The Absent Minded Professor (1961) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The Absent Minded Professor ( 1961 ) Approved | A college professor invents an anti-gravity substance which a corrupt businessman wants for himself. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 25 titles created 10 May 2015 a list of 49 titles created 30 Aug 2015 a list of 25 titles created 8 months ago a list of 41 titles created 3 months ago a list of 46 titles created 2 months ago Title: The Absent Minded Professor (1961) 6.8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations. See more awards » Videos When Professor Brainard experiments further on Flubber derivatives, he gets in trouble and only his students can help. Director: Robert Stevenson A teenage boy is cursed with periodically turning into an sheepdog. Director: Charles Barton A lawyer makes an interesting discovery that could affect his chances of getting elected to office. Director: Robert Stevenson A race car driver becomes a champion with a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own. Director: Robert Stevenson Three orphan children strike gold in 1878 California. Director: Norman Tokar Dexter Riley and his friends accidently discover a new chemical mixed with a cereal seems to give anyone temporary superhuman strength Director: Vincent McEveety The adventures of two idiotic outlaw wannabees, Amos and Theodore. Director: Vincent McEveety Professor Dooley takes home a duck from his research laboratory as a toy for his son, but soon finds out that it lays golden eggs. Director: Vincent McEveety A Swiss family must survive being shipwrecked on a deserted island. Director: Ken Annakin Two would-be safe-crackers 'sort of' kidnap the two grandchildren of millionaire J. W.

Osborne. In a story somewhat reminiscent of O. Henry's The Ransom of Red Chief, the ransom amount ... See full summary » Director: Norman Tokar Legends (and myths) from the life of famed American frontiersman Davey Crockett are depicted in this feature film edited from television episodes. Crockett and his friend George Russell ... See full summary » Director: Norman Foster Fran Garrison's all in a tizzy because her prize Dachshund, Danke, is having pups, and she has hopes of one of the pups becoming a champion. But at the vet's, her husband Mark is talked ... See full summary » Director: Norman Tokar Edit Storyline A bumbling professor accidently invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself.

Written by Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com> THAT FABULOUS 'SHAGGY DOG' GUY DISCOVERS 'FLUBBER' The GOO that Flew! See more » Genres: 16 March 1961 (USA) See more » Also Known As: El profesor distraído See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Three generations of the Wynn family act in this film: Ed Wynn ; his son Keenan Wynn ; and Keenan Wynn's son, Ned Wynn . See more » Goofs When Alonzo Hawk is talking to Ned and Betsy about 'merging together', Betsy is putting on his flubberized shoes. Right before Alonzo gets up you clearly see that the soles of the shoes do not have Flubber applied, although he jumps as if he did. He never changes shoes. See more » Quotes [the fire crew's net had been accidentally broken by Alonzo Hawk during their attempt to rescue him] Fireman: I told you we needed a new one. Fire Chief : You told me? What do you think I've been telling the town council?

How am I supposed to buy a new net without an appropriation? Fireman: Well, don't get hot. I only mentioned it. Fire Chief : Well, you just keep the kinks out of the fire hose. That's all I want from you. I'm the Chief! Amazon.com: The Absent-Minded Professor: Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Kennan Wynn, Tommy Kirk: Amazon Digital Services LLC By William Sommerwerck VINE VOICE on May 8, 2004 Format: DVD If ever there were a film that took a silly idea and milked every possible gag out of it, this is it. Four stars as a film, but five stars for being a classic. The "science-fiction comedy" is a movie genre with few entries. (I'm thinking of films in which an SF premise and its development is the film's focal point.

