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DVD Cover Copyright Disney<\/em><\/p>\n The second installment of the \u201cMedfield College trilogy,\u201d following The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes <\/em>(1969) and preceding The Strongest Man in the World <\/em>(1975), Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t <\/em>was theatrically released on July 12, 1972. The film, the fourth of six overall Disney movies to be set at the fictitious Medfield College, is 88 minutes in length.<\/p>\n A Sequel<\/strong><\/p>\n Most of the major players from The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes <\/em>return in Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t<\/em>, including Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell), Richard Schuyler (Michael McGreevey), Dean Eugene Higgins (Joe Flynn), A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero), Arno\u2019s henchman Cookie (Richard Bakalyan), and Dean Collingsgood (Alan Hewitt). The major substitutions are Professor Lufkin (William Windom) for Professor Quigley (William Schallert), and Debbie (Joyce Menges) for Annie (Debbie Paine). Personality wise, I preferred Professor Quigley to Professor Lufkin, but this change is hardly a major problem.<\/p>\n The spelling of Dexter\u2019s last name, seen in the opening credits and on a laboratory locker towards the end of the movie, is \u201cRiley,\u201d instead of \u201cReilly,\u201d as it had been in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes<\/em>. Similarly, \u201cChillie\u201d the henchman is now \u201cCookie.\u201d These alterations probably represent editorial oversights; they are the same characters.<\/p>\n Plot Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n In playing a round of eighteen-hole golf with Timothy Forsythe (Jim Backus), the sponsor of a coveted science prize, and Dean Collingsgood of Springfield State College, Dean Eugene Higgins of Medfield College scores an amazing round of 54 despite demonstrating terrible form and footwork. \u00a0Forsythe and Collingsgood are understandably confounded. After all, Higgins was playing his first ever round of golf, putt putt excepted.\u00a0 What happened?<\/p>\n Photo Copyright Sarah McGovern<\/em><\/p>\n In fact, Dean Higgins is not a budding golf star destined to compete with Arnold Palmer for beverage naming rights. Rather, Higgins\u2019s much-maligned pupil Dexter Riley, who temporarily became a national sensation after a mishap in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes<\/em>, has again hit proverbial gold. Aided by a literal stroke of lightning, Dexter has perfected the invisibility formula he had been working on in Professor Lufkin\u2019s creative science course, and his covert efforts ensure Higgins repeated holes in one. Dexter\u2019s concoction, which looks like sweet and sour sauce, has much greater application potential than golf, however. Indeed, the vanishing solution is Medfield\u2019s only hope for winning the $50,000 Forsythe Science Award, which is needed to pay the college\u2019s $50,000 mortgage to the villainous A.J. Arno. Will Dexter\u2019s entry prevail?<\/p>\n Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n Columnist H.T. of the New York Times<\/em> afforded Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t<\/em> a positive review, saying, \u201cWalt Disney\u2014at least his thriving production unit\u2014has finally met \u2018The Invisible Man.\u2019 That\u2019s the gimmick of \u2018Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t\u2019 and the children ate it up yesterday at the Guild, which is all that matters. The Disney people, with their obvious gimmick, have kept the antics as merry as they are broad\u2014and clean. The main students [actors], Kurt Russell, Joyce Menges and Michael McGreevey, are thoroughly appealing with nimble help from such veterans as Joe Flynn, playing the school prexy, and Cesar Romero, personable as usual, as a natty crook.\u201d (1)<\/p>\n Creativity<\/strong><\/p>\n In the spirit of Walt Disney, Professor Lufkin wants his science students to be creative. He tells Dean Higgins, \u201cOur students have to experiment, be\u2026be creative! That\u2019s what science is all about today.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Dexter may not be the next Thomas Edison, he and his classmates can make great discoveries if afforded an open mind by their mentors. Professor Lufkin provides such support with his \u201cCreative Lab\u201d course. Dean Higgins, conversely, degrades his students in a manner reminiscent of the way film critics treated Walt Disney prior to his release of the groundbreaking Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs <\/em>(1937), the first full length animated feature in cinematic history. (2) Walt Disney proved his naysayers wrong, and Dexter strives to follow suit. Sometimes the best innovations arise from seeming impossibilities.<\/p>\n Cold War<\/strong><\/p>\n After Dean Higgins scolds Dexter for exploring the invisibility theory of an eighteenth-century Russian scientist, Schuyler responds with a reference to the still-ongoing Cold War: \u201cNow wait a minute! We may not agree with the Russians politically. We may not even like them. But as scientists, don\u2019t you think we ought to raise ourselves above these petty prejudices?\u201d<\/p>\n Common Sense<\/strong><\/p>\n Logic is exhibited by the students throughout the film.