| Flipper | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Flipper_1963_movie_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | James B. Clark |
| Screenplay by | Arthur Weiss |
| Story by | Ricou Browning Jack Cowden |
| Produced by | Ivan Tors |
| Starring | Chuck Connors Luke Halpin Joe Higgins Kathleen Maguire |
| Cinematography | Lamar Boren Joseph Brun |
| Edited by | Warren Brown |
| Music by | Henry Vars |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000[1] |
| Box office | $2,500,000 (rentals)[2] |
Flipper is a 1963 American adventure film written by Arthur Weiss[3] based upon a story by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden. Produced by Ivan Tors and directed by James B. Clark, the film centers on a 12-year-old boy living with his parents in the Florida Keys who befriends an injured wild dolphin. The boy and the dolphin become inseparable, eventually overcoming the misgivings of the boy's fisherman father.
Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on August 14, 1963, the film introduced the popular song Flipper by Dunham and Henry Vars. It was a surprise hit at the box office[1] and inspired the subsequent television series of the same name (1964–1967) and film sequels.[4]
The original dolphin was a female named Mitsy, and was owned by an older couple in Little Torch Key. Mitsy performed all the tricks in the original movie. It took 5 different dolphins to "replace" her in the second movie.
- ^ a b "Lad-and-Pet-Fish Happy Surprise;May Hit $3 Mil". Variety. 20 November 1963. p. 3. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "Top Rental Features of 1963", Variety, 8 January 1964, p. 71.
- ^ "Flipper 1963 IMDb". Retrieved 2012-08-14.
- ^ "Flipper - The Original Series: Season One". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2011-02-05.