"Back to the Future," for example, doesn't count.) I can think of only two significant others -- "It Happens Every Spring," in which Ray Milland synthesizes a chemical that repels wood (don't ask), and "The Man in the White Suit," the classic-but-not-really-very-good Alec Guinness vehicle in which his invention of an indestructible, never-needs-cleaning fabric threatens to ruin the clothing industry. Disney continued the genre with "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" and "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," but none of them is remotely as good as "The Absent Minded Professor." It's a classic of visual humor. Not only is there the famous flying Model T, but the professor's attempts to woo his ex-fiance by dancing in flubber-heeled shoes, and a flubber-enhanced basketball game that's an encylopaedia of "What can you do with flying basketball players?" gags. Style-wise, this classic sequence looks as if it were lifted directly from MAD. Bill Walsh's smart script has some good satirical jabs ("I hear Medfield's athletes make as much as their teachers") and they hold up.

One of the best anticipates Congress's destruction in "Mars Attacks!" And the professor's attempt to prove he's a loyal, patriotic American (by showing his credit cards) cuts even more sharply today than it did 50+ years ago. Read more › 2 Comments 29 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By arturo_gtz on November 2, 2003 Format: DVD Somehow, the people in amazon mixed reviews from the B&W version and the colorized version of this film... this is causing some confusion between some consumers, so, this is a review from the B&W version. Some time ago, Disney Company releases this movie in Full Screen and colorized... a lot of people complained because nobody (except, perhaps my mom)wants colorized version of movies in B&W; recently, they re-released it in its original form (B&W and Widescreen) Video: Amazing!! I can't believe that this movie is almost 50th years old!, you can't notice any age related issues (stripes, grain, etc), just look perfect.

Sound: Very good, and with Dolby Surround. Extras: D'uh!, nothing, nada, zip, zippola! :( Foreign language support: Not very good... in the audio section, it contains English and Spanish Track... subtitles just in english. Conclusion: If you like this movie, you'll love the transfer (and at least, there is a Spanish track for those that speak in this language)... if you are looking for this movie because the extras, better wait, because you'll get frustrated by this disc. Comment 38 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By A Customer on January 14, 2003 Format: DVD Walt Disney's 1961 live-action comedy "The Absent-Minded Professor" gets the DVD treatment and although the film itself is a gem, the DVD producers were a little "absent-minded" in their execution. To be true to its original theatrical presentation the film needs to be presented in widescreen format and in its original hues of glorious black and white.

Disney Home Video needs to discover a happy balance between targeting the general "kid" audience and the mature film fans. The recent "Back to the Future" DVD accomplishes this task beautifully - - without insulting either audience. It seems to me that Disney doesn't have a great deal of respect for many of its classic live-action films when it comes to DVD. Although "Pollyanna," Swiss Family Robinson" and "The Parent Trap" received very nice treatments, "Babes in Toyland" and "Blackbeard's Ghost" were just downright slapped-together and thrown on the shelf (why wasn't "Babes in Toyland" presented in widescreen and stereo?) So, par for the course, there are no extras whatsoever on the DVD version of "The Absent-Minded Professor," which is a shame. Disney has plenty of material in the vaults to give this film at least a moderate special treatment. Granted, it's not a masterpiece like "Mary Poppins," but it's at least deserving of equal DVD treatment to modern films like "The Santa Clause" and "The Rookie." Aside from that, stick any fun-loving child or nostalgic baby-boomer in front of this film and they will be thoroughly entertained.

The casting is perfect, the effects still hold-up and the script is charming. For any faults this film might have, it is still far superior to ill-fated and very un-funny "Flubber," starring Robin Williams. Comment 16 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again The Absent-Minded Professor Movie Review Review this title! What's the story? In this Disney classic, absent-minded college professor Ned Brainard (Fred MacMurray) keeps forgetting to show up to his own wedding but manages to create an amazing substance called Flubber. Like rubber with wings, Flubber can make an object bounce high up into the sky. Brainard's invention results in many comical situations, including a UFO sighting and a basketball game that's out of this world. Is it any good? QUALITY Unlike the dreary 1997 remake, Flubber , which sacrificed the human element for more showy and less pleasing special effects, this movie's is a masterpiece of Disney storytelling magic. Director Robert Stevenson keeps the pace lively and the laughs abundant.

