The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)

I was born end of 1959,so I was 4 or 5 years old. I recall begging my mom to buy me a goldfish, and yes, named him Mr Limpet! Had him several years, maybe 4. Still brings a smile to my face. For the life of me, I cannot find this in DVD, or any medium. Any hints? Thanks! Steve

Hasn't practically everybody at least once in their life fantasized about what it would be like to be a member of another species? Whether it is the animal who represents the year on the Chinese calendar you were born or your favorite animal at the zoo or even one you've only seen on Wild Kingdom, God's non-human creatures fascinate us. For milquetoast Don Knotts, his staid job and marriage to a nagging wife have made him a regular at the Brooklyn Aquarium, staring for hours at the fish and longing for their freedom. So all it takes is a brief song ("I Wish I Were a Fish") and a day at Coney Island for him to get his wish, and when he does, he finds out that he can be useful to the World War II navy by notifying them to the presence of German U-Boats and Submarines, aiding the allies in winning the war.Part animation, part live action, this is non-Disney fantasy at its best, and a pre-cursor to "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" and "The Little Mermaid" with its underwater fantasy sequences. Who better to play this part than Barney Fife himself, Don Knotts? The glamorous Carole Cooke, then a popular T.V. comedienne, is his loving wife who tries a bit too hard to influence him, ultimately losing him, but finding comfort in the arms of his best friend, Naval officer Jack Weston whom Knotts locates aboard a naval ship in order to offer his services.Made for both children and adults alike, the kids will find amusement at the animation sequences, particularly Knotts' crabby crab pal (complete with Wilford Brimley whiskers) and the "Battleship" theme. Andrew Duggan and Larry Keating play the perplexed Naval officers who must question their own sanity over the surprising ally they find swimming around them, while Elizabeth MacRae is an enchanting voice as Knotts' underwater paramour, "Ladyfish". Paul Frees is appropriately "crabby" as Crusty the Crab. I can't imagine how this could retain its charm in a remake. Forget the copycat, and stick with the original.

This film takes me back many years to when I had an argument with a cousin who was into all things aquatic and he wanted to see this film. Being two years older and more mature about these things I scorned seeing The Incredible Mr. Limpet at the time when it was first out.Well almost fifty years later I can admit I was wrong. The Incredible Mr. Limpet which seems to have a dopey premise is a really charming mixed live action animation story which Don Knotts is perfectly cast in. And what's wrong with a film where a man achieves his life ambition, in this case to be a member of the piscatorial community.Don Knotts plays Henry Limpet, a shy bookish sort that years before Danny Kaye would have played who has all kinds of ailments including bad vision that keep him out of World War II, at least as a human. One day out at Coney Island, Knotts falls off the pier and drowns. Drowns as a human, but through an unseen power returns as a most unusual Mr. Ed kind of fish. Knotts keeps his nearsightedness and the glasses he wore as a human as well, but he's developed a kind of sonic blast that keeps predators like sharks away. It all proves most useful to the US Navy because even though Don Knotts is a fish, he's patriotic American fish.Carole Cook plays his frustrated wife and Jack Weston, Knott's best friend and man ready to catch Cook on the rebound as Knotts seems more interested life under the sea than the motion of the ocean with Cook.Despite these sly adult innuendos, The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a nice family film that holds up well after half a century. And Knotts finds true love in the ocean and by now there are untold thousands of Limpet fish in our sea world.At least I hope so.

In my neck of the woods in Queens is the facade of a building that once was quite important - the R.K.O. Keith in Flushing on Northern Blvd., in New York. The theater was originally a vaudeville house where people like Judy Garland once performed. Then it was a movie house. And it was there that I saw this film in 1964, when I was ten years old.I had liked watching Don Knotts on television, first with Steve Allan and then with Andy Griffith. When I saw he was in this fantasy movie, part of which was a cartoon, I asked to see it. My mother treated me to it around Christmas.It was shown with one or two Warner Brothers cartoons (I recall one was with Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner). But MR. LIMPET was the highpoint of the afternoon for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it.Henry Limpet is a nice little man who is driving his wife Bessie (Carole Cook) crazy because of his non-stop interest in fish. Her brother George (Jack Weston) is a sailor, on home leave during World War II. He has little use for his weird brother-in-law, but he offers to take out his sister and Henry to the seaside. And while there, Henry goes out onto a pier and looks over the side. Earlier the audience heard him saying, "I wish I was a fish." Now he turns into a fish when he falls into the sea (the cartoon transmission of Limpert the man into Limpert the fish is done very nicely).Limpert soon discovers he can be of service to the nation - he can help track down Nazi submarines and enable the U.S. navy and coast guard to sink them. He manages to contact Bessie and George, and George brings in his superiors (Andrew Duggan and Larry Keating). Soon a system is set up with Limpert making a loud sonar reaching sound when he sites a submarine. And the submarines are slowly sunk.This particular description is just the bare bones of the story. There are also the problems of Limpert's break-up with Bessie, and his romance with Ladyfish, not to mention his friendship with Crusty the lobster (who thinks Limpert is a specie of fish called a "Flatbush" when Limpert tells him that he comes from there).It was a wonderful fantasy film for it's day, and I suspect it still would hold up quite well. Besides giving Knotts a role of some depth (no pun intended) as he is torn between human and fish lovers, but it had nice bits of business by Weston as George, who is stunned by the importance of his brother-in-law to the war effort. Therefore I give the film an 8 out of 10. I'm sure you'd be pleasantly surprised too.