The Misadventures of Merlin Jones Movie Review (1964)

After what feels like forever (but really is only 14 movies), Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello reunite once more to star in this next film. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

A Brief Summary

(Taken from D23)

Merlin Jones is the brightest young student at a small midwestern college. Possessing an extremely high IQ, he is head and shoulders above his fellow classmates, particularly in the field of scientific endeavor. Although admonished by his professor to proceed slowly, he is already applying the results of his research to not only the problems confronting the college, but also to assist some of his fellow students. His efforts as a do-gooder boomerang on all concerned, but eventually everything works out. The application of Merlin’s meager knowledge of extrasensory perception and hypnotism results in some way-out hilarious involvements.

What works

• Jennifer (Annette Funicello), from the get-go, is a solid main supporting character. And I say supporting in that she supports Merlin even though he can (and does!) do dumb things.
• I totally thought Holmsby was writing a book when Merlin was listening to his thoughts for the first time, though it was written well to where it could be that Holmsby actually committed the crime in question. 
• I do love the interrogation scene where Merlin helps the cops get a bank robber to reveal his crime.
  • That being said, the thoughts from the bank robber are a little too perfectly expressed to give all the correct answers the police needed.
• The movie-style reminds me of the Sign of Zorro. It has more of an episodic feel to the plot organization than a straight-forward movie with each ‘episode’ focusing on a different one of Merlin’s experiments.
• The ending scene with Stanley smoking and reading the law book (as aided by Holmbsy, Jennifer and Merlin) was chuckle-worthy but more for its dated Disney feel than genuine chuckle status. 

What may or may not work

• The opening credits/song, mainly visuals, is creepy, reminding me of The Parent Trap opening credit song. The song itself isn’t that bad (it’s a Sherman Brothers song and has a catchy beat, sort of) but the visuals are.
  • I thought, at first, that the machine mentioned/shown in the opening credits would be the main thing for the movie. Nope. disappointed. 
• The cop’s flat refusal to listen to Merlin and Jennifer after pulling them over felt a little off even if it was what got them to Judge Holmsby’s courtroom and helped get the plot started.
• The fact that Merlin’s getting into legal trouble for his experiments but no academic repercussion. I mean, really? Not even a hint of a suspension or loss of lab privileges?
  • The only time ‘getting the school involved’ is really mentioned is to remove Norman as the ‘animal caretaker’ from the psych lab. And that’s at the end of the movie.
• To be fair, Merlin Jones as a character just bugs me. Completely bugs me. Here are some examples (pretty much copied exactly as written in my notes):
  • The bozo named Merlin. The first thing he does is go look for mind-reading books as scientific factual-ness.
  • Freakin’ Merlin. His ‘relentless’ pursuit of Holmsby is over the top.
  • He tells everyone that he was conducting an experiment in the lab and still no consequences as far as the school goes.
  • gets caught for being a ‘plumber’
  • Merlin still doesn’t get any major consequences though he and Jennifer trespass and dig up all of Holmsby’s plants.
  • Everything that has to do with his “Helpful Hypnosis” plan
    • First of all, “Helpful Hypnosis” my foot. Who came up with that? They should be stopped.
    • no consequences still for ANY of Merlin’s actions, none that would really stick and help curb his behavior.
    • “And by helping you, I’ll be helping all humanity.” (said to Stanley the chimp, and a very cheesy, unnecessary yet character-appropriate line)
    • His 100% success rate for hypnosis is a crack up. Literally tried it on 2 animals. So technically it’s accurate but still.

Honorable Mentions

• The dialogue for most of the supporting characters was actually enjoyable, so most of my highlighted moments from this movie can be found in the following quotes.
  • a convo between Jennifer and Norman (campus bully/sleazebag/dumbbell)
    • “You take last week’s football game. Who scored the winning touchdown?” (points to himself)
    • “Who fumbled twice and cost us two touchdowns/” (jabs finger into Norman)
    • “Could’ve happened to anyone.”
    • “Well, who coached most of the players in math? You know if it weren’t for Merlin, Midvale wouldn’t have a football team. You’d all have flunked.”
  • “But Judge, that’s interference with the freedom of scientific inquiry.” – Jennifer
  • “You go poking into people’s thoughts with your electrified brain, you’ll be in trouble.” -professor
    • “I’ll be careful about that in the future.” – Merlin Jones
      • Well that doesn’t last long.
    • “I wouldn’t tell anyone about this phenomenon.” – Professor
      • also doesn’t last long
  • “In some strange way that I don’t understand, this young man seems to have found me out. Well, I guess there’s nothing for me to do except make a confession.”
    • “Do you know what you’re saying Judge?”
    • “Suppose we all go inside and do this in a civilized manner.”
  • “As a forward-looking police force, naturally we take advantage of the latest scientific developments.” – police captain. (oh laws) 
  • I do not comment on crimes, except in the opinion of certain literary critics – Holmsby
  • “Now you’ll both be where you belong. Behind bars.” -Norman
  • “Are you out of your mind? We do not swear in animals” – Judge

• During the hypnotism lesson, the professor hypnotizes Merlin, turning him into “Drunk” Merlin. A very entertaining performance moment, and one of the few times that I really enjoyed watching Merlin on screen.
  • “The first pretty girl you see” That being said, it was a little over the top that they included this gag. I mean, it was totally obvious that he wouldn’t kiss Annette. It was a gag setup and felt meh at this point in the movie (2/3 way through).

Side Questions

• My mom asked how did he all of the sudden get that helmet experiment thing working in his car? Even though he takes the ‘portable’ portions
• How does the thought ‘pick up’ work? Because if it gets so ‘loud’ in the library that Merlin has to jump up and yell “quiet”, shouldn’t he have been hearing them all from the get-go?
  • I totally saw that ‘quiet’ yell/gag coming, but then how the majority of thoughts quiet immediately.
  • Also, how did no one see Merlin push Norman into the bookshelf? They weren’t that far away from everyone else.
• What science class demonstrates hypnotism?
• Norman is covered in an unknown liquid after the bottle falls on him. What is this liquid? Why are there chemicals in the psych lab? Shouldn’t there be other animals if they use animals for testing?
• So Hornsby remembers learning about the ‘moral code’ involved w/hypnosis but doesn’t call to ask “hey did anything happen last night?”

Would I watch this movie again?

• This feels like it’s becoming my typical answer. If I am with friends, I won’t turn down watching this movie. But on my own? It was alright, honestly, I enjoyed more being able to say that I’ve seen it than actually watching it. Merlin Jones as a character was not working for me, so I was ready to finish this movie and move on.

If you’ve seen The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

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