Flipper

The trusty dolphin character Flipper dazzled youthful audiences with its debut in the 1963 feature film of the same name. Later, the popular bottle-nosed mammal made a return appearance in the film sequel Flipper's New Adventure (1964), and then starred in a television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) series, Flipper (1964–68). Three decades later, the dolphin reappeared in another TV series called Flipper (1995). Finally, amid a nostalgic wave of motion pictures based on hit 1960s TV series, the mammal again appeared in a new film, once again titled Flipper (1996).

What makes this character so appealing is its seeming ability to communicate and interact with humans. Flipper is a playful and mischievous character, but in times of danger, Flipper acts with death-defying courage.

In the first film, which takes place in the Florida Keys, Flipper is an injured dolphin who befriends a twelve-year-old fisherman's son named Sandy Ricks. Sandy and his mother nurse Flipper back to good health. However, because Sandy prefers to play with Flipper rather than do his chores, his dad insists that Sandy stop spending time with the dolphin. Eventually, Flipper shows his mettle by locating a new fishing ground and even rescuing Sandy from life-threatening sharks. The subsequent Flipper stories, all of which also feature Sandy, combine moments of Flipper being happy and playful with climactic sequences of danger wherein the dolphin battles enemies and rescues people in distress.

Flipper is presented as a male, but "he" was played by female dolphins. The first one cast in the role was named Mitzi. At a time when it was rare for dolphins to perform tricks involving interaction with people, Mitzi learned to fetch a boy from the water and carry him on her back. Later, for the first TV series, a dolphin named Suzy was chosen to play the lead role.

The Flipper character was the invention of movie and TV underwater stuntman Ricou Browning (1930–). Browning trained Mitzi to do all the stunts for the screen and employed his son Ricky to act as the subject of many of Flipper's stunts. Later, Suzy learned almost forty maneuvers to make Flipper's actions on TV exciting and believable.

—Audrey Kupferberg

For More Information

Edelson, Edward. Great Animals of the Movies. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980.

Flipper (film). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1963.

Flipper (film). Universal, 1996.

Flipper's New Adventure (film). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1964.

Rothel, David. Great Show Business Animals. San Diego: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1980.