Parents might furrow their brows when the professor rigs a basketball game by ironing Flubber to the soles of the home team's shoes. But the payoff is huge once those players take to the court, bounding high over their taller opponents' heads, sending the crowd into a frenzy. As the title character, Fred MacMurray is irresistible. He's not a nutty professor (that was Jerry Lewis). He's just a simple man of science dedicated to bettering the American way of life. His unflagging sincerity and kindheartedness warm you to him immediately. You want him to succeed. You want him to outwit greedy Alonzo Hawk and save the college from bankruptcy. And for crying out loud, you want to see him finally get to that altar with Betsy and get hitched. On all counts, you won't be disappointed. Families can talk about... Families can talk about real inventions that are almost as amazing as Flubber. Also, do you think something like Flubber will really ever be invented? What are some recent inventions that would astound Professor Ned Brainard?

Movie details ‎The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) directed by Robert Stevenson • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd 2 All the way through watching The Absent-Minded Professor I had the feeling I had seen the film before, and not just because I was familiar with the remake. It’s a fun but undemanding live-action Disney film about a college professor who invents Flubber, an anti-gravity substance which is wanted by an unscrupulous businessman. If you haven’t seen this original then there is a good chance that you will at least be familiar with the Robin Williams remake. This version is obviously superior for the simple reason that a gurning Williams is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Fred MacMurray plays the sympathetic professor who creates the bouncing purple gloop and he’s a far more compelling protagonist. The film is directed by… New Years Resolution See 700 Films in 2014 (At Least 400 Must Be New) Film 177 out of 700 Film 26 of Remember the Magic Easily the best thing about this film is the performance by Fred MacMurray.

MacMurray is just having a fun time playing Professor Ned Brainard who creates the most amazing flying rubber which he dubs Flubber. Now of course being a child of the 1990s I know more about the remake than this film but haven't seen that film in years. I think they both have some positives and negatives. A negative for this film is that it is completely dated, the effects looks rather bad during the basketball game. The flying car isn't that bad… The Absent Minded Professor Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 23 out of 25 people found the following review useful: Good Fun for the Whole Family Author: Chuck Bryan 4 September 2004 It has been years since I have seen this movie! I am glad to see that it is still fun and my girls really enjoyed (4 & 6). What was kinda neat was that the Alonzo Hawk character also returns in Herbie Rides Again (same actor, same personality). Small coincidence, because the movie was also directed by Robert Stevenson. So, if you are looking for a film that will not offend, and offer a few chuckles and will captivate your child's attention, check out The Absent Minded Professor.

Also, IMHO, do not wast time with the Flubber remake. Cheers Was the above review useful to you? 21 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Classic MacMurray from Los Angeles, California 30 October 2003 This is probably one of the best live action films Disney has ever released. Fred MacMurray once again proved how great a comedic actor he was and this film is just a confirmation of it. Also, Nancy Olson was great as his frustrated fiancee, Betsy. However, the real scene stealer in this film is Keenan Wynne as old man Hawk. Mr. Hawk was probably one of the biggest weasels in cinematic history and Tommy Kirk is also great as his son Biff. Also, the best scene in the whole film is the basketball game. That scene alone is what makes this film a classic comedy. Was the above review useful to you? 20 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Better than "Flubber," that's for sure...

12 February 2004 The Absent Minded Professor Classic family from from Walt Disney that stars Fred MacMurray in the title role as a rather forgetful and absent minded professor who invents a strange putty substance that drives him and his close contacts bonkers. The movie is much more inspired, likable and family-friendly (not to mention funnier and more charming) than the remake starring Robin Williams, which was written by John Hughes long after his career had fallen downwards. This version is the definitive version--don't let the kiddies convince you to rent the other one before you see this one! **** / ***** Was the above review useful to you? 15 out of 15 people found the following review useful: More Bounce To The Ounce from Buffalo, New York 4 April 2007 The Absentminded Professor was the second film that Fred MacMurray in his second career rebirth with Walt Disney as the midwife. He scored an enormous success in The Shaggy Dog and Disney films together with his My Three Sons TV series established MacMurray as the quintessential family father figure which would endure for the rest of his life.

