1969 - "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes"

                                                                          "Awwwww they got me!"

                Today’s entry into the Kurtrospective finds the people’s champion making good on his contract with Walt Disney in “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes”.

                Medfield College needs a computer. Professor Quigley feels it should be a top priority for the school to purchase one but Dean Higgins feels otherwise. Having spent most of the schools budget on live frogs and garbage disposals there’s just not enough left over for such things. Dean Higgins feels what the school really needs is to expunge the school of “deadwood” and place the “not so gifted students” on probation, including Dexter Reily (Kurt Russell) and his friends. Ridding the school of these clowns would finally allow Medfield to compete academically with power university State (what state is never made clear).

                Now the kids aren’t going to let Dean Higgins crush their dreams of having a computer. It just so happens they know the guy getting rid of the computer, mob boss A.J. Arno, who uses the computer to tally all the numbers from his gambling establishments. A.J. Arno is a Medfield supporter and donates twenty grand every year to the school. After meeting with the kids he decides to donate the computer instead of his annual cash contribution, much to the dismay of Dean Higgins.

                As Professor Quigley demonstrates the computer for the class something in the logic activator unit malfunctions causing the computer to crash. Dexter, having nothing better to do, volunteers to drive the seventy miles to retrieve the part. When he gets back to the classroom harsh rains have gotten water all over the floor. Dexter trips up in the wires of the computer and receives a electronic jolt that transfers all the super smarts of the computer into his dumb brain.

                From here Dexter goes on to do a lot of smart stuff, becoming a celebrity in the process. Everyone wants a piece of him including mob boss A.J. Arno who uses Dexter to predict the outcomes of horse races. An evening at one of Arno’s illegal casinos lands Dexter in jail where he realizes that his old college buddies are his only true friends.

                Dexters new fame brought Medfield attention from Universal Encyclopedia, who invites the school to participate in their “College Knowledge” quiz program with a hundred thousand dollar prize. Dexter assembles a team of his three dumbest friends and goes out and destroys the competition.

During the semi finals a glitch in Dexter’s computer brain cause him to list off all the numbers for A.J. Arno’s gambling establishments live on television.  Mr. Arno decides to kidnap Dexter and send him swimming with the fishes before he brings any more heat on his organization. Dexter has great friends though and they pose as painters so they can liberate Dexter and bring him back to the quiz show in time to win.

While Dexter is gaining the win for Medfield, he slowly starts to lose his gift until he fully crashes leaving him the same dumb jerk he was before. It takes an answer from one of his idiot team mates to pull in the win, causing much celebration.  Dexter hangs with his buds just like old times and the movie ends.

"The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" - Directed by: Robert Butler