing any money any time soon. But not to worry, Fred's found a byproduct of flubber that he calls flubber gas. A lighter than air substance that really makes anything fly.

In the first film, MacMurray used his college's basketball team as a test for flubber. In Son of Flubber, flubber gas is tested during a football game with the same hilarious results. In fact more so because in this film Paul Lynde is the stressed and harried play by play announcer of the college football game. For me he's the highlight of the film.

In Son of Flubber, Disney gives us an entertaining and worthy successor to the Absent Minded Professor that after almost fifty years will still appeal to anyone not made of stone.