Model "T" Turns in High Performance for Hilarious Disney Motion Picture

06.08.11 - With a gelatinous goo called Flubber, the alchemist in The Absent-Minded Professor transformed a Model "T" into a high-flying fantasy.

Science teacher Ned Brainard (Fred MacMurray) and his pretty fiancee (Nancy Olson) swoop over the nation's capitol aboard their flubberized flivver in this scene from the Walt Disney feature-length comedy, The Absent-Minded Professor.

Many old timers will attest to the durability of Mr. Ford's delightful Model "T." "It could do anything," say some. "And you could fix it with a pair of players and a piece of bailing wire," say others.

But there's never been a Leapin' Lena that could fly until Walt Disney called for one in the script to his hilarious feature motion picture, The Absent-Minded Professor, to be released in combination with another Walt Disney laugh-hit, The Shaggy Dog.

For Professor, Disney's technical experts, who specialize in doing the impossible, got a 1912 vintage airbound for several hilarious scenes in the film. How they did it we'll leave to your own imagination, but the flying flivver, gleefully guided through the cumulo-nimbus by Fred MacMurray, makes for great fun in a way-out comedy which also stars Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn and Tommy Kirk.

When the forgetful prof, portrayed by MacMurray, accidentally discovers an anti-gravity goo that can bounce a man or a car to great heights, he dubs it "flubber" and substitutes it for the motor in his Model "T." Thus inventing the world's first flying flivver — the neatest hot rod of our age — the happy inventor stirs up quite a commotion at the Pentagon, especially when he lands Lena smack on the White House lawn.

The Absent-Minded Professor is a Buena Vista release, and was directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by associate producer Bill Walsh.

From the original Absent-Minded Professor press materials.

Disney Producer Walsh Shows Approach to Comedy with Blackbeard's Ghost

06.02.11 - If a much sought after formula for successful motion pictures really exists, then Disney producer-writer Bill Walsh, whose current offering is Blackbeard's Ghost, has found it.

Track coach Steve Walker (Dean Jones) tells Peter Ustinov he wants no part of his weird, wild and "spirited" antics after accidentally conjuring up the rotund pirate's ghost in Blackbeard's Ghost, Walt Disney's newest comedy-fantasy in color by Technicolor.

When examining the greatest successes in Walsh's 22-year Disney career — films like The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, Mary Poppins, That Darn Cat, and Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. — his approach to comedy-fantasy becomes evident.

"The first portion of each film," comments Walsh, "takes time to establish characters and to delineate situation. Although this initial part may move more slowly than the rest of the film, it is a necessary and deliberate movement. Walt used to call this part of the picture winding the clock." Once the stage is set, the action picks up momentum as the picture unfolds.

"Too often comedies begin at a nervous clip, moving at a fast pace until they run out of gas, without having told a good story. The most important single consideration of any picture is the script," explains Walsh who has co-scripted 13 of his 16 features. "We are always on the lookout for fresh material that would be suitable for screen adaptation. Blackbeard's Ghost was developed from a very funny novel by noted illustrator Ben Stahl which tells the exploits of a long-dead pirate's spirit who is cursed to wander in limbo until he performs a good deed."

The second most important consideration is the cast. "Comedy-fantasies require actors who can play un-believable situations for real. Fred MacMurray and Dean Jones are that type of actor. Peter Ustinov, who has the title role in Blackbeard's Ghost, is another marvelous example."

"The success of Dean Jones, who has starred in three of my productions, including Blackbeard, lies in his sincerity. The nuttier the situation gets, the more he believes in it. Actors often go wrong in fantasy. They become cute with the material and lose audience contact.

"The supporting cast and secondary parts must also be all topnotch people who understand comedy. For example, Joby Baker, Elsa Lanchester and Richard Deacon beautifully complement the headline stars, Dean, Ustinov and Suzanne Pleshette, in Blackbeard."

Blackbeard's Ghost, filmed in color, stars Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette. Robert Stevenson directed the Bill Walsh-Don DaGradi screenplay, which is based on a novel by the noted illustrator, Ben Stahl. Walsh is co-producer of the Buena Vista release.

From the original 1968 Blackbeard's Ghost press materials.