I do remember seeing this in the theater back as a youngster and back then the younger ones in the crowd were looking at Tommy Kirk who was at the height of his Disney popularity. Nevertheless MacMurray gives a delightful performance as science professor Ned Brainerd who's accidentally invented a variation on rubber which has a great deal more bounce to it. He's so wrapped up in his experiment that he's even forgetting his wedding day to Nancy Olson, AGAIN. She's about had it with him and ready to fall for the wolfish English professor Elliott Reid. MacMurray has his own troubles. Other than helping his college win a basketball game with a team that they are way overmatched against, he's not quite decided what use this stuff he calls flubber is good for. But wealthy Keenan Wynn sure wants to get his hands on it. Funniest sequence in the film is Keenan Wynn after MacMurray and Olson trick him into wearing flubberized shoes is seeing bounce slowly into the stratosphere before a quick thinking Tommy Kirk devises a way to counteract his flubberized dad. The AbsentMinded Professor was so popular with audiences that Disney did another version with almost the entire same cast in Son of Flubber.

That one was almost as funny, but this still has a lot of laughs even after almost fifty years. Was the above review useful to you? 13 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Watch This Fun, Screwball Romp - but ONLY If You Are Not Jaded and Have Lost Sight of What Simple Fun Is from Miami, FL 5 March 2002 I think it is time this movie is reviewed by its positive qualities and not just centered on how utterly sophisticated the reviewer would like to be remembered by the readers of IMDB.com. First of all, let me say there is nothing wrong with "hokum" or old American values or screwball comedies or old Disney movies. As with anything, it's always in the eye of the beholder. This movie was fun to watch and funny in enough places to warrant a watch by any self-respecting human being with a warm sense of humor. Second of all, The Absent-Minded Professor elicited a wonderful collection of chuckles from me. Perhaps I didn't expect them...but they did come and especially in one joyful moment during a basketball game.

Believe me, I am not even an NBA fan...but that scene cured a lot of ills. Maybe it was my frame of mind on that particular day. But, the record stands that I did laugh, and with some old-fashioned "glee", I might add. Third of all, I believe comedies are sometimes taken too seriously: As if we were supposed to come away with some vastly profound elucidation from the experience. Fourth of all, one has to be rather shallow not to appreciate the the wonderful collection of character actors in this and many Disney movies - before the prohibitive cost of making movies made it impossible to have a diverse collection of actors. I miss this kind of movie where character actors litter the celluloid landscape as if in some garden of earthly theatrical delights "a la Frank Capra or Preston Sturges". One last thing, it was a travesty that this 1961 movie, though nominated for some Oscars, did not win at least in the Technical categories. Yes, it's goofy to us in these 'Post-2001 A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, ET, Independence Day' times, but all of them owe a bit of thanks to the legacy of the past.

And this movie is part of that legacy of fun effects which advanced us ever so kindly into our present state of "sophistication", and sometimes, Ungrateful Complacency and Ennui. Was the above review useful to you? 9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: fun for kids from Bath, England 2 November 2005 The Absent-Minded Professor was a typical Disney classic that I watched when I was younger. In short, this film is about a professor who creates an anti-gravity substance known as 'flubber'. This substance makes his car fly, sort of reminiscent of the car in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'. Of course, someone is trying to kidnap this idea, and it's up to some children to save the day. I am not sure what children today would think of this film, but I did find it enjoyable, and I would have seen it in the mid-1980s. I would like to think that children today would find it just as enjoyable and entertaining. Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Good old movie; now we know what Flubber actually is!!!!!

from (Near) D/FW Airport, Texas, USA 31 July 2006 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Disney made this movie in 1961. "The Absent Minded Professor" is about, well, see the title!!!!! He makes this flying rubber stuff known as "Flubber," and it can do many things from bounce off walls to making automobiles fly in the sky!!!!! This was seen in two versions: the colorized version, which I recall played on the Old Disney Channel so many times, and the B&W version, the version that I had seen first. My family rented this original version on VHS back in January 1998. And now, check out what I found in the trivia section: a recipe for Flubber: "To one pound of salt water taffy add one heaping tablespoon polyurethane foam, one cake crumbled yeast. Mix till smooth, allow to rise. Then pour into saucepan over one cup cracked rice with one cup water. Add topping of molasses.

