The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)

Robert Stevenson directed this Disney comedy that stars Fred MacMurray as Medfield College professor Brainard, an absent-minded man who can't even remember his own wedding, who invents a new substance that is a kind of flying rubber he names Flubber, which he uses on his Model T car or on the shoes of the basketball team to make them jump higher. Only crooked businessman Alonzo Hawk(played by Keenan Wynn) has faith in the discovery, but of course he wants to steal it for himself, and tries to enlist his son Biff(played by Tommy Kirk) to help him. Silly film has some funny scenes but is just too lightweight and the comedy too broad to succeed. Mostly for kids.

One aspect of this film that lived with me forever is the Model T. At the age 7 I zeroed in on this car and that it could fly caught my mind in that odd way that Age 7 stuff does. I have on my bookshelf a recovered edition, Ebay, of the Disney golden book edition with some marvelous pen-ink drawings, one of them a closeup of the car. So much was I into this that in Christmas of 1962, my parents bought a 1/2 scale Model T (gasoline engine, you can see them on Ebay if you look for mini model T) as the present of my life. I flipped totally. And I still have the car, sitting in the barn in the back yard.So films like this bring back fond memories indeed. It is not perfect and slow at times and just too "disney" for it's age, but it warms the soul.

i won't say this a great movie,but i will say it sure beats the dreadful 1997 remake called Flubber starring Robin Williams.that movie was tedious,to say the least.this movie,at least,was somewhat entertaining,if not all that funny.there are a couple of mildly amusing moments.there is a lot of overacting,which i have found quite typical of Disney movies of that era(1950's through 70's)but that was probably funny back then.Fred MacMurray plays the main character,professor Brainard,a chemistry professor who discovers a new compound that should revolutionize the world.of course,he's so busy working on his experiments,he neglects everything else in his life.MacMurray is very appealing and likable,as he is in any of his movies.my vote for The Absent Minded Professor is a 5/10

In the sixties, France had "Jules and Jim"; Italy had "La Dolce Vita". But really, could they compare to this Disney classic? Could Oscar Werner or Marcello Mastroianni possibly compare with Fred MacMurray, with his toupee, pancaked face, wacky gleam in his eye as the, uh, nutty professor of Medfield College who discovers Flubber?? Could the flying Jesus in "Vita" measure up to Nancy Olson and Fred spooning amid the clouds in the Flubberized Model T? I think not. And forget the menage a trois in "Jules and Jim". I prefer the sexual tension between Fred, Nancy, and Elliot Reid.And Flubber will finally be put to good use for the benefit of all the civilized nations of the worlds.I love this movie. You will too. God Bless America. And Fred MacMurray.