The Misadventures of Merlin Jones
Encyclopedia
The Misadventures of Merlin Jones is a 1964 Walt Disney
production starring Tommy Kirk
and Annette Funicello
. Kirk plays a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge. Funicello plays his girlfriend (and sings the film's title song written by brothers Robert and Richard Sherman).
This film led to a 1965 sequel called The Monkey's Uncle
.
student Merlin Jones (Tommy Kirk), who is always involved with mind experiments, designs a helmet that connects to an electroencephalographic tape that records mental activity. He is brought before Judge Holmby (Leon Ames) for wearing the helmet while driving and his license is suspended. Merlin returns to the lab and discovers accidentally that his new invention enables him to read minds. Judge Holmby visits the diner where Merlin works part-time, and Merlin, through his newly-found powers, learns that the judge is planning a crime. After informing the police, he is disregarded as a crackpot. Merlin and Jennifer (Annette Funicello), his girlfriend, break into Judge Holmby's house looking for something to prove Holmby's criminal intent but are arrested by the police. Holmby then confesses that he is the crime book author, "Lex Fortis," and asks that this identity be kept confidential. Merlin's next experiment uses hypnotism. After hypnotizing Stanley, Midvale's lab chimp, into standing up for himself against Norman (Norm Grabowski
) - the bully student in charge of caring for Stanley, Merlin gets into a fight with Norman, and is brought before Judge Holmby again. Intrigued by Merlin's experiments, the judge asks for Merlin's help in constructing a mystery plot for his next book. Working on the premise that no honest person can be made to do anything they wouldn’t do otherwise – especially commit a crime – Merlin hypnotizes Holmby and instructs him to kidnap Stanley. Shocked when the judge actually commits the crime, Merlin and Jennifer return the chimp, but are charged for the theft themselves. The judge sentences Merlin to jail, completely unaware of his own role in the crime. Livid at the injustice, Jennifer persuades Holmby of his own guilt, and the good judge admits that there might be a little dishonesty in everybody.
& Helen Levitt
, two writers who were blacklisted
.
To date Disney has not officially stated whether or not this film was actually two episodes of a planned television series, however, this has long been suspected to be the case, with at least one critic, Eugene Archer, of The New York Times, writing upon its release:
.
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
production starring Tommy Kirk
Tommy Kirk
Thomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...
and Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
. Kirk plays a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge. Funicello plays his girlfriend (and sings the film's title song written by brothers Robert and Richard Sherman).
This film led to a 1965 sequel called The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
.
Plot
Midvale CollegeMedfield College
Medfield College is a fictitious university used as the setting for several films by The Walt Disney Company. Among them are the two 'Professor Brainard' movies, The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber ; and the 'Dexter Riley' trilogy: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes , Now You See Him, Now...
student Merlin Jones (Tommy Kirk), who is always involved with mind experiments, designs a helmet that connects to an electroencephalographic tape that records mental activity. He is brought before Judge Holmby (Leon Ames) for wearing the helmet while driving and his license is suspended. Merlin returns to the lab and discovers accidentally that his new invention enables him to read minds. Judge Holmby visits the diner where Merlin works part-time, and Merlin, through his newly-found powers, learns that the judge is planning a crime. After informing the police, he is disregarded as a crackpot. Merlin and Jennifer (Annette Funicello), his girlfriend, break into Judge Holmby's house looking for something to prove Holmby's criminal intent but are arrested by the police. Holmby then confesses that he is the crime book author, "Lex Fortis," and asks that this identity be kept confidential. Merlin's next experiment uses hypnotism. After hypnotizing Stanley, Midvale's lab chimp, into standing up for himself against Norman (Norm Grabowski
Norm Grabowski
Norm Grabowski is an American hot rod builder and actor. The heavy set crew cut wearing Grabowski appeared in minor roles in many films produced by Albert Zugsmith and Walt Disney....
) - the bully student in charge of caring for Stanley, Merlin gets into a fight with Norman, and is brought before Judge Holmby again. Intrigued by Merlin's experiments, the judge asks for Merlin's help in constructing a mystery plot for his next book. Working on the premise that no honest person can be made to do anything they wouldn’t do otherwise – especially commit a crime – Merlin hypnotizes Holmby and instructs him to kidnap Stanley. Shocked when the judge actually commits the crime, Merlin and Jennifer return the chimp, but are charged for the theft themselves. The judge sentences Merlin to jail, completely unaware of his own role in the crime. Livid at the injustice, Jennifer persuades Holmby of his own guilt, and the good judge admits that there might be a little dishonesty in everybody.
Production notes
The screen credit for writing reads, "Screenplay by Tom and Helen August", which were the pseudonyms for Alfred Lewis LevittAlfred Lewis Levitt
Alfred Lewis Levitt was an American screenwriter and television scriptwriter. He attended New York University, and served in a camera unit of the United States Air Force during the Second World War. Following the war, Levitt was the screenwriter for such films as The Boy with Green Hair , Mrs...
& Helen Levitt
Helen Levitt
Helen Levitt was an American photographer. She was particularly noted for "street photography" around New York City, and has been called "the most celebrated and least known photographer of her time."- Biography :...
, two writers who were blacklisted
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
.
To date Disney has not officially stated whether or not this film was actually two episodes of a planned television series, however, this has long been suspected to be the case, with at least one critic, Eugene Archer, of The New York Times, writing upon its release:
"Movies made for television are commonplace these days, but the idea of screening television shows in movie theaters is still farfetched. Who is expected to spend the $2? Strange as it sounds, this seems to be the explanation behind Walt Disney's latest hit, "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones." It is a pastiche of two separate stories with the same set of characters, each running less than an hour (leaving time for commercials), stitched together in the middle and released yesterday in neighborhood theaters."
Reception
Although critics were not impressed (see Eugene Archer's comment in Production notes, above), audiences seemed to love it, as the film made enough money to encourage a sequel in 1965The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
.