''The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes'' is a 1969 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The ...

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

, Joe Flynn and

William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on '' Richard Diamond, Privat ...

. It was produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company. It was one of several films made by Disney using the setting of Medfield College, first used in the 1961 Disney film '' The Absent-Minded Professor'' and its sequel ''

Son of Flubber ''Son of Flubber'' is a 1963 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The sequel to ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' (1961), Fred MacMurray reprises his role from the first film as N ...

''. Both sequels to ''The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes'', ''

Now You See Him, Now You Don't ''Now You See Him, Now You Don't'' is a 1972 American science fiction comedy film starring Kurt Russell as a chemistry student who accidentally discovers the secret to invisibility. It is the sequel to the 1969 film '' The Computer Wore Tennis S ...

'' and ''

The Strongest Man in the World ''The Strongest Man in the World'' is a 1975 American science fiction comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety, produced by Walt Disney Productions and starring Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Eve Arden. It is the second sequel to the 1969 film '' ...

'', were also set at Medfield.

Plot

Dexter Reilly (

) and his friends attend small, private Medfield College, which cannot afford to buy a computer. The students persuade wealthy businessman A. J. Arno (

) to donate an old computer to the college. Arno is secretly the head of a large illegal gambling ring which used the computer for its operations. While installing a replacement computer part during a thunderstorm, Reilly receives an electric shock and becomes a

human computer The term "computer", in use from the early 17th century (the first known written reference dates from 1613), meant "one who computes": a person performing mathematical calculations, before electronic computers became commercially available. Ala ...

. He now has superhuman mathematical talent, can read and remember the contents of an encyclopedia volume in a few minutes, and can speak a language fluently after reading one textbook. His new abilities make him a worldwide celebrity and Medfield's best chance to win a televised quiz tournament with a $100,000 prize. Reilly single-handedly leads Medfield's team in victories against other colleges. During the tournament, on live television, a trigger word (" applejack") causes him to unknowingly recite details of Arno's gambling ring. Arno's

henchmen A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies pri ...

kidnap Reilly and plan to kill him, but his friends help him escape by locating the house in which he is being kept, posing as house painters to gain access, and sneaking him out in a large trunk. During the escape, he suffers a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration ...

which, during the tournament final against rival Springfield State, gradually returns his mental abilities to normal; however, one of his friends, Schuyler, is able to answer the final question ("A small Midwest city is located exactly on an area designated as the

geographic center of the United States The geographic center of the United States is a point approximately north of Belle Fourche, South Dakota at . It has been regarded as such by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey (NGS) since the additions of Alaska and Hawaii to the United State ...

. For 10 points and $100,000, can you tell us the name of that city?" with the answer " Lebanon, Kansas"). Medfield wins the $100,000 prize. Arno and his henchmen are arrested when they attempt to escape the TV studio and crash head-on into a police car.

Cast

as Dexter Reilly *

as A. J. Arno * Joe Flynn as Dean Higgins *

as Professor Quigley *

Alan Hewitt Alan Hewitt (January 21, 1915 – November 7, 1986) was an American film, television, and stage actor. His most prominent TV roles were Detective Brennan in ''My Favorite Martian'' and the district attorney in ''How to Murder Your Wife''. Earl ...

as Dean Collingsgood * Richard Bakalyan as Chillie Walsh * Debbie Paine as Annie Hannah * Frank Webb as Pete * Michael McGreevey as Schuyler *

Jon Provost Jonathan Bion Provost (born March 12, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his role as young Timmy Martin in the CBS series '' Lassie''. Life and career Provost was born in Los Angeles. At the age of four, Provost was cast in the film ...

as Bradley *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

as Henry * W. Alex Clarke as Myles *

Bing Russell Neil Oliver "Bing" Russell (May 5, 1926 – April 8, 2003) was an American actor and Class A minor-league baseball club owner. He was the father of Hollywood actor Kurt Russell and grandfather of ex–major league baseball player Matt Franco ...

as Angelo * Pat Harrington as Moderator * Fabian Dean as Little Mac *

Fritz Feld Fritz Feld (October 15, 1900 – November 18, 1993) was a German-American film character actor who appeared in over 140 films in 72 years, both silent and sound. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop" s ...

as Sigmund van Dyke * Pete Ronoudet as Lt. Charles "Charlie" Hannah * Hillyard Anderson as J. Reedy *

David Canary David Hoyt Canary (August 25, 1938 – November 16, 2015) was an American actor. Canary is best known for his role as ranch foreman Candy Canaday in the NBC Western drama ''Bonanza'', and as Adam Chandler in the television soap opera ''All My ...

* as Walski * Robert Foul* as Police desk sergeant *

Ed Begley Jr. Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series ''St. E ...

* as a Springfield State panelist * Not credited on-screen.

Reception

A. H. Weiler Abraham H. Weiler (December 10, 1908 – January 22, 2002) was an American writer and critic best known for being a film critic and motion picture editor for ''The New York Times''. He also served a term as chairman of the New York Film Critics ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "This 'Computer' isn't I.B.M.'s kind but it's homey, lovable, as exciting as porridge and as antiseptic and predictable as any homey, half-hour TV family show."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the '' Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' reported, "I rather enjoyed 'The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes,' and I suspect children under 14 will like it, too." Arthur D. Murphy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised the film as "above-average family entertainment, enhanced in great measure by zesty, but never show-off, direction by Robert Butler, in a debut swing to pix from telefilm." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' wrote that "Disney Productions latched on to a terrific premise for some sharp satire only to flatten it out by jamming it into its familiar 'wholesome' formula. Alas, the movie itself comes out looking like it had been made by a computer." The film holds a score of 50% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on six reviews.

Legacy

Sequels

* ''

'' (1972) * ''

'' (1975)

Television films

This film was remade as the television film '' The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes'' in 1995 starring

Kirk Cameron Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor and evangelist. He first gained fame as a teen actor playing Mike Seaver on the ABC sitcom '' Growing Pains'' (1985–1992), a role for which he was nominated for two Golden Glo ...

as Dexter Riley. Other Disney Channel films carrying similar plot elements were the '' Not Quite Human'' film series, which aired in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The films were based on the series of novels with the same name.

Other

The animated title sequence, by future

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning British

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

artist Alan Maley, reproduced the look of contemporary

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...

using

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

photography of paper cutouts. It has been cited as an early example of "computational kitsch." The 2000 episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'', "

The Computer Wore Menace Shoes “The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" is the sixth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 3, 2000. In the episode, Homer buy ...

", is a reference to the film but the episode isn't related to the film in any other way, according to M. Keith Booker in his book ''Drawn to Television: Prime-Time Animation from The Flintstones to Family Guy.''

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography *

External links

* (archived) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The 1969 films 1960s science fiction comedy films American science fiction comedy films Walt Disney Pictures films Films about computing Films directed by Robert Butler Medfield College films Films set in universities and colleges 1969 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films