Now You See Him, Now You Don't
Encyclopedia
Now You See Him, Now You Don't is a 1972 Walt Disney
film starring Kurt Russell
, a student at the fictional Medfield College
. It is the sequel to the 1969 film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
.
Now You See Him, Now You Don't was the first Disney film to be shown on television in a two-hour time slot, in 1975. Previous television showings of Disney films had either shown them edited or split into two one-hour time slots.
), concocts an invisibility spray. But when a gang of thieves find out about it and plan to steal it it's up to Dexter and friends to stop him. The gang, headed by A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero), want the formula to use in a bank robbery. The kids find themselves being chased by the crooks. Meanwhile, Dexter employs the spray at a golf tournament, much to the surprise of apoplectic college president Higgins (Joe Flynn).
Just then, Higgins brings Arno to visit the lab, stunning the students, as only two years earlier, Dexter was instrumental in exposing Arno's crooked gambling scheme. Although distracted by the condition of their partially visible hands, Dexter and the others notice that Arno is more concerned with the campus architecture than Higgins' curriculum speech. After Arno and Higgins depart, Dexter and Schuyler discover, to their surprise, that water washes off the invisibility formula's effects. Curious about Arno's behavior, Dexter convinces Schuyler to use the invisibility formula to sneak into Arno's office that night to look around. Although they are nearly discovered when Schuyler steps into a puddle, making his tennis shoes visible, the boys get inside Arno's office where they find a model of Medfield College redesigned as sprawling gambling establishment. After taking photos of the model, the boys flee with Debbie's help.
The next day Dexter shows the photos to Lufkin and Higgins, both of whom are alarmed and concerned about how to buy back the college's mortgage. Convinced that Druffle's bumblebee study would draw attention and investments to Medfield, Higgins reacts angrily when Dexter assures him that his invisibility formula could win the top prize money in the upcoming Forsythe science contest. Not having admitted to anyone that Medfield has been dropped from the contest for being too insignificant, Higgins determinedly contacts the contest's sponsor, millionaire Timothy Forsythe and agrees to meet over a game of golf, despite his inability to play. Upon learning of Higgins' plan and suspecting it must be connected with raising money for the college, Dexter urges Schuyler to volunteer to serve as Higgins' caddy while, hidden by the invisibility formula, he will take control of Higgins' golf ball. At the golf club, Forsythe and the state university dean, Collingsgood, are amazed by Higgins' quirky golfing abilities, which include numerous hole-in-one-shots, as is Arno who is also at the club.
After the game, Forsythe enthusiastically agrees to reinstate Medfield into the competition for the Forsythe Award. Meanwhile, Arno accidentally sees Dexter becoming visible in the club showers and grows suspicious. When the local television news covers Higgins' extraordinary golf game, he is invited to join an exclusive tournament in nearby Ocean City. Convinced that he will win enough money to pay the college's mortgage, Higgins brashly accepts and that afternoon departs with Schuyler. Learning of the tournament from Druffle too late, Dexter misses the plane and is forced to watch the competition on television where Higgins' game against two professionals is a disaster. In his business office, Arno and his henchmen, Cookie and Alfred, also watch the tournament and ponder Higgins' odd inconsistency. Upon returning to the college, Higgins tells Lufkin that Druffle's bee experiment is the school's last chance. Both men are stunned when just then Druffle appears swathed in bandages after being attacked by the bees, to which he is allergic. Hoping to assuage the crestfallen Higgins, Lufkin suggests that they give Dexter's unproven formula a chance and the dean reluctantly agrees.
That evening, Cookie, disguised as a janitor, sneaks into the campus lab where he witnesses Dexter and Schuyler using the invisibility spray, and reports to Arno, who orders him to return and steal it. The following day, Forsythe and members of his committee arrive on campus to judge the best science experiment at the college. Unaware that their spray bottle has been replaced by Cookie, Dexter and Schuyler make their presentation and are stunned when it has no effect. Disappointed and angry, Forsythe and Higgins depart as Dexter remains confused until he chats with Charlie, the janitor. Learning that there is no night janitor, Dexter realizes that Cookie was a spy and likely stole the formula. Concluding that Arno must be behind the theft, Dexter plants a walkie-talkie in his office.
