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Luke Halpin's Legs in Ep 18, The Day of the Shark | |||
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Ep 18, The Day of the Shark
A Study in Leg Development
It's no coincidence that Luke Halpin is quick on his feet. This teen actor-athlete keeps his legs in tip-top shape - swimming, running, and other sports - so that they are always ready for action.
And you can bet that Luke's legs see lots of action in Flipper! So much action, in fact, that most of the time, Luke does without long pants, preferring denim cutoffs. Cutoffs give his strong legs plenty of comfort and freedom of movement, so they're ready to go to work on a moment's notice.
In Ep 18, The Day of the Shark, Sandy works with scientists to clear Coral Key of an infestation of sharks. Luke Halpin in real life is a bit of a shark wrangler himself, even volunteering to help producer Ivan Tors to catch sharks for use on the show. So when you watch Luke in The Day of the Shark, you can be sure that he has checked his role against his own personal experience to make the story as authentic as possible.
Luke Halpin's legs are built for action, so you can be sure that Luke would prefer that his fans see him running or swimming to get the best impression. In The Day of the Shark, Luke isn't nearly as active as in other episodes. Fortunately, Luke keeps his legs in great condition so that even in less hectic scenes, they literally radiate power and energy.
In The Day of the Shark, Luke wears cutoffs throughout the episode. But in some scenes, he doesn't even put on his usual canvas shoes. This makes for a perfect opportunity to see his well-built legs at their best.
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Porter directs Sandy to set the anchor. As Luke stands up, more of his legs appear. Take note of the size and shape of the thigh:
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Sandy is about to climb over the boat's windshield. As he lifts his foot, we discover that Sandy is barefooted. Thus in this scene, Luke is dressed down to only his cutoffs, allowing virtually full view of his legs:
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As Sandy climbs over the windshield, he leans forward on his left foot. The view of his left leg is enhanced by the way his cutoffs is pulled upward as he moves:
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Once Sandy is on the other side of the windshield, the camera zooms in for a closeup.
In the following scene of Sandy with the anchor, be sure to observe the flexible and agile movements of
Luke's legs as they move through the entire sequence.
Luke is only wearing
cutoffs, so it will be easy to study his legs without obstruction.
Sandy jumps down into the forward portion of the launch:
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Sandy bends down to pick up the anchor. Luke's legs are bent in a squat position:
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Now Sandy straightens up and prepares to throw the anchor overboard. Luke's legs provide solid support:
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The sequence ends with an impressive full-body shot of Luke:
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Sandy returns to the passenger section of the launch. We don't see him climbing over the windshield, but his legs appear as he moves over it:
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At one point, Luke's right leg is raised. Note the size of the thigh here:
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Sandy wants to go swimming. He already has his cutoffs on, so he just needs his fins. The outer aspect of Luke's left leg is highlighted here:
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Sandy adjusts his face mask. Now it is Luke's right leg that is highlighted, providing a view from the inner aspect. Note the saize and shape of his thigh:
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Sandy is ready to go. He pulls his face mask over his face as he sits on the edge of the launch. Both legs are fully extended, and the cutoffs are pulled back tightly,
providing a good look at his leg development:
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Sandy's swim is cut short when sharks are spotted. Everyone gets ready to go home, and Sandy again does anchor duty.
The following scene is similar to Luke's opening scene with some important differences.The camera
is on the inside of the windshield rather than the outside, and we can see more details as Sandy climbs. Also, Sandy has removed his fins,
and so his entire legs will visible throughout the sequence.
First, he brings his right leg up onto the passenger seat:
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Next, he begins to bring is left leg up to the dashboard, just behind the windshield. This is rare opportunity to see Luke's right leg solitary:
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Now his right leg is pulled up from the passenger seat and over the windshield without touching the dashboard:
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Meanwhile, the camera remains behind the windshield, giving us a view of Luke's left leg which is bearing his weight this entire time:
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Luke's legs straddle the windshield as he leans forward:
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Luke leans on his right leg and pulls his left leg forward over the windshield:
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Luke continues moving forward without stopping. His right leg assumes a running-like position:
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Sandy jumps down into the forward section. But rather than stand back up after the jump, he keeps his knees bent in a squat position. His thighs become quite hard as he lands:
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We now see Luke's legs in the flexed position:
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After pulling in the anchor, Sandy again returns to the passenger area of the launch. This scene is a distant shot, but is still worthwhile to check out the limber flexibility of his legs:
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Sandy is next seen in the house with Dr Tollner, a shark expert. Luke is wearing a short sleeve shirt now, but he is still in cutoffs. This will have immediate significance in the rest of the episode:
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Sandy's cutoffs have been pulled back throughout his meeting. When he stands up, his cutoffs remain pulled back for a short moment. His thighs are largely exposed as a result:
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Sandy joins Dr Tollner on his research boat. Sandy's bare arms and legs are a noticeable contrast to the full wetsuits worn by the adults:
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Sandy asks about the shark repellent. As Dr Tollner moves a crate out of the way, we see a glimpse of Luke's right thigh:
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While this sighting is very brief, it gives us a good idea of the size of Luke's thighs.
