“The Absent-Minded Professor”

Professor Brainerd (Fred MacMurray) discovers flubber in “The Absent-Minded Professor” (Disney, 1961)

In Disney’s 1961 comedy “The Absent-Minded Professor” (don’t bother with any of the Michael Eisner-era remakes), Fred MacMurray plays Professor Ned Brainard, a physical chemistry professor at Medfield College who is so focused on his research that he keeps missing other important things in his life, including his own wedding. On the night of wedding attempt number three, he happens upon a big discovery–a new substance and energy source he names “flubber” (short for “flying rubber”). Prof. Brainard has a lot to overcome–he wants to use flubber to help Medfield College out of its current financial crisis, he’s got to protect flubber from the nefarious businessman Alonzo P. Hawk (played by Keenan Wynn), and, most importantly, he’s got to win back the trust and love of his long suffering fiancé Betsy (played by Nancy Olson). The special effects still hold up after all these years and are a lot of fun to watch in this clever, fun and funny film. Check it out sometime and let me know if you agree. Also stars Tommy Kirk and Eliott Reid. Written by Bill Walsh. Directed by Robert Stevenson. “There’s nothing in the rule book that says one team can’t jump higher than the other.”