Flipper (1963 film)

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Flipper is an American feature film (1963) written by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden, and directed by James B. Clark.

1 Background
2 Story
3 Main cast
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Background

Made in 1962 and released in 1963, Flipper starred Chuck Connors and Luke Halpin. Flipper the dolphin was played by 'Mitzi' (*1958,+1972), a female. A television series inspired by the movie, Flipper, ran from 1964-67. A 1990s revival featured Jessica Alba. In 1996, a remake was released (Flipper (1996 movie)) starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood.

One "stunt" dolphin (one of several used in the film) is speared on screen in the peduncle. This an actual spear-gunning of a live dolphin, not a special effect, which the producers could not afford. The dolphin appears in several subsequent scenes with Luke and the actress playing his mother, having "beached" itself with the spear still sticking out of its tail.

The unnamed dolphin survived this abuse. Producer Ivan Tors gave it to to Dr. John C. Lilly. "It wouldn't come near us," Lilly later said. "I gave it 100 micrograms of LSD, and it was all over us." Tors told Lilly that the dolphin had been speared "by mistake" and that the scene was shot by a second unit without his direct knowledge.

Mitzi, the first Flipper, was trained at the Santini Porpoise School, later the Dolphin Research Center, by Milton Santini. Mitzi died in 1972 at age fourteen. She is buried at the Dolphin Research Center, where her grave is the first stop on the center's public tours.

[edit] Story

Sandy Ricks (Halpin) is a young boy living in the Florida Keys who convinces his fisherman father (Connors) to take in a dolphin injured by a harpoon. The father reluctantly agrees, until the new pet causes Sandy to neglect his chores and jeopardize his father's living.