<\/p>\n While Higgins and Lufkin celebrate the school\u2019s seeming financial relief, Dexter rightly questions A.J. Arno\u2019s intentions in allowing an indefinite deferment of Medfield\u2019s mortgage payment. If a proposal, especially one coming from a seedy character, sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.<\/p>\n Also, immediately after securing the requisite $50,000 for the mortgage payment, Debbie and Dexter show Forsythe\u2026err, foresight in wondering how the school will meet next year\u2019s installment. It is always good to think ahead!<\/p>\n Schuyler<\/strong><\/p>\n In giving Schuyler a larger role in this sequel, Disney hit a home run. McGreevey is a bad actor, and Schuyler is consistently awkward, but such gaucheness only improves the movie. Laughs are the goal here, and Schuyler provides them en masse. The scene where Schuyler demonstrates Dexter\u2019s discovery to Higgins and Forsythe had me literally rolling around on my bed in laughter.<\/p>\n Schuyler proves more contentious in this film than he was in the original. When Dean Higgins angers him, Schuyler is not afraid to fight back, a benefit for the audience because Higgins is even surlier than he was in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes<\/em>. He is not a villain, but he is obnoxious.<\/p>\n Music<\/strong><\/p>\n Unlike its predecessor, which featured an extended theme song over the opening credits, Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t <\/em>lacks lyrical music save for Dexter\u2019s brief rendition of \u201cThe Farmer in the Dell\u201d in the golf bunker, and a happy birthday song for A.J. Arno. Suspenseful background music is well utilized during the film\u2019s action scenes, such as the bank robbery and the car chase.<\/p>\n Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n The students demonstrate the benefits of bug-laden plants, bees excepted.<\/p>\n One student in the Creative Lab is working on an experiment with cereal and milk. Err, never mind; he is just making his breakfast.<\/p>\n Dexter, Schuyler, and Debbie endure some tense moments when Dexter displays ignorance as to removing the vanishing solution.<\/p>\n A.J. Arno envisions grandiose \u201cimprovements\u201d for Medfield College.<\/p>\n Dexter covertly steals the show on the golf course.<\/p>\n Dean Higgins encounters a difficult water trap on the thirteenth hole. Actually, it is more like a tidal wave.<\/p>\n The students abruptly depart in the middle of an art lecture. The professor is exceedingly boring, but his dullness is not the cause of the mass exodus.<\/p>\n The police and students find themselves in a car chase after Arno robs a bank. This endeavor is complicated by Arno\u2019s possession of Dexter\u2019s vanishing solution.<\/p>\n Dean Higgins is terrified by his reflection, or lack thereof, in the mirror.<\/p>\n Relationship to Other Disney Films<\/strong><\/p>\n Dexter\u2019s friends took a page from Alice in Wonderland<\/em> (1951) in throwing A.J. Arno an unbirthday party!<\/p>\n By virtue of the golf scenes, Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t<\/em> joined its Medfield College predecessors in featuring a major competitive event. Basketball, football, and an academic tournament dominated The Absent-Minded Professor <\/em>(1961), Son of Flubber <\/em>(1963), and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes<\/em>, respectively.<\/p>\n In the Parks<\/strong><\/p>\n In the queue for Epcot\u2019s \u201cJourney Into Imagination With Figment,\u201d guests will hear an announcement for Dexter Riley and see Dean Higgins\u2019s name inscribed on a faux office door.<\/p>\n Vanishing objects can be viewed in the \u201cHaunted Mansion,\u201d located at both Walt Disney World\u2019s Magic Kingdom and California\u2019s Disneyland Park.<\/p>\n A.J. Arno incorporates \u201cArno\u2019s Golden Horseshoe Club\u201d into his Medfield College diorama. At Disneyland Park, \u201cThe Golden Horseshoe\u201d serves as a venue for dining and entertainment.<\/p>\n In the movie, Dean Higgins partook in both traditional golf and miniature golf. At Walt Disney World, traditional golf can be enjoyed at \u201cDisney\u2019s Palm Golf Course,\u201d \u201cDisney\u2019s Oak Trail Golf Course,\u201d and \u201cDisney\u2019s Magnolia Golf Course\u201d; and miniature golf is offered at \u201cFantasia Gardens\u201d and \u201cWinter Summerland.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall<\/strong><\/p>\n Aside from the car chase scene running a few minutes too long, Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t <\/em>is a great Disney comedy. If you want to laugh, this film is highly recommended.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n 1) T., H. (1972, August 24). Spirited Romp for Invisible Caper Crew. New York Times<\/em>, p. 52. Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http:\/\/0-search.proquest.com.alpha1.suffolk.lib.ny.us\/docview\/119527685\/fulltextPDF\/984D928220C24502PQ\/1?accountid=35174<\/a><\/p>\n 2) 1938: Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2016, from http:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/disney-releases-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs<\/p>\n What do you think of Now You See Him, Now You Don\u2019t? Let me know in the comments!<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Now](\"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Now-You-See-Him-Now-You-Dont-Pinterest-Sarah-McGovern-400x300.png\")
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