Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Enjoy!
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a 1964 American live-action/animated hybrid fantasy comedy film produced by Warner Bros. and based on the 1942 novel Mr. Limpet by Theodore Pratt. It is about a man named Henry Limpet who turns into a talking fish and helps the U.S. Navy locate and destroy Nazi submarines. Don Knotts plays the title character. The live action was directed by Arthur Lubin, while the animation was directed by Bill Tytla, Robert McKimson, Hawley Pratt and Gerry Chiniquy at Warner Bros. Cartoons. Music includes songs by Sammy Fain, in collaboration with Harold Adamson, including "I Wish I Were a Fish", "Be Careful How You Wish" and "Deep Rapture". The film received mixed reviews. It was the final project for Warner Bros. Cartoons prior to its closure in May 1963.
Plot: Aquatic life fanatic Henry Limpet (Don Knotts) falls into the sea and transforms into a fish, quickly becoming pals with a crab and developing a romantic bond with a fetching female fish. As a human, Henry was passed over for naval service. But now that he's a fish, he seeks out his friend Lt. George Stickel (Jack Weston). Finding him on a small boat in the Atlantic, Henry explains that he can alert sailors when enemy ships are close by, and soon he's helping America win World War II.
Acting: Don Knotts played Henry Limpet. I love Don Knotts, and it is not because of Barney Fife. The Andy Griffith Show is the reason most people claim to like Don Knotts for, but I actually never liked watching The Andy Griffith Show, not that Don Knotts wasn't great as Barney Fife, because he was. I fell in love with Don Knotts through is voice acting. The New Scooby-Doo Movies series (that featured celebrity guests every episode), the Hermie & Friends collection, Chicken Little and The Incredible Mr. Limpet are the titles that introduced me and made me fall in love with Don Knotts in my childhood. His four most notable titles are Pleasantville, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, The Andy Griffith Show series and Three's Company series. My favorite is The New Scooby-Doo Movies series.
Carole Cook played Bessie Limpet. Her four most notable titles include Sixteen Candles, The Gauntlet, Home on the Range and American Gigolo. My favorite is Murder, She Wrote; she appears in two episodes.
Jack Weston played Machinist's Mate 2nd Class (PO2) George Stickle. His four most notable titles are Dirty Dancing, Wait Util Dark, The Thomas Crown Affair and Cactus Flower. My favorite is Dirty Dancing.
Elizabeth MacRae voiced ladyfish. Her four most notable titles include The Conversation, Everything's Ducky, the General Hospital soap opera and Surfside 6 series. I haven't seen her other work.
Paul Frees voiced Crusty. Oh my goodness. If my childhood could be summed up into one voice actor, it would be this man. He has 374 titles to his name. Holy crap! He was one of Rankin/Bass' go-to voice actors. His voice could be heard in so many of their titles, if not all of them. I LOVE RANKIN/BASS SO MUCH! They're the animation productio company that brought the animated Christmas specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman to life. They are one of the reasons why I love stop-motion animation so much—and so many classic cartoons too! This man is my hero. His four most notable titles are (for voices) The Wart of the Worlds, The Beatniks, The Last Unicorn and The Bullwinkle Show. My favorites are The Last Unicorn and The Hobbit (1977). And yes, I will eventually be writing columns on these gems.
Minor roles were played by Andrew Duggan, Larry Keating, Oscar Beregi Jr., Charles Meredith and Phil Arnold.
Technical Aspects: The film was based on a novel by Theodore Pratt which was published in 1942.
Jon Rose and Jonathan Brewer wrote the script, with Rose producing through Warners. Don Knotts signed in March 1962. He planned on making the film on hiatus from The Andy Griffith Show. It was his first lead role in a film. Lubin signed to make the film in July, and filming took place on the Warner backlot later that same month.
Both Don Knotts and Elizabeth MacRae (Limpet and Ladyfish) were employed in Andy Griffith's Mayberry franchises, respectively as deputy Barney Fife and Lou-Ann Poovie, Gomer Pyle's girlfriend in the later seasons of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
During World War I, and World War II, there was a mine known as a limpet, a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets named because of their superficial similarity to the limpet, a type of gastropod mollusk. "Das Limpet" was the German Navy's identification of Don Knotts' character.
The destroyer USS Alfred A. Cunningham was the naval ship featured in this film. Another ship used in filming was the cruiser USS Galveston, which was referred to as USS Los Angeles in the film. The cruiser USS Los Angeles was offered for use at the time of pre-production planning, but was decommissioned late 1963, before principle filming began. Here lies a double anachronism. Here lies a double anachronism, in that Los Angeles was not commissioned until late 1945, and Galveston had been converted to a guided missile cruiser, and clearly shows her 1960s configuration with large radars and missile launchers in place of her removed gun turrets.
The animated sequences were handled by Warner Bros. Cartoons under the supervision of Robert McKimson, and it was the final project for the studio prior to its temporary closure in spring 1963, as well as one of the few non-Looney Tunes productions they worked on.
The Coney Island pier, naval scenes and other aquatic scenes were filmed on Stage 16 at Warner Brothers Studio. The Stage 16 tank holds two-and-a-half million gallons of water.
Final Thoughts: The Incredible Mr. Limpet is an underrated Don Knotts movie in my opinion. Most people probably haven't even heard of it, but it is an enjoyable film worth the watch. I grew up watching The Incredible Mr. Limpet and other Don Knotts movies, so maybe I'm bias, but so what, it is my column after all.
My favorite scene was every scene with Crusty. He was my favorite.
My favorite quote is "Hey, don't go moseyin' around in this thing's innards. No wonder this thing died! Look at al this kind of stuff it ate!" —Crusty.
Rated: G
Where to watch it: According to Google, The Incredible Mr. Limpet is not currently available on any streaming service. But, you can also purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
