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.

Our friends in the sea the dolphins get their due in this family film about a young boy who saves a dolphin and the dolphin returns the favor. Succinctly put that is the plot of Flipper.Enough has been studied and written about how next to humans, the dolphin is the most intelligent creature on this planet, some might opt the dolphin is more intelligent. You can sure prove it by what you see with this particular dolphin.Chuck Connors and Kathleen Maguire are the parents of Luke Halpin. Connors is a commercial fisherman, but a fish plague of sorts has decimated the fish population in his fishing grounds and those of the other fishermen. Making matters worse a hurricane appears as the film opens and Connors and Halpin have to beat it back to shore in the Florida Keys.They make it, but the boat is severely damaged. While Connors looks to scrounge up work, Luke saves the life of a stranded dolphin who is on the beach with a spear in him. Pretty soon he's teaching him all kinds of tricks, but dolphins do eat a lot of fish and fish are scarce at this time.I think you can see where this is all going. Doesn't detract from the fact that Flipper became one of the most popular family films of all time spawning two more films and a four year run television series all with Luke Halpin. By the time Flipper got to TV Halpin had grown a bit and his voice changed. His father's profession had changed from fisherman to park ranger and he was played by Brian Kelly. He also lost his mother and gained a younger brother. And Halpin became a bubblegum teen idol of the first order.But for this original film the underwater photography was of Oscar type caliber and the acting chemistry between Halpin and the dolphin was good and unique. In fact some years ago I read that Halpin got the part for his swimming ability.After 50 years Flipper holds up quite well for family viewing.

I caught this on TCM and watched it mainly for the nostalgia value. Though I'm 54 now, I still find a lot to like in "Flipper." I enjoyed the small-town hominess of life in the Keys, the traditional values of Sandy's parents, the boy's independence and sense of responsibility, and of course bare-chested Chuck Conners's buff physique. "Flipper" captured Hurricane Hazel quite effectively and it was a pleasure to see how the community joined together to get through a crisis. Of course the friendship between Sandy and Flipper is the heart of the film, and while some of the plot twists were a bit repetitious and predictable, the story still satisfies. However, I was in the minority in my home. "I hated it with every bone in my body," griped my 13-year-old son. "It was stupid. It was so lame," said my 7-year-old. Oh well. I tried. Maybe "Flipper" can't compete with computer games, but it still has a lot to recommend it. And the theme song still rocks!"…Everyone loves the king of the sea…No one you see is smarter than he..."

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 ****