THE MISADVENTURES OF MERLIN JONES (1964) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/11/21

 

 

Currently watching: THE MISADVENTURES OF MERLIN JONES (1964). I have a sneaking suspicion that I saw this at the theater or maybe on "The Wonderful World of Color" on TV as a kid but it has been lost in the hazy recesses of my memory.

All I remember is a fleeting image of Annette, and thinking that she must be just about the perfect girlfriend. Anyway, I'm counting this as a first watch.

This bright, colorful Disney comedy is the forerunner of a series of films about an egghead student at the fictional Medfield College whose wacky experiments end up giving him outrageous super-powers or otherwise causing comedic chaos in one way or another, often involving running afoul of rival students and/or gangster types.

 

 

The 1970s version would be Disney star Kurt Russell (yes, he used to be a chipper, clean-cut teen idol) as science major Dexter Riley, whose laboratory foul-ups would result in him gaining super strength, becoming invisible, and acquiring the brain of a human computer.

But in this mis-adventure that started it all, popular teen star Tommy Kirk plays science whiz Merlin Jones, resident genius who's only properly appreciated by his loyal girlfriend Annette (that isn't her name in the movie, but I don't care).

Merlin gets the plot ball rolling by accidentally short-circuiting himself into being able to read people's thoughts, which means trouble when he reads the mind of the judge (Leon Ames) who tried his traffic court case and finds out that the distinguished gentlemen is planning a nefarious diamond theft and a murder. 

 

 

This is enough to keep things hopping, and sorta amusing, for the first third or so of the movie, especially when Merlin ends up helping the police by using his mind-reading powers on a shifty suspect during a polygraph interrogation, and when he and Annette search the judge's home disguised as plumbers.

But then the whole mind-reading subplot is resolved and we discover that this is going to be a rather episodic story that will also find Merlin delving deeply into hypnotism, which he uses not only in an attempt to increase the intelligence of a lab chimp but also to find out if an honest man can be hypnotized into committing dishonest acts.

(During all of which he also has some ongoing problems with brawny campus bully Norman, as played by familiar character actor Norman Grabowski.)

To be honest, some of this overplotted stuff tends to get a tad tedious at times, especially since I have an aversion to chimps (the exception being "Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp" and Cheetah from the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzans). 

 

 

Fortunately, Tommy Kirk is at his awkward, boyishly likable best here, and Annette is just totally acing being Annette, which goes a long way toward increasing this film's watchability. No wonder American-International put them together in their teen "beach party" comedy PAJAMA PARTY the same year.

Director Robert Stevenson gives this enjoyable effort that same cheerful Disney quality which emanated from most of the studio's 1960s films, just as he did with the likes of MARY POPPINS, IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS, THAT DARN CAT!, THE LOVE BUG, this film's sequel THE MONKEY'S UNCLE, and many more. Stevenson works wonders with Disney's backlot in creating a pleasant smalltown atmosphere.

THE MISADVENTURES OF MERLIN JONES is hardly earthshaking, must-see entertainment, but for fans of early Disney, modest family comedies, and the two appealing stars, it's quite a pleasant way to pass some time.