Flipper (1963 film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Flipper |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | James B. Clark |
| Produced by | Ivan Tors |
| Screenplay by | Arthur Weiss |
| Story by | Ricou Browning Jack Cowden |
| Starring | Chuck Connors Luke Halpin Joe Higgins Kathleen Maguire |
| Music by | Henry Vars |
| Cinematography | Lamar Boren Joseph Brun |
| Editing by | Warren Brown |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | August 14, 1963 |
| Running time | 87 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Money made | $2,500,000 (rentals) |
Flipper is an American feature film released on August 14, 1963 and written by Arthur Weiss based upon a story by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden. Produced by Ivan Tors 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. The boy and the dolphin become inseparable, eventually overcoming the misgivings of the boy's fisherman father.
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 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, 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 as Porter Ricks
- Luke Halpin as Sandy Ricks
- Kathleen Maguire as Martha Ricks
- Connie Scott as Kim Parker
- Jane Rose as Hettie White
- Joe Higgins as Mr. L.C. Parett
- Robertson White as Mr. Abrams
- George Applewhite as Sheriff Rogers
Sequels
A film sequel, Flipper's New Adventure, 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. In 1996, a movie remake was released, starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood.
See also
In Spanish: Flipper (película de 1963) para niños