Sandy spots a shark and alerts the others. Luke's stance is quite striking:
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Let's take a closer look at his legs:
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We now come to a very dramatic views of Luke Halpin's legs. Sandy moves toward the edge of the boat and kneels down, pulling his cutoffs as far back as possible.
Sandy pulls his hand back, completing the scene:
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Tollner advises Sandy to throw the fish bait lines over the side to keep the sharks busy while Porter and Tollner are underwater.
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Porter and Tollner are ready to go below. Sandy gets up; he will be working the winch that lowers the cage into the water.
Most people push down on their hands to help themselves stand up. Luke, however, uses only his legs. In fact, Luke not only uses his legs but also to turn his body to his right.
The following pictures illustrates this entire motion. Thanks to Luke's cutoffs, we can see the muscles in his legs during the entire scene. In fact, we can study this motion all the
better since Luke's cutoffs remain in the pulled-back position.
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Sandy takes hold of the winch as Porter and Tollner wait for the cage to be lowered. Look at Luke Halpin's legs during this scene:
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The muscular build of his legs is very evident in these closeups:
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After the cage is in the water, Porter and Tollner dive in. Sandy's next job is to throw the shark bait overboard. This gives us a chance to observe Luke's legs from behind.
Notice that he doesn't walk...he runs. You can even see both his feet off the ground.
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Sandy down into the barrel to pull out the shark bait. This is a fine side view of his right leg:
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Sandy tosses the shark bait overboard. Luke's leg movements are subtle as his legs move about to support his upper body all throughout the movement. The following pictures allows
us to examine his legs at each step. Note how his legs turn his body a quarter turn, pull his right foot in the air, and then finish with both feet facing the edge of the boat:
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This entire sequence is barely a second long in real time. But when we break it down into a series of stillshots, we can better appreciate the marvelous balance and symmetry
that Luke Halpin's legs present from beginning to end.
Sandy pulls another shark bait out of the barrel. In this sequence, Luke walks away from the barrel, pulling the bait out at the same time. Even in this simple walking motion,
his legs display a hard, muscular look:
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Sandy becomes alarmed when he spots Bud approaching. He runs over to the side and tries to warn Bud about the sharks. Luke's long legs enable huge strides:
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Sandy looks out over the waters and calls out:
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Bud can't hear him from so far away, and Sandy runs back to summon help. Luke turns and breaks into a run. Note the movements in his legs as he does this. First,
watch the way his left leg is lifted up and placed back down as he turns his body:
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Luke places his left foot in a way that enables him to push off it:
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Sandy runs back to the winch. This is only a very short distance, yet even here we cannot miss the explosive power of Luke's legs:
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This is an important scene. Let us look more closely at Luke's legs:
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Sandy brings the cage back up, then proceeds to climb down the ladder to alert Porter to the problem. The acute urgency of the danger demands speed and quick reaction. This
can be seen in every movement that Luke makes, but in particular his legs:
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As Luke bends his legs more and more, the muscularity of his right thigh becomes more intense:
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Sandy alerts Porter to the danger. Observe how Luke's legs are positioned on the ladder. Luke's cutoffs are still pulled back on his right leg, but also on his left leg. This will be
an important detail in just a moment:
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Sandy quickly heads back up the ladder. With the cutoffs pulled back, we can see more of the left thigh now. Note how muscular it is as Luke turns back up the ladder:
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The great mass of his right thigh is visible again for a quick moment:
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And now we see why the left cutoff was so critical. As Luke climbs the ladder, the left leg of his cutoffs are pulled back, and we are given a breathtaking view of his left thigh:
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As we look upon Luke's amazing left thigh, we also observe that his extended right leg leg is still highly visible. The combination of the bent left leg and extended right leg
is an eye-opening picture of Luke's superior leg development.
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Bud is pulled out of the water, and Sandy helps him on board. In this scene, we get another look at the same left leg we just saw, but this time from the inside aspect:
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Sandy's left leg remains in position as he helps Porter on board:
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All's well that ends well. But even in the final scene, Luke Halpin's sturdy legs are literally front and center:
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