There were several Flipper books for children. The mail subscription book series "Best In Children's Books" launched with a first edition that featured a Flipper adventure that had two children visiting the set of the TV show and eventually landing in peril and being saved by everyone's favorite dolphin.
Whitman publishing brought out a hardcover fiction book based on the series, The Mystery Of The Black Schooner, which was well written and featured some nice illustrations. The text even mentions the work of Dr. John Lilly! There were also two miniature "Big Little" books (a concept from the past that was relaunched in the 1960s with many TV and movie character titles). The Big Little Book must have been a big success, as there was a second title as well. The art in the Big Little books closely resembles the art then appearing in the comic books from the same publisher.
Included here is a look at the original artwork prepared for the first of the Big Little books, Killer Whale Trouble.
Debuting in the show's first season was a miniature two-man submarine. Painted a bright orange, this little sub showed up again the next season piloted by the stunning Swedish oceanographer Ulla Stromstead.
The idea of a small submarine like this is realistic, and there are now many submersibles of this size in operation. But the Flipper sub was an illusion. Although it was real to the extent that it was powered and operated underwater, it was not an airtight vessel. A "wet" sub, it had no glass in its portholes and was piloted by a diver wearing scuba gear.
But it was thoroughly convincing onscreen, and served duty not only in Flipper, but in movies such as Around The World Under The Sea and Hello Down There (both Ivan Tors productions).
Here we see the great View Master packet, which featured stereoptic scenes from the two-part second season episode Dolphin Love. View Master was a classic toy and survives even today. The metal 1-inch button badges were gum machine prizes that usually cost a penny or nickel! There are variations on these designs that I have seen around (this is the extent of my personal collection). The wind-up Spouting Dolphin from Bandai was quickly knocked-off and there were many generic versions of this toy available for many years.
In the conclusion of a two-part adventure, Flipper tows Porter Ricks to his stolen launch, where he finds that the thief has imprisoned Ulla and stolen her submarine.
A young know-it-all trainee ranger joins the Ricks family and finds that he still has a lot to learn when he disappoints Bud who thought of him as a hero.
When Bud gets locked aboard the HMS Bounty, a replica of the infamous Captain Bligh's sailing ship, Flipper tries to get the skipper's attention before the schooner gets too far along on its world cruise.
The Ricks family sails up the coast in search of their missing friend, Flipper, only to find that the dolphin that saved a man's life, and who they hoped would be Flipper, has gone.
While Flipper recovers from the injuries received during a battle with an alligator, Bud grieves over the loss of his pet just a few miles down the coast.
When Flipper and Bud discover some of Sandy's high school classmates setting lobster traps before the season opens, bud is faced with the problem of reporting it to his father or letting the older boys off.
While fishing in the waters off Florida, visiting Prince Kaza and a state department official run aground on a reef. Sharks appear while the pair attempt to free the boat.
A park inspector, who believes animals should remain wild and not be made pets pays Porter an official visit. He clashes with Bud over the ownership of Flipper.
The Ricks family gets an inside look at the Navy's dolphin research when Ulla calls on Porter for assistance with a Navy dolphin that seems to have gone berserk.
The Navy and the Coast Guard launch an extensive search for a research Dolphin worth half a million dollars, that escaped from the Ricks while Flipper was trying to nurse him back to health.
When Porter dives into the depths with Ulla in her submarine for a survey of the ocean floor, the tiny craft snaps its propeller on the rocky coral stranding them under 50 metres of water.
Flipper falls in love with another Dolphin much to Bud's puzzlement, and swims about the park with his new girlfriend until Ted Marlowe mistakes the female dolphin for a shark and spears her.
These great Flipper comic books were issued during the mid-1960s by Western Publishing's Gold Key imprint. Like all the other TV derived Gold Key titles, the art was executed by european artists who only had stills to go by, so the characters and locations are a little off, but these are still very fun items and were really enjoyable back in their time.
Rick O'Barry is, to me, a genuine hero. He was the man who trained the dolphins for the Flipper television series. But that's not what makes him a hero. It's his tireless work to be an advocate for dolphins. His direct action has made him a controversial figure, but to many he is doing important, vital, worthy work.
