Wednesday, April 22, 2020

SON OF FLUBBER - "Flub Away The Flab" (1963)

Tonight's Weird Wednesday feature is the classic Disney flick from 1963, "Son Of Flubber."

It had been a long time since I first saw "Son Of Flubber," so there were a few things that surprised me, but overall, it's hard not to feel this was one of Disney's weaker 60's offerings.

Fred MacMurray had a good run at Disney starting with "The Shaggy Dog," then "The Absent Minded Professor, and then "Son Of Flubber," before his giant  non-Disney TV hit "My Three Sons," which was on for twelve years and 380 episodes.

After the secrets of Flubber were revealed in "The Absent Minded Professor," everybody wants to get their hands on it. The military is too busy to pay the Professor at the moment and is seen here going into action, because they have got some important stuff to do.

All the corporate suits want to market Flubber and are willing to give the Professor one million dollars just to start.

The Professor's wife Betsy just couldn't be any happier. Betsy is played by Nancy Olson, and she was also in "The Absent Minded Professor."

Betsy's going to be real sad and disappointed when the Professor doesn't accept the check because he's selling his secrets to the Military, but they just haven't got around to paying him yet.
It's a pretty big poke at capitalistic greed, and also a totally dysfunctional government!

My favorite part of "Son Of Flubber," is when the suits show the Professor all the different ways they have figured out how to market Flubber!

There's "Flubbermint Gum!"

There's the new "Flubbercycle" so you can "Flub away the Flab!"

This every day middle class family is all beat up from all the accidents they have had in their home!

But once they had "Fluberoleum" installed in their home, it's as safe as could be, the way it's supposed to be!

Here's the same happy family after installing "Flubberoleum."

The Professor turns it all down, because he's going to do the right thing and sell it to the military so it can benefit all of society, and the next thing you know, the Tax Man shows up at his front door to tell him about all the taxes he needs to pay, even though he hasn't gotten any money yet, for yet another poke at greedy government bureacracy!

The dimwitted Professor tries to make rain next, and is totally clueless that it is having a major effect on the rest of the community!

Everywhere throughout the town glass of every shape and form is breaking, from plate glass windows to people's glasses!

All the booze bottles also break at a local dive, now that's heartbreaking, but I thought this was a kid or family movie.

Another thing you didn't normally see in Disney movies was The Professor's wife leaves him only to find him later cutting a rug at this Halloween party!

"Son Of  Flubber" has quite a supporting cast that includes Ed Wynn, the voice of The Mad Hatter in Disney's version of "Alice In Wonderland." Ed was also in two of "The Twilight Zone" episodes, "One For The Angels," and "Nine Years Without Slumbering!"

Seriously funny guy Paul Lynde is the sportscaster. Paul is probably best known for being on 898 episodes of the TV game show Hollywood Squares."
Besides the hosts, only Cliff Arquette and Wally Cox were on more episodes than Paul!
Other notable cast members are Tommy Kirk, Keenan Wynn, William Demarest, Joanna Moore, and Norman Grabowski!

The rest is history!

2 comments:

KD said...

My wife LOVED this movie. RIP, Sharon... :~(

Anonymous said...

Wish life was like this movie. Feels good. Just fun. Not like today.

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