Boil till lid lifts and says 'Qurlp'." As Bill Nye says, "Well Now You Know!!!!!" 10/10 from Alberta 4 September 2003 When I was younger, Fred MacMurray was my Colin Farrell. He was everywhere, and never seemed to make a bad movie. Sure, they might be campy and silly, but that's what works for a younger age group. And this one holds up. The flubber is quite possibly one of the neatest inventions in movie history. And though the Robin Williams remake gave it the new age CGI, the black and white gives the movie such a good feel. I still get a kick out of Fred torturing the man trying to muscle in on his girl. Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: An old-fashioned, unsophisticated, excellent family comedy. from Ellicott City, Maryland 24 August 2003 My wife and I saw this with our four young sons when it was first released, and we thought it was great. We have seen it several times since, and it is always entertaining.

Unlike some critics, I thought Fred MacMurray was perfect in the title role, and the supporting cast was great. The humor may seem a bit unsophisticated and hokey by present day standards, but in my eyes it makes the movie even more enjoyable. Show this film to your unprejudiced younger children and grandchildren and watch them delight in it. Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 22 people found the following review useful: The Original 'Flubber' Is A Bit Dated But Has Its Moments from United States 17 November 2006 Some parts of this are very funny, some parts are silly stupid and all parts are very dated and make little sense. Maybe that's why someone figured a re-make was appropriate. That, and the fact that it's still a very entertaining movie, almost a classic. The re-make was done in 1997 with the movie, "Flubber." Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk.....wow, there are some familiar names from the '50s and '60s Olson had lost her youthful looks from "Sunset Boulevard," but that had been a decade earlier.

MacMurray didn't look a whole lot different from his 1944 film noir classic of "Double Indemnity," proving once again how much better men age than women. Kids of today would still laugh at this film, although they have dead spots in here which are not prevalent in modern-day films. Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 3: The Absent Minded Professor (1961) YIFY - Download Movie TORRENT - YTS The Absent Minded Professor Loading, please wait Synopsis A bumbling professor accidently invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself. A bumbling professor accidently invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly.

Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself. Parental Guide April 30, 2016 at 01:24 AM Director Ed Wynn as Fire Chief Paul Frees as Loudspeaker Voice / Air Force Dispatcher Fred MacMurray as Professor Ned Brainard Tech specs Reviewed by bkoganbing 8 / 10 Classic MacMurray The Absentminded Professor was the second film that Fred MacMurray in his second career rebirth with Walt Disney as the midwife. He scored an enormous success in The Shaggy Dog and Disney films together with his My Three Sons TV series established MacMurray as the quintessential family father figure which would endure for the rest of his life. I do remember seeing this in the theater back as a youngster and back then the younger ones in the crowd were looking at Tommy Kirk who was at the height of his Disney popularity. Nevertheless MacMurray gives a delightful performance as science professor Ned Brainerd who's accidentally invented a variation on rubber which has a great deal more bounce to it. He's so wrapped up in his experiment that he's even forgetting his wedding day to Nancy Olson, AGAIN.