A couple of days later, Schuyler overhears Arno plotting with Cookie to rob Medfield bank by making themselves and the money invisible. Certain that if he could retrieve the formula before the Forsythe Award announcement that night, he could still win the contest, Dexter sends Schuyler to the police and goes to inform the bank's president, Wilfred Sampson. When both the police and Sampson dismiss the boys' story about invisibility, Dexter and his friends gather outside of the bank to make plans. While an invisible Arno and Cookie knock out the guards and take the money, Dexter unsuccessfully tries to use a fire hydrant to hose the men down as they exit the bank. When Sampson realizes a theft has occurred, he contacts the police who join the college students in a wild chase of the car driven by the invisible robbers.
After briefly eluding everyone, Arno orders Cookie to make the car invisible, but they are spotted on a dirt road in a park. Deducing Arno will not leave town but go to his home instead, Dexter drives there and forces Arno's car into a neighboring pool where it, the money and the men become visible. Taking the formula, Dexter and the others dash to the presentation of the Forsythe Award and plead for one more opportunity to demonstrate their invention. Frustrated by Dexter's determination, Higgins intervenes just as Dexter sprays Schuyler, and, again, there is no result. Realizing the dip in the pool has diluted the formula, Dexter tries to explain to Forsythe just as the top half of Higgins becomes invisible, thus shocking the group and winning the top prize to save Medfield for another year.
: one was the vehicle carried by Tang Wu's Chinese Camp students, (this was a gutted car and a rubber truck tire tube was placed under the passenger door, and when inflated suddenly, it would tip the car over, this car used in the scene where AJ Arno rams it). The other car was used in the scenes with Schyler driving it on a flat tire. (The Art Dept. painted the car green, and dusted it to give a look of neglect. When the sunroof is open, the original Herbie Pearl white paint job under the tarp sunroof can be seen where the green was not painted.)
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
film starring Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
, a student at the fictional Medfield College
Medfield College
Medfield College is a fictitious university used as the setting for several films by The Walt Disney Company. Among them are the two 'Professor Brainard' movies, The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber ; and the 'Dexter Riley' trilogy: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes , Now You See Him, Now...
. It is the sequel to the 1969 film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes is a Disney film from 1969, starring Alan Hewitt, Kurt Russell, Frank Webb, and Joe Flynn. It is released by Buena Vista Distribution Company....
.
Now You See Him, Now You Don't was the first Disney film to be shown on television in a two-hour time slot, in 1975. Previous television showings of Disney films had either shown them edited or split into two one-hour time slots.
Plot
A chemistry student invents a spray that makes its wearer invisible. Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell), a science major at Medfield College, along with fellow science majors Schuyler (Michael McGreevey) and Debbie (Joyce MengesJoyce Menges
Joyce Menges was an actress 1972 to 1975. She starred Robert Butler's Now You See Him, Now You Don't as well as in the TV show To Rome With Love starring John Forsythe. Joyce's son is Jimmy Tamborello, the composer for the electronic indie pop band, The Postal Service.-Filmography:-External links:...
), concocts an invisibility spray. But when a gang of thieves find out about it and plan to steal it it's up to Dexter and friends to stop him. The gang, headed by A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero), want the formula to use in a bank robbery. The kids find themselves being chased by the crooks. Meanwhile, Dexter employs the spray at a golf tournament, much to the surprise of apoplectic college president Higgins (Joe Flynn).