It was the fate of the Flipper dolphins after the show ended that prompted O'Barry into action. He had lived closely with the dolphins and become a part of their world. He actually lived in the house that served as the Rick's residence. He was especially close with Kathy, the dolphin who was most often seen as Flipper. Once she returned to the Seaquarium she did not survive.
In the 1980s O'Barry wrote a book, Behind The Dolphin Smile, which not only told his story (it is a rich account of how the Flipper TV show was produced), but portrays the evolution of his activism. The honest tone of his book is a powerful argument against dolphin captivity and exploitation. Just as worthy is the follow-up: To Free A Dolphin. One thing about O'Barry that makes an impression, is his sober sincerity.
Last year The Cove, a feature documentary about O'Barry's efforts to expose the slaughter of dolphins in Japan, was awarded the Academy Award. It's a very powerful film and a testament to the best human advocate the dolphins have ever had.
The Launch was a 22 foot Iroquois Deep-V "Cathedral Hull" Thunderbird powerboat with twin inboard engines. This sleek craft was in nearly every episode, carrying Porter Ricks all over Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve to enforce the laws and rules that kept it a pristine paradise.
The innovative hull design was designed by Richard Cole and was a clever use of the fiberglass hull construction becoming popular at the time. The Flipper launch was a very ultra-modern design for its time and it certainly made an impression on audiences.
The Ricks' boat had a few extra features, like the underwater TV camera that was mounted beneath the bow and allowed the ranger to spy what was going on below.
Watch closely and you'll notice that there's a switch as the third season gets underway: the Launch is a newer model with a few modifications, such as an extra porthole along the side of the cabin, tan trimmed upholstery, and a wood deck. Coral Key Park must have had good funding!
The second Flipper feature, Flipper's New Adventure, was a pilot of sorts for the TV series. This is evident with the recasting of Brian Kelly as a widowed father (though young Bud Ricks is nowhere to be seen). There's a lot of action and it all starts with Sandy running away from home.He doesn't want to move and leave Flipper behind. The majority of the story takes place on a deserted island where Sandy ends up after a perilous ocean journey. On this island the encounters a family that has been besieged by modern-day pirates. The family is British, and they have a young daughter who is played by Pamela Franklin, who had previously been in the excellent The Innocents with Deborah Kerr (highly recommended), and who later grew up to be a beautiful, talented actress who brightened such films as The Prime of Miss Jean Brody and The Legend Of Hell House.
The film is very entertaining and is quite a bit more like the series would be (Flipper is more heroic and clever than before), and less like the previous film. One wonders if more films were planned or if the series was well along in the planning (my guess is the latter considering all the logistics involved in how the series was produced).But Brian Kelly's billing is "special introductory appearance", so this was really the beginning of what Flipper was to become.
There were many coloring and activity books available throughout the run of the Flipper TV series, and there was even one released at the time of the original film. Most were put out by Whitman Publishing, who also came out with a box of Flipper crayons!
Ricou Browning was a native Floridian who worked at various water attractions producing shows after graduating from Florida State University. While working at Wakulla Springs State Park he helped the team from Universal Pictures who were scouting locations for The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Browning's ease underwater led to his being cast as the eponymous creature (Browning performed all the underwater scenes while stuntman Ben Chapman played the creature on land). The film went on to become a classic, spawning two sequels. Having such a superb athlete in the role of the "gill-man" really helped in creating some of the memorable moments, such as when the creature follows the heroine as she swims on the surface.
Browning was fated to get even more involved with film production. When Ivan Tors came to Florida to stage underwater scenes for his Sea Hunt series he was impressed with Browning's abilities and established a long-term association with the man which would give Browning the opportunity to produce, write and direct. Creating Flipper led to other film and TV projects, including working with the producers of the James Bond films to stage the epic underwater battle scenes in the classic Thunderball. Further underwater projects included Around The World Under The Sea, The Daring Game, and Hello Down There. All featured remarkable footage and action sequences.
I met Ricou Browning at a toy show that featured celebrities of film and TV. He seemed happy to discuss something other than The Creature From The Black Lagoon, and was nice enough to answer many questions about his many projects. He seemed like a real gentleman and it was a real pleasure to have a conversation with the man who created Flipper and so many other productions that enriched my childhood.
