The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Robert Butler

Writer:

Joseph L. McEveety (written by)

Release Date:

31 December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy

Tagline:

Programmed for laughs!

Plot:

Some college students manage to persuade the town's big businessman, A. J. Arno, to donate a computer to their college...

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Computer Memory | Illegal Business | Electric Shock | Friendship

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Dexter Reilly
Cesar Romero	...	A. J. Arno
Joe Flynn	...	Dean Higgins
William Schallert	...	Professor Quigley
Alan Hewitt	...	Dean Collingsgood
Richard Bakalyan	...	Chillie Walsh
Debbie Paine	...	Annie
Frank Webb	...	Pete
Michael McGreevey	...	Schuyler
Jon Provost	...	Bradley
Frank Welker	...	Henry
Alexander Clarke	...	Myles
Bing Russell	...	Angelo
Pat Harrington Jr.	...	Moderator (as Pat Harrington)
Fabian Dean	...	Little Mac

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The "campus" shown outside the window of the Dean's office is actually a photograph of buildings in the Walt Disney Studios. This very same backdrop was used during the run of the "Disneyland" television show for scenes shot on the set that served as Walt Disney's "office" when he hosted segments of the program. One oddity is that the building seen in the backdrop was actually the one that housed the real location of Walt's office.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Pete and Annie are reviewing the "Applejack" sequence on their reel to reel tape recorder, the reels change speed between the close-ups and medium shots.

Quotes:

Dean Higgins: Oh, you don't know him. You don't know him at all! The man is ruthless! He gets all that taxpayers' money, and still he's ruthless!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics (2008) (TV)

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

When compared with modern movies, yes, it *does* fall short. However, it must be viewed with the genre and era it was made in. It's simply another of those "60's feel good movies" types. In a time when the country was in a turmoil and college campuses were a hotbed of controversy, this movie (and it's 2 sequels) chose to portray the college scene somewhat rosier than reality. So what? Disney did that a lot with his movies.Disney movie versions of many classic stories always were white-washed,sanitized versions of themselves. Remember the Jungle Book? It was a far cry from the original Kipling tale. This came out at, or near the time of the "Kent State" mess. Dates about it vary from placing it in 1969 or 1970. Whenever it actually played, it came at the end of a very turbulent time in America's history. I feel that audiences were looking forward to seeing a nice, quiet view of college life, however naive.