She's about had it with him and ready to fall for the wolfish English professor Elliott Reid. MacMurray has his own troubles. Other than helping his college win a basketball game with a team that they are way overmatched against, he's not quite decided what use this stuff he calls flubber is good for. But wealthy Keenan Wynn sure wants to get his hands on it. Funniest sequence in the film is Keenan Wynn after MacMurray and Olson trick him into wearing flubberized shoes is seeing bounce slowly into the stratosphere before a quick thinking Tommy Kirk devises a way to counteract his flubberized dad. The AbsentMinded Professor was so popular with audiences that Disney did another version with almost the entire same cast in Son of Flubber. That one was almost as funny, but this still has a lot of laughs even after almost fifty years. Reviewed by rebeljenn 5 / 10 fun for kids The Absent-Minded Professor was a typical Disney classic that I watched when I was younger. In short, this film is about a professor who creates an anti-gravity substance known as 'flubber'.

This substance makes his car fly, sort of reminiscent of the car in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'. Of course, someone is trying to kidnap this idea, and it's up to some children to save the day. I am not sure what children today would think of this film, but I did find it enjoyable, and I would have seen it in the mid-1980s. I would like to think that children today would find it just as enjoyable and entertaining. Reviewed by Enrique Sanchez 8 / 10 Watch This Fun, Screwball Romp - but ONLY If You Are Not Jaded and Have Lost Sight of What Simple Fun Is I think it is time this movie is reviewed by its positive qualities and not just centered on how utterly sophisticated the reviewer would like to be remembered by the readers of IMDB.com. First of all, let me say there is nothing wrong with "hokum" or old American values or screwball comedies or old Disney movies. As with anything, it's always in the eye of the beholder. This movie was fun to watch and funny in enough places to warrant a watch by any self-respecting human being with a warm sense of humor.

Second of all, The Absent-Minded Professor elicited a wonderful collection of chuckles from me. Perhaps I didn't expect them...but they did come and especially in one joyful moment during a basketball game. Believe me, I am not even an NBA fan...but that scene cured a lot of ills. Maybe it was my frame of mind on that particular day. But, the record stands that I did laugh, and with some old-fashioned "glee", I might add. Third of all, I believe comedies are sometimes taken too seriously: As if we were supposed to come away with some vastly profound elucidation from the experience. Fourth of all, one has to be rather shallow not to appreciate the the wonderful collection of character actors in this and many Disney movies - before the prohibitive cost of making movies made it impossible to have a diverse collection of actors. I miss this kind of movie where character actors litter the celluloid landscape as if in some garden of earthly theatrical delights "a la Frank Capra or Preston Sturges". One last thing, it was a travesty that this 1961 movie, though nominated for some Oscars, did not win at least in the Technical categories.

Yes, it's goofy to us in these 'Post-2001 A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, ET, Independence Day' times, but all of them owe a bit of thanks to the legacy of the past. And this movie is part of that legacy of fun effects which advanced us ever so kindly into our present state of "sophistication", and sometimes, Ungrateful Complacency and Ennui. No. 1903: Flubber Click here for audio of Episode 1903. Today, Flubber. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. We've seen the relationship between movies and product-marketing steadily grow over the years. When Clark Gable took off his shirt in the movie It Happened One Night, back in 1934, he was wearing only his manly chest -- no undershirt. Two things happened as a result. First, the sales of undershirts sharply dropped in the United States. Second, advertisers sat up and took notice. Movies and marketing have, ever since, developed a disturbing intimacy . One example is the display soft drinks and beer.

Attractive actors smoking cigarettes has been as influential as Clark Gable's undershirtlessness, and far more destructive. Then there's the influence of movies on fashion -- like the Annie Hall look. Movies have also driven countless new products, especially toys. Superhero dolls and Star Wars light swords, but nothing with as strange a history as Flubber. Flubber was invented onscreen by Fred MacMurray in the movie The Absent Minded Professor -- a kind of antigravity goo that gained energy with each impact. Flubber stood for flying rubber for, with it, you could fly. When a sequel, Son of Flubber , was made two years later, the Hasbro Company created a new product called Flubber, for kids. It was reportedly made of rubber and mineral oil and it behaved a lot like Silly Putty. It stretched like bread dough when you pulled slowly, and resisted like rubber when you jerked it. It'd bounce if you dropped it, and it would transfer images from the comics. Flubber was marketed as nontoxic and non-staining. But then, certain people's hair follicles proved to be allergic to it. It caused enough trouble that it had to pulled from the market. And here the fun begins.