City boy, Mike Beldon arrives in Corel Key with a huge chip on his shoulder about his mother’s new husband. However, a near death accident helps him see his new step-father in a different light.
Flipper’s days are numbered when he is accused of eating a prized fish worth a lot of money. Just as Flipper is to be cut open to retrieve the fish, Bud and Sandy discover it has been stolen by Jim and race to prove their pet’s innocence in before it’s too late.
In a last ditch attempt to convince Congress woman Helen Browning that she should use government funding to keep the Park open, Sandy and Bud take her skin-diving.
Bud and Sandy, on a trip with Hap Gorman to his secret fishing grounds, board an abandoned boat, not knowing that a hidden charge of dynamite is about to blow it to pieces.
When Flipper finds a Spanish doubloon on the ocean bottom and brings it to Bud and Sandy, rumours about Spanish Treausures spread quickly and an underwater gold rush ensues.
Flipper finds money underwater and presents some of the bills to Bud. Flipper shows Bud where it came from and they collect more from the underwater wreck.
Flipper goes to Bud and Porter Ricks for detective help after seeing a treasure chest stolen from the wreck of a sunken Spanish ship hidden on a nearby island.
Flipper disappears for several days and, when found by Porter Ricks, Sandy and Bud, is with another dolphin, an amazing albino the only white dolphin in Porter’s memory.
While Sandy and Bud prepare for the annual Coral Key Park swimming race, Porter is overcome by toxic chemicals dropped from a passing ship while he is carrying out an underwater investigation.
In an effort to raise money to pay off creditors of McCoy’s Floating Zoo, Sandy and Bud join Bonnie McCoy in a scheme to run away with her father’s elephant and chimpanzee.
Judy the chimp steals a briefcase full of money and Sean McCoy of McCoy’s Floating Zoo is arrested. Sandy, Bud and Bonnie decide to put on a show with Flipper to raise money for her father’s bail.
Like the heroes he sees on TV, Bud tries to rescue a damsel in distress, but fails to tell Porter or Sandy of his intentions, and suddenly finds himself caught in a dangerous rip.
Bud trying to help an injured man and his wife marooned on a sailboat, has to call desperately for help from Flipper when the boat becomes caught in treacherous coral reefs.
Flipper, being a pack animal by instinct, is attracted by the sound of a school of dolphins and nothing Porter, Sandy or Bud can do will bring him back.
Hungarian-born Ivan Tors emigrated to the United States shortly before the Second World War. He began his Hollywood career as a screenwriter, with standard fare such as In The Good Old Summertime. As he moved towards producing films he gravitated towards fact-based science fiction. His 50s films such as Gog, Riders To The Stars and The Magnetic Monsters are solid no-nonsense studies of the near future that are decidedly sober compared to the sort of sensational B-movie approach to SF of the time.
Moving into TV he made Science Fiction Theater, which was a weekly dose of the sort of nuts-and-bolts speculative tales as his notable films were. With Sea Hunt he went off into a more unique direction: the wonders of man confronting nature. This series, starring Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson, was a huge hit. It pulled the Tors fascination with our frontiers into an even more tangible realm than his SF efforts. The amount of underwater action and outdoor filming made the series stand out. The series helped popularize skin and SCUBA diving.
When Tors returned to feature films it was with Flipper. As I mentioned before, the focus on man respectfully encountering nature not only led to greater depth and success in Tors' work, it helped adjust the consciousness of the families his shows were aimed at.
Tors' devotion to the subject matter in his work was real. He helped fund Dr. John Lily's work with dolphins while producing the Flipper movies and show. He worked for conservation of wildlife in Africa, very much in the spirit of the characters in his Daktari. The animals in his shows were trained with Ralph Helfer's "affection" method. And he was open-minded and adventurous in many other ways, even personally experimenting with LSD while it was still legal!
The sort of man Ivan Tors was can be felt in his work- he was a deep-thinking man of adventurous spirit. Not typical of Hollywood, that is perhaps why he may have built his studio on the other end of the country!
There were several Flipper books for children. The mail subscription book series "Best In Children's Books" launched with a first edition that featured a Flipper adventure that had two children visiting the set of the TV show and eventually landing in peril and being saved by everyone's favorite dolphin.
