Fred MacMurray and his Disney connection!

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yendor1152	Fred MacMurray and his Disney connection!	Lead	[-]
(03/10/08 10:46 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I don't think there's ever been a better pairing than golden age star Fred MacMurray and Walt Disney. Just last night, I watched The Absent-Minded Professor and its sequel, Son of Flubber, on TCM, and they were both riotous! To me, Fred had the perfect style for these films. He was intelligent, steadfast, slightly crazed, athletic and could play situation comedy like a pro. Of all his Disney films, I enjoyed the two "Ned Brainard" flicks the most, though I must confess a sentiment for The Shaggy Dog and even Follow me, Boys. Great stuff. While I was watching Son of Flubber, a memory suddenly flickered to life. I'd originally seen both films on their release, and I can remember standing in lines that literally snaked up the sidewalk, around the theater, past a nearby drugstore, and trailed back again until it reached the beginning! These movies were events, for sure. And hilarious? Oh, my God. Just watch the concluding basketball and football games in each film and try to keep a straight face. Sigh. That was a great time in my life. You know what? I miss Fred MacMurray! Rod
BijouBob8mm		#1	[-]
(03/10/08 4:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I caught a couple of these during reissues in the Seventies, along with MacMurray's later Disney outing, CHARLEY AND THE ANGEL. I noticed another MacMurray/Disney title, THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE, was on DVD in Walmart a few weeks back. I don't think I've ever seen that one.
Zombie Dad		#2	[-]
(03/10/08 6:23 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Yes, Fred is a tremendous addition to these Disney comedy/fantasy films. He was doing some fairly grim little westerns around the same time. I'll bet he enjoyed being able to lighten up. He always had an easy going, lighthearted quality which waiting to come out. This transition from, say, the DOUBLE INDEMNITY Fred to the ABSENT MINDED Fred reminds me of discovering the comedic gifts of Leslie Nielsen. ZD
rvoyttbots		#3	[-]
(03/10/08 6:34 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	SON OF FLUBBER holds up well and the football highjinks are still funny. There are some overly talky scenes but any film that takes place around Halloween gets high marks in my book. I remember the huge laugh the final gag got back in 1963.
yendor1152		#4	[-]
(03/10/08 7:39 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	What I remembered best from Son of Flubber was the tv commercial featuring a bouncing baby...literally. Very funny! Last night when I watched the entire thing, I found myself actually laughing during the football game. It was good to see Paul Lynde, too. Rod
rvoyttbots		#5	[-]
(03/10/08 9:15 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Another great thing about SON OF, almost the entire cast from PROFESSOR returned. Though some were in different roles.
HalLane		#6	[-]
(03/11/08 7:09 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Fred MacMurray really did lend weight & credibility to the idea of Flubber, something that neither of the two remakes (with Harry Anderson and Robin Williams) really successfully pulled off.
yendor1152		#7	[-]
(03/11/08 8:50 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Zombie Dad wrote: This transition from, say, the DOUBLE INDEMNITY Fred to the ABSENT MINDED Fred reminds me of discovering the comedic gifts of Leslie Nielsen. ZD Couldn't agree more! When I was younger, Nielsen usually played heroes or bad guys. Trouble is now, he's limited himself to the wacky stuff. I wouldn't mind seeing him playing a really serious villain again--I think the effect would be very pleasantly jarring. Rod
BijouBob8mm		#8	[-]
(03/11/08 9:19 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Robin Williams went from doing whacky to whacked, in ONE HOUR PHOTO.
Wich2		#9	[-]
(03/11/08 11:44 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Fred had been "hitting from both sides of the plate," as it were, his whole career: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/15420 Best, -Craig W.
Red Gargon		#10	[-]
(03/11/08 6:37 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	There's a terrific commentary with Tom Kirk and Kevin Corcoran on the SHAGGY DOG DVD where they talk a lot about MacMurray from a kid's-eye point of view, I thought it was really good stuff. MacMurray's definitely one of those actors who truly is SO good you don't even notice how good he is, I appreciate him a lot more now than I did watching the Disney flicks as a kid.
horribleherman		#11	[-]
(03/13/08 12:40 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Slightly off topic,but....when I was a kid a got a package of"Flubber",a silly putty type blob put out as a movie tie in. A few days later my Dad reads that it was recalled,and makes me throw it away.Just a few years ago,I read that some kids had developed a rash,so Hasbro recalled it.They ended up burying a huge pile of the stuff in a landfill under the parking lot at their new building being built.To this day,in warm weather,Flubber still oozes up between cracks in the parking lot at the Hasbro building in Rhode Island.Cool,eh!
yendor1152		#12	[-]
(03/13/08 9:57 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Wow, that's really interesting! I think I may have had some of that Flubber. We were always buying Disney tie-ins, back in the day. I was so inspired by this thread that I ordered "The Absent-Minded Professor," "Son of Flubber" and "The Shaggy Dog" from Deep Discount. They're black and white and full-framed, and that's just the way I like 'em! Rod
rvoyttbots		#13	[-]
(03/13/08 7:37 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I remember that Flubber. Saw it at Kresges. I also heard about it being recalled.
horribleherman		#14	[-]
(03/15/08 9:24 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	That's one great thing about this board...no matter what obscure monster kid memory you conjure up,someone on here shares it with you. They say smells are some of your most persistent memories and I can still remember the smell of "Flubber".I remember "The Absent minded Professor" having a World of Disney TV show devoted to it.They had a jingle about"Serendipity" that I still recall.I wanted to see it really badly,but never did until much later.I might have to find those myself.Actually,they've reminded me how much I enjoyed"The Misadventures of Merlin Jones", and"The Monkey's Uncle" with Tommy Kirk and Annette.Can you say"Amazon"?...
Paul Scrabo		#15	[-]
(03/24/08 12:22 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Disney did have some very good live action comedies. THAT DARN CAT (1965) I thought was hilarious. Paul
soundstage28		#16	[-]
(03/25/08 1:41 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Don't forget Joe Flynn! Funny guy.
Glen Manning	I helped restore "The Happiest Millionaire"	#17	[-]
(03/31/08 8:29 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I am a voice actor for Walt Disney Studios. I had the rare pleasure of working on a Disney movie starring Fred MacMurray. If you get the DVD of "The Happiest Millionaire," I am the voice of Fred MacMurray. They found some footage in the Disney vault that had no sound track. Disney cast three voice actors to dub in the voices of the actors on screen. I always did this Fred MacMurray voice since I was a kid because I was a big "My Three Sons" fan. It actually came out pretty good. Although they were never really able to match the ambiance in the room. This is VERY hard to do. Also for Disney I was cast as the voice of Rod Serling for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attractions at Walt Disney World and at The Disneyland Resort, and now at Disneyland Paris. "Happiest Millionaire" is indeed corny, but it is corny in a very nice way and it is the last live action film that Walt himself really personally worked on. The Sherman Brothers wrote some very nice songs for the movie. Actually if you walk down Main Street at Disneyland, much of the music you hear is from "The Happiest Millionaire."
yendor1152		#18	[-]
(06/28/08 9:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Wow, after reading your post, Glen, I'm gonna go to Sam's Club and pick up the Roadshow edition of The Happiest Millionaire! It was just twelve bucks, which is a steal. So you did Rod Serling's voice at the Tower of Terror? Kudos! I went on that ride only once, and it was indeed memorable! Everything was done to perfection--even the basement looks completely authentic. And I gotta tell you, I almost passed out when those elevator doors opened, and I realized we were hundreds of feet up over the park! Why did I get the distinct impression they were gonna dump us out? Rod

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Fred MacMurray and his Disney connection!

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