AloneAgainNaturally Overall, I very much enjoyed the film and the portrayal of a fisherman's life. I liked the hurricane scene, which felt authentic, and the scenes of Pa and Sandy fishing. The relationship between Flipper and Sandy was very sweet. The actor playing Sandy did a fine job as a "fishing boy". The only problem I had with the film was with the characters killing dolphins. That made no sense, as maritime superstition is that it is very bad luck to kill dolphins- fishermen simply don't kill them. Dolphins are usually seen as good luck omens in fishing lore. Early on in the film, Pa tells Sandy about a Greek myth about a dolphin saving the life of a poet. Fishermen have known for years that dolphins are good, so the writing was very weak in this respect. When the boy shoots Flipper with a spear, I was aghast. Most people know not to kill dolphins, and have known for thousands of years. I liked Chuck Connors portrayal as Pa and the actress who plays Sandy's mother. I also liked the plot point of showing the family struggling during a season of red tide- this was very authentic. Even with the inauthenticity of fishermen killing dolphins, I think this is a fine family film.

Wuchak RELEASED IN 1963 and directed by James B. Clark, "Flipper" stars Luke Halpin as a boy in the Florida Keys who saves a dolphin and develops a relationship with the animal. Chuck Connors and Kathleen Maguire play the parents.As far as dolphin flicks go, I prefer 2010's "Beneath the Blue" with cutie Caitlin Wachs, but "Flipper" is worthwhile as heartwarming innocuous entertainment. It's also of historical interest to observe life in Southern Florida in the early 60s. Not only do you get the dolphin, Flipper (Mitzie in real life), but you also get the kid's pet pelican, Pete.THE MOVIE RUNS 87 minutes and was shot in Grassy Key, Florida, and (studio) Miami. WRITERS: Arthur Weiss from the story by Ricou Browning & Jack Cowden.GRADE: B-

wrxsti54 I watched the Flipper TV series re-runs as a kid unaware of this movie that effectively kicked the entire Flipper franchise off. I discovered the movies quite by accident on TCM and they were a pleasant surprise.The first Flipper movie seems to catch the simple but hurricane fraught life in the Florida Keys in the early 1960s. The movie portrays a more spartan and difficult life for the Ricks family and neighbors than the more placid and prosperous life on display in the NBC TV series. Porter Ricks is more austere (played by Chuck Connors) and a fisherman versus the warmer all-American Park Ranger character played by Brian Kelly in the sequel movie and the TV series. The first movie has a Mrs Ricks (Kathleen McGuire) who dies by the time of the sequel movie filmed one year later. Likewise in the Flipper movies there is only the one child - Sandy (Luke Halpin) and no younger brother whereas by the TV series, the younger brother Bud (Tommy Norden) mysteriously appears. Luke Halpin is the only actor who played in both the Flipper movies AND the TV series (a career as one character spanning 5 years).So setting aside the evolution of the Flipper franchise, the first movie sets the scene for the enduring relationship between the dolphin and the boy. Seeing the movie after exposure to the TV series meant the first two thirds of the movie seemed to drag before we get to how Sandy came to have Flipper as his pet. Porter Rick's occupation as a fisherman plays a role in the plot as the finding then the fate of fish becomes intertwined with Flipper.The real draw card of this movie is how Flipper and Sandy become so bonded. Halpin is compelling as he persuades his gruff father to accept this bond. Luke Halpin was cast in the role of 12 year old Sandy Ricks at the age of 15 after 7 years of extensive TV and Broadway stage experience. Producer Ivan Tors was impressed by Halpin's acting history but was unsure if he was up to the intensive water related work the movie required. A quick trip to a YMCA pool near Halpin's Long Island, NY home proved Halpin's claim of water sport proficiency. By all reports, Halpin bonded quickly with the temperamental dolphins - a bond that Halpin described some 7 years later in a magazine interview that was so strong that both he and the dolphins would get homesick for each other after filming of a movie or TV series ended. The chemistry of this bond really makes this movie and overcomes the slow parts and the tendency of the story to drag.This Flipper movie carved an intriguing and popular niche that led to a sequel movie (Flipper's New Adventure) and then the popular TV series in quick succession. Tors was a master at underwater photography which was showcased by the move to full color. Halpin combined a depth of acting talent honed from many previous roles, a real affinity and skill at water related sports, a swimmer's physique and telegenic good looks with the chemistry with the dolphins. These factors along with the filming in the Florida Keys (which lent a rough tropical realism to the story lines) and the refining of underwater photography and the various trained moves of the dolphins laid the foundations for an endearing series that is still in syndication 50 years later. My younger kids and nephews/nieces really loved the movie so it still has a strong pull all these years later.

telegonus Flipper is an exceedingly pleasant, modest picture about a boy and his dolphin, and features easygoing, natural performances from Luke Halpin, as the boy, and Chuck Connors, as his rugged, seafaring father. The film is the first in the franchise that led eventually to a popular TV show. Producer Ivan Tors, who was also the man behind the Sea Hunt series on television, struck gold again with this one, a nice alternative at the time (and now) to the prevailing Disney family fare. It's hard to pinpoint how this and other Tors projects differ from what the Disney studio was making. The kids are a bit less goody two-shoes, the grownups more realistic. One doesn't have the virtual insurance that nearly every Disney film at the time offered that everything would work out in the end, so the moments of suspense and danger have a real edge. Flipper, by the way, has a real personality, and has a way of making you care for him. For those who care for the sea, marine life or just simple movies about kids and animals, this one's a darn good show.