Luke Halpin in Flipper's New Adventure (1964)
Luke Halpin in Flipper's New Adventure, a closer look

When audiences first saw the 1963 feature "Flipper," they got their first look at a new type of animal lead. But while the dolphin was undoubtedly a hit among the youngsters, there was no escaping the athletic look of the film's teenage lead. Movie makers certainly didn't, and after seeing the success of the first Flipper feature, quickly filmed its sequel, Flipper's New Adventure (1964).

Flipper's New Adventure was meant to piggyback on the success of the 1963 feature, but for some reason, its initial release was a restricted one. According to IMDb.com, the debut of Flipper's New Adventure was only a limited release in the US in 1964. In addition, it seems as if this film did not see a video release until well into the 1990s even though VHS tapes had been around since the 1970s. The DVD release, however, has been more timely with the newer technology. Nevertheless, it appears as if, except for occasional airings on television, Flipper's New Adventure was largely unseen for a good 30 years after its first theatrical release.

The restricted availability of Flipper's New Adventure is all the more peculiar given the widespread popularity of Luke Halpin during the TV series' run and subsequent syndication.

Fans of Luke Halpin would have certainly welcomed the sequel, for Flipper's New Adventure was, in fact, largely centered around the athletic teen star. Older and clearly more buffed, the new look of Luke Halpin was undoubtedly a primary focus for the creaters of the new film. In a significant departure from the 1963 feature, Luke is now visible in almost every scene with no other name actors to take away the spotlight.

But it is how the teen star would be seen that would catch his audience by surprise: Luke Halpin wears little more than his cutoffs in practically 90% of the film. On land, he is barefoot. And in the water, he adds only a facemask and fins.

Flipper's New Adventure then becomes a valuable document of Luke Halpin's early physical image prior to the more mature look seen in the TV series.

Many fans understandably prefer Luke Halpin's older look; his TV look, characterized by thicker, more sharply defined muscles, became the most lasting image of Luke Halpin.

But for the dedicated fan of Luke Halpin, this second feature film of the long-running Flipper franchise deserves a close look. This little-known project reveals that the muscles that earned Luke worldwide acclaim in the TV series were very much in evident in his earlier work. Luke's talent for athletics and water sports began long before Flipper. So even in their early development, his muscles were surprisingly hard and well-defined.

Watching Flipper's New Adventure gives us an invaluable opportunity to observe Luke Halpin's early muscle development and better understand the beginnings of the unforgettable physical look that admiring fans would see in the TV series.
Flipper's New Adventure certainly doesn't make the viewers wait very long to see Luke Halpin's newer look: Luke is given his first shirtless shot in the opening credits...before the movie even starts:
Note: Luke's exemplary abdominal development is already evident here.
When the main film finally does start, Luke is making small talk with his pet...with a full upper body shot obscured by only a bit of his cutoffs below and a face mask above. This short scene features excellent views of Luke's upper body, front and back. It was as if the director wanted to give the audience the full view of Luke's physical look to prepare them for seeing Luke in the rest of the film.
His following scene with the mule owner is an interesting one which shows a big bruiser of a man trying to make a point with a boy. Luke does this entire scene wearing only cutoffs (no canvas shoes). This fact makes Sandy's stubborness all the more powerful.
Sandy decides to take drastic action and prepares to run away. During his preparation, we first see Luke Halpin in the red t-shirt that he will wear again at the end of the film. This particular shot brings out the muscularity of his upper arm:
The long sequence of Luke in the skiff is filled with incredible scenes. During the portion of the sequence when Luke is wearing a red t-shirt, we are treated to some memorable views of his legs. (Some of these are featured in the special focus page Luke Halpin's Legs.) Here is one from Gallery 26:
When Luke finally casts away the shirt, he remains shirtless for the rest of the film until the final scene. What follows is a series of scenes of Sandy performing different activities as he continues his trip. As Luke performs all these scenes wearing only his cutoffs (no canvas shoes), we are able to observe Luke's body from many different angles. Here are a few examples:
Of particular interest is the the long scene of Sandy trying to out-row a steamboat. This fascinating scene is an opportunity to see some impressive shots of Luke (another rowing shot similar to this will be seen in the TV series). It is quite thrilling to watch Luke Halpin's muscles flex as he is tries to escape the steam boat with seemingly his own muscle power.
Later on the island, Sandy is shown blowing into a shell to summon Flipper. The profile views of Luke are quite impressive:
Note: in the enlargement, you get an interesting view of Luke's inner right bicep.


The razor-sharp definition of Luke Halpin's back is easily seen in pictures like these:


The scene where Sandy first meets the young girl (Galleries 45, 46, 47) shows Luke Halpin in several positions such as falling, clutching, and sitting. This scene lets you see Luke's body in some unique perspectives that can really add to appreciating his body.
The end of the scene has some very impressive "portrait" shots of Luke: he is standing next to the girl while talking with her. His pose is very statuesque. Two good examples are:
The underwater scenes feature some unexpected treasures, like this closeup of Luke's legs:


and also this upper body closeup:
The scene of Sandy sitting next to the parrot is probably one of the most definitive of Luke Halpin. If there is one scene that could come closest to encapsulating Luke Halpin's physical appearance, it is this one. I have seen biographies of Luke Halpin featuring just this one scene. Luke is not only dressed down to just his cutoffs, he is seated with his legs propped in a way that almost completely exposes them. Add the view at an angle, and you have a scene that provides a virtual world map of Luke Halpin's incredible body. This scene is covered in Galleries 58, 59 and 60. Here's an example:
Luke Halpin's serratus muscles are truly noteworthy. There is a scene which focuses quite well on the highly-defined muscles of his side. Here is one from Gallery 63:
This same scene provides extensive evidence of the muscularity of Luke's back:
While underwater scenes often turn out fuzzy and dull, a few turn out surprisingly well. Here is one from Gallery 66:
Profile shots of Luke Halpin's upper body are exceptionally handsome, like this one from Gallery 67:
And this is an impressive shot of the back of Luke's left arm (Gallery 70):
The final rescue scene (starting in Gallery 71 on the website) is filled with incredible shots of Luke. Here is one of his back (Gallery 71):
 
This one from Gallery 73 not only highlights Luke's legs, but also his overall swimming form:
This one from Gallery 75 shows the impressive definition of Luke's chest:
This is a particularly memorable arm shot from the final rescue scene (Gallery 76):

This underwater shot brings out the definition of Luke Halpin's chest:
After Sandy frees the hostages, we get this solo shot of Luke when he first sees the injured dolphin:
In Flipper's New Adventure, Luke Halpin is often shown dressed-down while standing next to fully dressed actors as if to bring even greater attention on his body. It's as if the director wanted to portray Sandy as truly in his element when in the water, and therefore could only properly be seen without clothes. At the end of the film, when we see what will be the first of many rescue scenes for Sandy, we see Luke boarding the boat to untie the kidnapped family. The family is completely clothed when they first see their young rescuer. Luke Halpin certainly comes across as more heroic when viewers are able to see his muscles fully exposed. This example comes from Gallery 80:
The injured Flipper is administered by the doctors as Sandy watches hopefully. Luke is seen once more in the red t-shirt:
But the movie never lets us forget Luke Halpin's incomparable physical image. And in the closing credits, we are given one final look at what really lies beneath the t-shirt: