The Misadventures of Merlin Jones

Midvale College student Merlin Jones Tommy Kirk, who is always involved with mind experiments, designs a helmet that connects to an electroencephalographic tape that records mental activity. He is brought before Judge Holmsby Leon Ames for wearing the helmet while driving and his license is suspended. Merlin returns to the lab and discovers accidentally that his new invention enables him to read minds.

Judge Holmsby visits the diner where Merlin works part-time, and Merlin, through his newly found powers, learns that the judge is planning a crime. After informing the police, he is disregarded as a crackpot. Merlin and his girlfriend Jennifer Annette Funicello break into Judge Holmsby’s house in search of evidence to prove Holmsby’s criminal intent, but are arrested by the police. Holmsby then confesses that he is the crime book author “Lex Fortis”, and asks that this identity be kept confidential.

Merlin’s next experiment uses hypnotism. After hypnotizing Stanley, Midvale’s lab chimp, into standing up for himself against Norman Norman Grabowski, the bully student in charge of caring for Stanley, Merlin gets into a fight with Norman, and is brought before Judge Holmsby again. Intrigued by Merlin’s experiments, the judge asks for Merlin’s help in constructing a mystery plot for his next book.

Working on the premise that no honest person can be made to do anything they would not do otherwise – especially commit a crime – Merlin hypnotizes Holmsby, and instructs him to kidnap Stanley. Shocked when the judge actually commits the crime, Merlin and Jennifer return the chimp, but are charged for the theft themselves. The judge sentences Merlin to jail, completely unaware of his own role in the crime. Livid at the injustice, Jennifer persuades Holmsby of his own guilt, and the good judge admits that a little dishonesty might exist in everybody.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 12:38