Plot
At Medfield College, science buff Dexter Riley and his friends, including Richard Schuyler and Debbie Dawson, eavesdrop via a hidden walkie-talkie on a board meeting led by Dean Eugene Higgins, discussing the small college's continuing precarious finances. Later that afternoon, Professor Lufkin shows Higgins around the science lab where Dexter is working on an experiment with invisibility and another student, Druffle, explores the patterns of the lives of bumblebees. That night, unknown to anyone, during a powerful thunderstorm, the roof of the lab is struck by lightning, sending a current of electricity down a metal beam and through Dexter's complex experiment components. The next day, as Dexter examines his burnt equipment with dismay, Higgins meets with businessman A. J. Arno who has recently purchased Medfield's mortgage. When Dexter accidentally drops one half of his protective glasses into a container of his experimental formula, it appears as if the substance destroys them, but upon closer examination, Dexter realizes the frames are merely partially invisible. After several excited tests, Dexter boldly places his fingers in the liquid and they disappear. Schuyler and Debbie arrive and are horrified to see Dexter with a partial hand, but Dexter insists Schuyler test the substance as well, admitting only afterward that he does not yet have an antidote.Just then, Higgins brings Arno to visit the lab, stunning the students, as only two years earlier, Dexter was instrumental in exposing Arno's crooked gambling scheme. Although distracted by the condition of their partially visible hands, Dexter and the others notice that Arno is more concerned with the campus architecture than Higgins' curriculum speech. After Arno and Higgins depart, Dexter and Schuyler discover, to their surprise, that water washes off the invisibility formula's effects. Curious about Arno's behavior, Dexter convinces Schuyler to use the invisibility formula to sneak into Arno's office that night to look around. Although they are nearly discovered when Schuyler steps into a puddle, making his tennis shoes visible, the boys get inside Arno's office where they find a model of Medfield College redesigned as sprawling gambling establishment. After taking photos of the model, the boys flee with Debbie's help.
The next day Dexter shows the photos to Lufkin and Higgins, both of whom are alarmed and concerned about how to buy back the college's mortgage. Convinced that Druffle's bumblebee study would draw attention and investments to Medfield, Higgins reacts angrily when Dexter assures him that his invisibility formula could win the top prize money in the upcoming Forsythe science contest. Not having admitted to anyone that Medfield has been dropped from the contest for being too insignificant, Higgins determinedly contacts the contest's sponsor, millionaire Timothy Forsythe and agrees to meet over a game of golf, despite his inability to play. Upon learning of Higgins' plan and suspecting it must be connected with raising money for the college, Dexter urges Schuyler to volunteer to serve as Higgins' caddy while, hidden by the invisibility formula, he will take control of Higgins' golf ball. At the golf club, Forsythe and the state university dean, Collingsgood, are amazed by Higgins' quirky golfing abilities, which include numerous hole-in-one-shots, as is Arno who is also at the club.
After the game, Forsythe enthusiastically agrees to reinstate Medfield into the competition for the Forsythe Award. Meanwhile, Arno accidentally sees Dexter becoming visible in the club showers and grows suspicious. When the local television news covers Higgins' extraordinary golf game, he is invited to join an exclusive tournament in nearby Ocean City. Convinced that he will win enough money to pay the college's mortgage, Higgins brashly accepts and that afternoon departs with Schuyler. Learning of the tournament from Druffle too late, Dexter misses the plane and is forced to watch the competition on television where Higgins' game against two professionals is a disaster. In his business office, Arno and his henchmen, Cookie and Alfred, also watch the tournament and ponder Higgins' odd inconsistency. Upon returning to the college, Higgins tells Lufkin that Druffle's bee experiment is the school's last chance. Both men are stunned when just then Druffle appears swathed in bandages after being attacked by the bees, to which he is allergic. Hoping to assuage the crestfallen Higgins, Lufkin suggests that they give Dexter's unproven formula a chance and the dean reluctantly agrees.
That evening, Cookie, disguised as a janitor, sneaks into the campus lab where he witnesses Dexter and Schuyler using the invisibility spray, and reports to Arno, who orders him to return and steal it. The following day, Forsythe and members of his committee arrive on campus to judge the best science experiment at the college. Unaware that their spray bottle has been replaced by Cookie, Dexter and Schuyler make their presentation and are stunned when it has no effect. Disappointed and angry, Forsythe and Higgins depart as Dexter remains confused until he chats with Charlie, the janitor. Learning that there is no night janitor, Dexter realizes that Cookie was a spy and likely stole the formula. Concluding that Arno must be behind the theft, Dexter plants a walkie-talkie in his office.
