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The Absent Minded Professor (1961)

Approved | | Comedy , Family , Sci-Fi | 16 March 1961 (USA)
The Absent Minded Professor Poster
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A college professor invents an anti-gravity substance which a corrupt businessman wants for himself.

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Bill Walsh (screenplay), Samuel W. Taylor (story)

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

See all 2 videos  »

Photos

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fred MacMurray ... Professor Ned Brainard
Nancy Olson ... Betsy Carlisle
Keenan Wynn ... Alonzo P. Hawk
Tommy Kirk ... Biff Hawk
Leon Ames ... President Rufus Daggett
Elliott Reid ... Professor Shelby Ashton
Edward Andrews ... Defense Secretary
David Lewis ... General Singer
Jack Mullaney ... Air Force Captain
Belle Montrose Belle Montrose ... Mrs. Chatsworth
Wally Brown ... Coach Elkins
Wally Boag Wally Boag ... TV Newsman
Don Ross Don Ross ... Lenny
Forrest Lewis Forrest Lewis ... Police Officer Kelley
James Westerfield ... Police Officer Hanson
See full cast »
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Storyline

A bumbling professor accidently invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself. Written by Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

flubber | experiment | professor | wedding | secret | See All (66) »

Taglines:

The Most AMAZING DISCOVERY since LAUGHTER! See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi | Sport

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
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Details

Official Sites:

Disney [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1961 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Der zerstreute Professor See more »

Filming Locations:

Renwick Gym, Pomona College - 333 N. College Way, Claremont, California, USA See more »
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Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,381,407
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "Medfield Fight Song" was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, the first of many they would write for Disney. See more »

Goofs

Professor Brainerd and Charlie were not belted in when the Professor took the Model T on its maiden flight. They should have fallen to their deaths when the Model T did an aerial somersault. If you check this particular sequence carefully you'll discover that Brainerd and Charlie WERE belted in when the professor took the Model T on its maiden flight. See more »

Quotes

Prof. Ned Brainard: I'm a desperate man, Charlie, and desperate men do desperate things.
See more »

Alternate Versions

Also available in a colorized version (made in 1997), on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Mickey: Reelin' Through the Years (1995) See more »

Soundtracks

Medfield Fight Song
Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What movies feature games of wacky basketball?
See more »

User Reviews

 
More Bounce To The Ounce
4 April 2007 | by bkoganbing – See all my reviews

The Absentminded Professor was the second film that Fred MacMurray in his second career rebirth with Walt Disney as the midwife. He scored an enormous success in The Shaggy Dog and Disney films together with his My Three Sons TV series established MacMurray as the quintessential family father figure which would endure for the rest of his life.

I do remember seeing this in the theater back as a youngster and back then the younger ones in the crowd were looking at Tommy Kirk who was at the height of his Disney popularity.

Nevertheless MacMurray gives a delightful performance as science professor Ned Brainerd who's accidentally invented a variation on rubber which has a great deal more bounce to it.

He's so wrapped up in his experiment that he's even forgetting his wedding day to Nancy Olson, AGAIN. She's about had it with him and ready to fall for the wolfish English professor Elliott Reid.

MacMurray has his own troubles. Other than helping his college win a basketball game with a team that they are way overmatched against, he's not quite decided what use this stuff he calls flubber is good for. But wealthy Keenan Wynn sure wants to get his hands on it.

Funniest sequence in the film is Keenan Wynn after MacMurray and Olson trick him into wearing flubberized shoes is seeing bounce slowly into the stratosphere before a quick thinking Tommy Kirk devises a way to counteract his flubberized dad.

The AbsentMinded Professor was so popular with audiences that Disney did another version with almost the entire same cast in Son of Flubber.

That one was almost as funny, but this still has a lot of laughs even after almost fifty years.
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