Son of Flubber (1962)

Fred MacMurray: Prof. Ned Brainard

Photos 

Quotes 

• Professor Ned Brainard : The road to genius is paved with fumble-footing and bumbling. Anyone who falls flat on his face is at least moving in the right direction: forward. And the fellow who makes the most mistakes may be the one who will save the neck of the whole world some day.

• Mr. Harker : Now if you'll just give me a check for the amount on this paper here, please.

  Professor Ned Brainard : But how can I pay you if nobody pays me?

  Mr. Harker : Well, I regret to say, Professor, that's your problem. But look at it from our standpoint. We've been counting on you. We trusted you. Uncle Sam needs the money. You don't build those rockets to the moon with Green Stamps, you know.

• Professor Ned Brainard : You'd think those people at the Pentagon could've least have given us a couple hundred thousand out of petty cash, or something.

• Professor Ned Brainard : If need be, I'll bet you'd put your own mother in jail.

  Mr. Harker : Funny you should mention that about Mom. A little matter of some unreported income from jams and jellies. We nailed her dead to rights!

• Biff Hawk : [about his father, Alonzo Hawk]  Pop's the biggest loan shark in the state, and he's proud of it.

  Professor Ned Brainard : Let's just say your father is a very shrewd businessman.

  Biff Hawk : Shrewd? The only time my pop ever got the worst of a bargain was when he got me. I just didn't turn out the way he wanted me to at all.

• Professor Ned Brainard : I hardly consider myself in the same class as Mr. Edison.

• Defense Secretary : Professor, I don't think you realize how important this discovery of yours is. It's big. We've got to handle it big, everything about it. If you settle chickenfeed now, it's going to be a chickenfeed operation. Everyone is going to lose face. Everything is going to fall apart, all the way down the line. And the free world loses another battle. Is that what you want?

  Professor Ned Brainard : Well, no, I wouldn't that, sir.

• Professor Ned Brainard : [speaking to Daggett about his meeting at Washington]  Things aren't quite as simple as I hoped they'd be.

  Alonzo Hawk : So they gave you the old dipsy-do, huh? They really sandbagged you. They hung your hide up on the barn door to dry.

  President Rufus Daggett : Professor, am I to assume something has gone amiss?

  Professor Ned Brainard : Well...

  President Rufus Daggett : But I thought they were delighted with your discovery.

  Professor Ned Brainard : Oh, they are. It's just... Well, it's a little hard to explain.

  Alonzo Hawk : May I?

  [walks up to Brainard and Daggett] 

  Alonzo Hawk : Allow me to boil it down for you gentlemen, and you'll be sure if I get it straight?

  [to Brainard] 

  Alonzo Hawk : Number one: the boys in Washington latched onto your little discovery so you can't sell it anywhere else.

  [Brainard nods slowly] 

  Alonzo Hawk : Number two: they're not about to give you any money until they think it over. Number three: meantime, you've got no money. How am I doing?

  [Brainard nods again] 

  Alonzo Hawk : Number four: somebody'd better lay 350,000 clams on the barrel-head, first of the month by 9AM, to pay off the short-term loan made to this college by the Auld Lang Syne Insurance and Loan Company, or else, exactly at 9:03, a fleet of bulldozers owned by the Auld Lang Syne Demolition and Wrecking Company will start rolling through those hallowed gates and start flattening these ivy-covered walls in all directions. Period! End of story! Very sad. But, uh, personally, I'm crazy about it.

  [chuckles] 

  President Rufus Daggett : I can't believe you'd do a thing like that, Mr. Hawk.

  Alonzo Hawk : Oh, you can't?

  President Rufus Daggett : No.

  Alonzo Hawk : Well, boys, it looks like I'm calling the tune again. Anybody care to dance?

• Professor Ned Brainard : [trailing Shelby Ashton's car in his flying Model T car]  Okay, Charlie, battle stations! I need a guinea pig for this experiment, and I know just the pig!