''Flipper'' is a 1963 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

written by

Arthur Weiss Arthur Weiss (13 June 1912 – 26 August 1980) was an American script writer for two decades on action/adventure TV shows like '' Mission: Impossible'', ''Mannix'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Super Friends'', ''The Time Tunnel'' and ''Sea Hunt''. His ...

based upon a story by

Ricou Browning Ricou Browning (born February 16, 1930) is an American film director, actor, producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer and stuntman. He is best known for his underwater stunt work, especially in the 1954 film ''Creature from the Black L ...

and Jack Cowden. Produced by

Ivan Tors Ivan Tors (born Iván Törzs; June 12, 1916 – June 4, 1983) was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater sequences, and stori ...

and directed by James B. Clark, the film centers on a 12-year-old boy living with his parents in the Florida Keys who befriends an injured wild

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

. The boy and the dolphin become inseparable, eventually overcoming the misgivings of the boy's fisherman father. Released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

on August 14, 1963, the film introduced the popular song ''Flipper'' by Dunham and Henry Vars and inspired the subsequent television series of the same name (1964–1967) and film sequels.

Plot

Sandy Ricks is a young boy living in the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

who rescues and befriends a dolphin injured by a harpoon. His father, fisherman Porter Ricks disapproves, as dolphins compete for fish, which jeopardizes the family income. He is also upset that, after befriending the dolphin, Sandy neglects his chores, especially those assigned by Porter to repair items damaged by the hurricane from which Sandy and Porter escape at the beginning of the film. Sandy names the dolphin Flipper, and Flipper recovers from the wound and puts on a show to entertain the neighborhood children. Porter, seeing Flipper as both a threat to his nets and fish and a distraction to Sandy's chores, lets the recovered Flipper swim out of the pen to the open sea, despite Sandy's tearful plea to keep the pet that he has come to love. Flipper returns to the Ricks' pen, much to Sandy's delight, but devours Porter's entire catch of

pompano Pompanos ( ) are marine fishes in the genus ''Trachinotus'' in the family Carangidae (better known as "jacks"). Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of the Carangidae, or the order Perciformes. Their appearance is o ...

, which were caught only because Flipper guided Sandy to the fish. The loss is keenly felt because of a red plague killing local fish in large numbers. Porter harshly berates Sandy for allowing Flipper to jump into the holding pen of valuable fish waiting to go to market. Reduced to tears, Sandy retreats to his bedroom as Porter's wife Martha reminds Porter that Sandy is just a child. Determined to make up for the loss, Sandy sets off to find more fish, and is led by Flipper to a large school of fish near a reef. Later, Sandy is rescued from a threatening shark by Flipper, and the grateful father draws closer to his son. Porter is finally convinced that Flipper did indeed help Sandy find fish and that there are enough fish for the local residents as well as the dolphins.

Cast

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

as Porter Ricks *

Luke Halpin Luke Austin Halpin (born April 4, 1947) is a former American actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became a child actor at the age of eight and is widely known for his role as Sandy Ricks in the feature films '' Flipper'' and ...

as Sandy Ricks * Kathleen Maguire as Martha Ricks * Connie Scott as Kim Parker *

Jane Rose Jane Prim Rose (February 7, 1913 – June 29, 1979) was an American character actress, perhaps best remembered as Audrey Dexter, the gently befuddled mother-in-law of Phyllis Lindstrom on the CBS sitcom ''Phyllis'' (1975–1977). Early life Jane ...

as Hettie White * Joe Higgins as Mr. L. C. Parett * Robertson White as Mr. Abrams * George Applewhite as Sheriff Rogers * Sharon Roberts (Bertram) as pretty girl by water and Sabrina's mom

Production

Co-creator

said that he originally conceived the story after seeing his children intently watching the TV series '' Lassie'', which inspired Browning to create a similar story with a dolphin in place of the dog. After he sent the story to his friend, producer

, Tors expressed interest in making it into a film. Filmed in color in 1962 and released in 1963, ''Flipper'' has several underwater sequences, along with scenes of the trained dolphin performing stunts. Flipper was actually Mitzie (1958–1972), a female trained at the Santini Porpoise School (later the

Dolphin Research Center The Dolphin Research Center (DRC) is a dolphinarium on Grassy Key, Florida. The series of saltwater lagoons is home to several dolphins and California sea lions. History Fisherman Milton Santini opened Santini's Porpoise School in 1958, which he ...

) by Milton and Virginia Santini, who are credited in the film. Mitzie is buried at the Dolphin Research Center, where her grave is the first stop on the center's public tours. In addition to Mitzie, four other dolphins were filmed for the production of the movie. Two of the dolphins, Little Bit, a female, and Mr. Gipper, a male, mated at the Santini Porpoise School, yielding a calf named Tursi in 1973 who still lives at the Dolphin Research Center.

Sequels

A film sequel, ''

Flipper's New Adventure ''Flipper's New Adventure'' (known in some countries as ''Flipper and the Pirates'') is a 1964 American feature film released on June 24, 1964 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, written by Art Arthur, and directed by Leon Benson. It was a sequel to the 1963 ...

'', was filmed in late 1963 and released in June 1964. That same year, a television series inspired by the movie, also titled '' Flipper'', began and ran until 1967. A 1990s television revival featured

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

. In 1996, a movie remake was released, starring

Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...

and

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012). Wood ...

References

External links