A couple of days later, Schuyler overhears Arno plotting with Cookie to rob Medfield bank by making themselves and the money invisible. Certain that if he could retrieve the formula before the Forsythe Award announcement that night, he could still win the contest, Dexter sends Schuyler to the police and goes to inform the bank's president, Wilfred Sampson. When both the police and Sampson dismiss the boys' story about invisibility, Dexter and his friends gather outside of the bank to make plans. While an invisible Arno and Cookie knock out the guards and take the money, Dexter unsuccessfully tries to use a fire hydrant to hose the men down as they exit the bank. When Sampson realizes a theft has occurred, he contacts the police who join the college students in a wild chase of the car driven by the invisible robbers.
After briefly eluding everyone, Arno orders Cookie to make the car invisible, but they are spotted on a dirt road in a park. Deducing Arno will not leave town but go to his home instead, Dexter drives there and forces Arno's car into a neighboring pool where it, the money and the men become visible. Taking the formula, Dexter and the others dash to the presentation of the Forsythe Award and plead for one more opportunity to demonstrate their invention. Frustrated by Dexter's determination, Higgins intervenes just as Dexter sprays Schuyler, and, again, there is no result. Realizing the dip in the pool has diluted the formula, Dexter tries to explain to Forsythe just as the top half of Higgins becomes invisible, thus shocking the group and winning the top prize to save Medfield for another year.
Locations
The Medfield College exteriors were on the Disney lot: the main Medfield College building and courtyard used in the title sequence was the old Animation Building at the corner of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive.Props
The Green VW used by Schyler was two Herbie cars from The Love BugThe Love Bug
The Love Bug is the first in a series of comedy films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
: one was the vehicle carried by Tang Wu's Chinese Camp students, (this was a gutted car and a rubber truck tire tube was placed under the passenger door, and when inflated suddenly, it would tip the car over, this car used in the scene where AJ Arno rams it). The other car was used in the scenes with Schyler driving it on a flat tire. (The Art Dept. painted the car green, and dusted it to give a look of neglect. When the sunroof is open, the original Herbie Pearl white paint job under the tarp sunroof can be seen where the green was not painted.)
Cast
- Kurt RussellKurt RussellKurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
as Dexter Reilly - Cesar RomeroCesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
as A.J. Arno - Joe FlynnJoe Flynn (US actor)Joseph A. Flynn was an American character actor. He was best known for his role in the 1960s ABC television situation comedy, McHale's Navy. He was also a frequent guest star on 1960s TV shows such as Batman and appeared in several Walt Disney film comedies...
as Dean Eugene (E.J.) Higgins - Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
as Timothy Forsythe - William WindomWilliam WindomThis page is about the former United States politician. William Windom was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 to 1883...
as Professor Lufkin - Michael McGreevey as Richard Schuyler
- Ed Begley, Jr.Ed Begley, Jr.Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
as Druffle - Richard BakalyanRichard BakalyanRichard Bakalyan is an Born in Iran character actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents he served them treats and candys in his ice cream van in his first several films. He had some fun experience having served a year's probation at age 15...
as Cookie - Joyce MengesJoyce MengesJoyce Menges was an actress 1972 to 1975. She starred Robert Butler's Now You See Him, Now You Don't as well as in the TV show To Rome With Love starring John Forsythe. Joyce's son is Jimmy Tamborello, the composer for the electronic indie pop band, The Postal Service.-Filmography:-External links:...
as Debbie Dawson - Alan HewittAlan HewittAlan Hewitt was an American film, television and stage actor.He never became a major star, but he did have a lengthy career which included smaller parts in several well-known programs, including Daktari, I Dream Of Jeannie, Dr...
as Dean Edgar Collingswood - Kelly Thordsen as Police Sergeant Cassidy
- Bing RussellBing RussellBing Russell was an American actor and baseball club owner, and was the father of Golden Globe-nominated actor Kurt Russell.-Personal life:...
as Alfred - George O'HanlonGeorge O'HanlonGeorge O'Hanlon was an American screen actor, comedian, and voice actor.-Early life and career:George O'Hanlon was born in Brooklyn, New York City on November 23, 1912....
as Ted, Bank Guard - John Myhers as Golfer
- Pat DelaneyPat DelaneyPat Delaney may refer to:* Pat Delaney , actress in Cos * Pat Delaney , Offaly hurler* Pat Delaney , Kilkenny hurler* Patrick Delany...
as Winifred Keesely, Higgins' Secretary - Robert Rothwell as Driver