This time we picked up a very hard to find story, “A Situation of Gravity,” by Samuel W. Taylor, which was adapted into the 1961 movie The Absent-Minded Professor and the 1996 remake Flubber.
The story was originally published in the May 22, 1943 issue of Liberty magazine. We couldn’t find that. It was also anthologized in Taylor’s book Take My Advice, Mr. President. We also couldn’t find that. But one of our local librarians traced us down a scan of the story from the anthology. Let us know if you have an easier time finding it. If not, enjoy the episode without the reading!
Rankings!
James: Story/1996 movie/1961 movie
Colin: 1961 movie/1996 movie/Story
Seth: 1961 movie/Story/1996 movie
Let us know if you were able to find the story. It’s truly difficult to find.
Excellent review of the movies, The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Son of Flubber (1962), and the 1997 remake Flubber starring Robin Williams. The story is difficult to find. I found it in the book Take My Advice, Mr. President!, an anthology of Samuel W. Taylor’s Professor Rhoades stories, published in 1996 and now out of print. It is expensive to buy online, around $120. For $25, Liberty magazine has a website where they can copy stories from the periodical. The least expensive way to obtain it is to get a copy from BYU, as you did. I also got my copy from there. I also have the 1943 Liberty magazine version. To your question, was the story changed or adapted for the anthology, the answer is: “No”. The letter to FDR gimmick was used in all of his stories as it was in this one. The story was not changed in the anthology reprint. So you got the original story. I liked the story and think it should get wider exposure. It should at least be available in other anthologies or even online. As the source of a classic Walt Disney sci-fi trilogy, it is an important short story.
Thanks so much for the extra information! And I’m glad someone out there was also able to read the story! We agree it should be anthologized more.