The Monkey's Uncle (1965)

Midvale College is in fear of losing its college football team. The players have grades lower than the norm. Judge Holmesby, the team's biggest fan, is at a loss for what to do. Enter ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Alfred Lewis Levitt, Helen Levitt

Stars:

Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Leon Ames

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Kirk	...	Merlin Jones
Annette Funicello	...	Jennifer
Leon Ames	...	Judge Holmsby
Arthur O'Connell	...	Darius Green III
Frank Faylen	...	Mr. Dearborne
Leon Tyler	...	Leon
Norman Grabowski	...	Norman
Cheryl Miller	...	Lisa
Connie Gilchrist	...	Mrs. Gossett
Alan Hewitt	...	Professor Shattuck
Gage Clarke	...	College President
Mark Goddard	...	Haywood
Harry Holcombe	...	Regent
Alexander Lockwood	...	Regent
Harry Antrim	...	Regent

Storyline

Midvale College is in fear of losing its college football team. The players have grades lower than the norm. Judge Holmesby, the team's biggest fan, is at a loss for what to do. Enter Merlin Jones, a bright college student, and his nephew Stanley, an intelligent chimpanzee. The judge wants Merlin to create an "honest way to cheat". Merlin uses "sleep learning" to help the players pass their exams. This saves the college football program from being banished, but not for long...the college is tempted to receive a $1 million dollar check from a Mr. Astorbilt. The catch is though the college must get rid of football. Judge Holmesby finds Darius Green III, who will pay $10 million dollars to the college if they can get a man to fly under his own power. The task is in Merlin's hands again. Can Merlin win the day and save the football team?

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Plot Keywords:

the beach boys | college | judge | college football | chimpanzee | 

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Taglines:

More fun than a barrel of teenagers!

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Genres:

Family | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

10 miljoonan dollarin shekki

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The meaning and relevance of the film's title "The Monkey's Uncle" is that it reference to the nick-name of Merlin Jones (Tommy Kirk)'s pet chimpanzee "Stanley".

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Connections

Featured in The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)

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Soundtracks

The Monkey's Uncle
Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Sung by Annette Funicello & The Beach Boys

User Reviews

For dear old Midvale

Several of the cast members of The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones made the return trip for the sequel The Monkey's Uncle. The critics including me panned this one too, but it did well at the box office. But the trip back was bittersweet for Tommy Kirk.

It was while that first film was being made that Walt Disney discovered that his teen star Tommy Kirk was gay and terminated him forthwith. But the film made money for the Magic Kingdom and Kirk came back to do this sequel. It must have been one strained set and I'm sure Kirk who wasn't getting job offers piling up needed the money. You have to hand it to Walt Disney for chutzpah.

This one was equally as bad as the first. First Kirk as the science genius devises a sleep study program so that the football team can pass their exams to be eligible. For the second half of the film he's given a challenge by Leon Ames of the board of trustees to develop a method of man made flight under manpower, no motors or airships.

It's do or die for Tommy because another member of the board of trustees of Midvale College, Frank Faylen has got a check in hand for a million dollars if they ban football. Kirk has school spirit and he's the only one smart enough to take on the task.

He's also got the help of Annette Funicello and there's a rival to her in Cheryl Miller of Daktari who babysits Stanley the Chimpanzee for Kirk.

If this all sounds ridiculous that ain't the half of it. All this plot comes about because Kirk and Annette want to adopt Stanley because Kirk is convinced he can get a college education. The chimp that is.

The best part of the film is the beginning when Annette sings the title song accompanied by The Beach Boys. I'm sure Disney would have kept Kirk around if a third film was in the offing. Poor Tommy Kirk one of the saddest stories about gay actors ever from Tinseltown.