Flipper (1963)

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

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.

Has its moments but mostly quite dull.After a huge storm ravages a seaside community, a boy befriends a dolphin.And that pretty much is the story. There are some side plots and escapades but it is fairly straightforward and dull. Even silly sometimes. There are some cute moments however, and these are the only things that sustain the movie. Performances are mostly lacklustre. Luke Halpin is okay(ish) as the boy - not as irritating as many actors of that age. The adult performances are mostly quite flat. Mitzie the dolphin (as Flipper) easily gives the most convincing performance in the movie...Not even sure kids will enjoy this much. Other than the scenes involving the dolphin there's not much to enjoy.

Flipper is a very old movie, released in 1963. Though I have always been fascinated by dolphins, and even worked as a dolphin researcher, I never saw the movie, put off by that silly "King of the Sea" song. The movie is much better than I expected. It was done before animatronics and CGI, yet the stunts were completely believable. I worry that they were not stunts, but actual animal cruelty done in the days before SPCA oversight.The father, played by Chuck Connors, is authoritarian. He never asks what happened in his absence; he tells everyone. No one dares contradict him. He likes to grab his wife and kiss her unexpectedly and passionately, reminiscent of a Siamese fighting fish. I detested him, but he was a typical movie father for the era.The hero is what I took to be a 10 year old boy from his height, later revealed in the dialogue to be 12, and played by a 15-year old actor, Luke Halpin. The boy, Sandy, is ridiculously docile by modern standards, and obsequiously does whatever father wants without complaint. Sandy is still every boy's hero, skilled, brave, outgoing, strong, handsome, respected by the community, trusted to run his own boat and fishing nets. Sandy has an erotic obsession with a male dolphin (played by a female dolphin to help tone down the obviousness of the mutual arousal). His parents pretend not to notice, pretending all that bumping and grinding is just cute.There are a few things that don't make sense in the movie. For the first half of the movie, Sandy and an adoring younger girl whom he ignores are the only people his age in the vicinity. Then in one scene suddenly dozens of children appear, and sing that idiotic "King of the Sea" song then disappear again. It is just totally out of place. The song belongs in some animated short for toddlers or in a commercial to sell inflatable dolphin toys.I was rather distressed by the "tricks" scene when they got Flipper to perform various fetch tricks, treating him as if he were a dog. Dolphins have bigger brains than we do, but you would never guess from that silly dog and pony show. They tossed an dachshund into the ocean with Flipper. To me the dog look panicked and could not get out of the enclosure, and tried climbing on Flipper's back to avoid drowning. This was all treated as great fun.Sandy lives shirtless outdoors in the Florida sun on the ocean all day. Yet he never gets a sunburn or even a dark tan. Nobody ever reminds him to put on sun screen. I worried about the actor and whether making that film would have lead to skin cancer.

A plague in the waters off the Florida Keys has left fisherman Chuck Connors and his son scrambling to make a living; luckily, a dolphin rescued by young Luke Halpin seems to understand their predicament and leads the boy to fresh fish. Rather dingily-produced underwater tale for kids has a thin plot (with echoes of "The Yearling" besides), but does have a marvelous animal at its center. The acting, photography, and editing are all disappointing, but when Flipper is doing tricks for the locals--even interacting with a swimming dog--it's hard not to smile. Too bad the relationship between the boy and his parents is so stiff (with lots of homilies and fearsome dialogue) that the movie drags whenever Flipper is off-screen. Followed by a sequel and a TV-series. ** from ****