Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1960s
    Movies - 1960s Movies - M 2 Mins Read

    Misadventures of Merlin Jones, The (1964)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    This pleasant, undemanding Disney comedy from the reliable director of The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) was originally made with plans to broadcast it as two hour-long Disney TV shows, but then re-edited for theatrical release.

    College genius Merlin Jones (Tommy Kirk) accidentally develops a means of reading minds and eavesdrops on Judge Holmby (Leon Ames) who, it turns out, is plotting a robbery.

    merlinjones3Merlin tries to tell the police but they don’t believe him, so he sets out with his girlfriend Jennifer (Annette Funicello) to foil the judge in his dastardly plot.

    It transpires that the judge has been leading a double life as a mystery novelist and what Merlin heard was the plot of his new book!  End of part one . . .

    The second half of the film has Merlin running headlong into thick-witted Norman (Norman Grabowski), a school lunkhead who has charge over the science department’s chimpanzee.

    Merlin is experimenting with hypnotism and wants to use the animal as a guinea pig, but he is ordered to stay away by the judge after causing considerable havoc in the science lab.

    The judge asks Merlin to come and see him one night as he wants to be hypnotised himself. So Merlin mesmerises the judge into going to the school and stealing the chimp.

    The next day, Merlin is held responsible and the judge has no recollection of the hypnotic trance. Finally, in private, Merlin explains what happened and all ends happily. End of part two.

    The plot elements are really too thin for a feature film, and the movie features the stupidest collection of characters ever devised for one film.

    So little of consequence happens in Merlin Jones and virtually the entire film takes place indoors on studio sets. Reviewers were thoroughly perplexed by the film but it grossed $4 million in its domestic release. Not bad for a movie that cost considerably less to make than most other Disney films.

    The characters were stretched a little too far for a 1965 sequel, The Monkey’s Uncle.

    Merlin Jones
    Tommy Kirk
    Jennifer

    Annette Funicello
    Judge Holmby/Lex Fortas

    Leon Ames
    Police Captain Loomis

    Stuart Erwin
    Professor Shattuck

    Alan Hewitt
    Mrs Gossett

    Connie Gilchrist
    Detective Hutchins

    Dal McKennon
    Norman

    Norman Grabowski

    Director
    Robert Stevenson

    Related Posts

    • Monkey's Uncle, The (1965)
      Monkey's Uncle, The (1965)
      An eccentric young inventor helps a couple of classmates pass an exam using a study-while-asleep technique he has perfected on…
    • Cool Mikado, The (1963)
      Cool Mikado, The (1963)
      A handful of British comedians present the worst treatment of Gilbert and Sullivan in history, with cramped sets, cheap-looking and…
    • Babes in Toyland (1961)
      Babes in Toyland (1961)
      Victor Herbert's operetta Babes in Toyland brought classic Mother Goose characters together through story and song. The opera had already been brought…
    • Love Bug, The (1969)
      Love Bug, The (1969)
      A fun-filled Disney romp about Herbie - a Volkswagen Beetle who develops a distinct personality and its own ideas of…
    • Judge Dredd (1995)
      Judge Dredd (1995)
      Star Wars (1977) meets Ben-Hur (1959) in director Danny Cannon's imaginatively over-the-top science-fiction rendering of the celebrated 2000 AD comic-strip hero. The…
    • Herbie Rides Again (1974)
      Herbie Rides Again (1974)
      The action moved from the racetrack to the streets of San Francisco for this follow-up to the 1969 blockbuster The Love…
    • Shaggy Dog, The (1959)
      Shaggy Dog, The (1959)
      Walt Disney saw his studio's future in 1959, and the future was goofy (with a lower-case 'g'). Disney had been…
    • Pajama Party (1964)
      Pajama Party (1964)
      One of those kitsch 1960s Californian beach party movies which began with Beach Party (1963). In this one, Tommy Kirk plays a…

    Disney
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleMelody (1971)
    Next Article Midnight Cowboy (1969)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Inside George Webley
      1 9 7 0 (UK) 12 x 30 minute episodes Inside George Webley was […]
    • Kwicky Koala Show, The
      1 9 8 3 (USA) 16 x 30 minute episodes The half-hour Kwicky Koala […]
    • Look! Hear!
      1 9 7 7 – 1 9 8 1 (UK) 30 minute episodes This […]
    • Class Of 1984 (1982)
      Perry King stars as Andy Norris, the new music teacher at […]
    • Factory, The
      UK group The Factory recorded two effects-laden psychedelic […]
    • Family Solicitor
      1 9 6 1 (UK) 24 x 55 minute episodes This 24 part black […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.