Sunday, August 14, 2022

Sandy Ricks in Flipper and the Elephant (2/27/1965)

 


Introduced in the 1963 film Flipper, Sandy Ricks rescues and befriends an injured dolphin and names him Flipper.  In the 1964 sequel Flipper's New Adventure, his father Porter is widowed and goes to park warden school.  In the 1964 television series, Porter becomes chief warden of Coral Key Park in Florida, and Sandy gains a younger brother Bud.

As played by Luke Halpin, Sandy has a pretty, boyish face, tousled mop of blond hair in the first season, and a slender, athletic swimmer's build.  He is often shirtless, dressed in nothing more than blue cutoff jeans and white sneakers.

In the 1964 seriesSandy's and Bud's job was to appear to translate for the dolphin and to get into trouble so that the animal star could rescue them.  Sandy tends to be the more responsible brother.  He often accompanies Bud in his misadventures or his father in his ranger duties.  

In this episode, Flipper leads the Ricks to rescue a father, his daughter and an animal circus consisting of a troublesome chimpanzee and baby elephant.  They lost their boat and owe money to an unsympathetic creditor.

Sandy and the daughter Bonnie McCoy have an underwater scene exploring Coral Key Park.  They also have a couple above-water scenes with their diving masks, both as they prepare to go underwater and as they emerge from the water in their skiff.

However, my favorite scenes are when Sandy is shirtless above water without a diving mask.  In this episode, Sandy has a few such scenes.  First, at the beginning, riding in on his father's launch, Sandy helps rescue the McCoys and their floating circus.  Then, he and Bonnie are on the boat preparing to go underwater and on the side of the boat emerging from the water.  Finally, they chase after the McCoy's baby elephant.

Favorite scenes:






























This blog is intended to promote the appreciation of Luke Halpin's portrayal of Sandy Ricks in the 1964 television series "Flipper".

For more appreciation of Luke Halpin's portrayal of Sandy RIcks, check out the Luke Halpin Gallery.   

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