How to get rid of tons of Flubber balls? When they tried to burn them, the nearby City of Providence, Rhode Island, complained of huge clouds of black smoke. Next they tried next to put the Flubber balls in the city dump. But kids turned up trying to steal them. So they got permission to weight them down and sink them off the coast. But Flubber balls got loose and floated to the surface. The Coast Guard had to collect fifty thousand of them and return them to Hasbro. Finally, they buried their stock in an area near their factory and paved it over as a parking lot. That worked for thirty-five years. Then employees began seeing Flubber rising like the undead through cracks in the pavement. That was just as Disney released a remake of the old movie. The 1997 movie Flubber was roundly panned by three quarters of the major reviewers. And, although neither reappearance was welcome, I can recommend one latter-day Flubber reincarnation. A widely-circulated recipe tells children how to make their own Flubber-like material from water, white glue, and borax. When they're done, they'll be embryonic chemists who've made their own long-chain polymeric material.

And they'll have made their own fun as well. I'll post a link on how-to-do-it, on the Engines web site. I'm John Lienhard, at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work. (Theme music) Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) I Dub Thee Flubber! You will receive an email shortly to confirm your email address. Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) I Dub Thee Flubber! title details and video sharing options now playing Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) I Dub Thee Flubber! A discouraged Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray) suddenly discovers he's invented flying rubber, thus "flubber," in Walt Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor, 1961. View the TCMDb entry for The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) share video Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie... A discouraged Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray) suddenly... Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) --...

Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) I Dub Thee Flubber! A discouraged Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray) suddenly discovers he's invented flying rubber, thus "flubber," in Walt Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor, 1961. > Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie... Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray) takes his dog Charlie... Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) --... Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) Let's Open Her Up! Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray) takes his dog Charlie for a flight in his flubber-powered Model-T and drops in on girlfriend Betsy (Nancy Olson) in Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor, 1961. > Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie... Landlady Mrs. Chatsworth (Belle Montrose) hopes to prevent... Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) --...

Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) Get Married 8:30 Sharp! Landlady Mrs. Chatsworth (Belle Montrose) hopes to prevent Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray) from missing his wedding for a third time, as he conducts an experiment, early in Disney's in The Absent-Minded Professor, 1961.> TCM Presents the Family Classics -- (TCM Promo) Original promo for TCM's December 2008 "TCM Presents the... TCM Presents the Family Classics -- (TCM Promo) Original promo for TCM's December 2008 "TCM Presents the Family Classics" programming. > Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- The Absent-Minded... Ben Mankiewicz introduces The Absent-Minded Professor,... Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- The... View All Photos (2) Movie Info Fred MacMurray stars in this Walt Disney comedy hit concerning absent-minded professor Ned Brainard (MacMurray), a science teacher at a small-town college, who is so scatterbrained that he has forgotten to show up at his own wedding.

Missing his wedding ceremony twice, he is determined not to do it again. But, when he gets involved in some chemical experiments, he leaves he poor bride-to-be Betsy (Nancy Olsen) stranded at the altar again. Although his weddings plans are not successful, his experiments are --he develops a black and rubbery substance that bounces very high and seems to defy gravity. He calls it "flubber." When he substitutes the formula for the motor in his old Model T Ford, he can fly through the sky in his car. Continuing on with practical uses for the substance, he applies it to the college basketball team's sneakers, permitting them to rocket over the heads of the opposing team and win an easy victory. But when word of Brainard's discovery comes to the attention of nefarious alumnus Alonzo Hawk (Keenan Wynn), Hawk plans to steal Barinard's car and his formula to "flubber." Rating:

Question: In the film "The Absent-Minded professor" what substance was invented by Fred MacMurray?
Answer: FLUBBER