Load of rubbish!!

Fresh and Exciting

Expected more

As Good As It Gets

Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) is a bumbling fraidy cat. He is the laughing stock of the town after claiming to witness a death. Newspaper reporter Ollie Weaver leads the town in making fun of the wannabe reporter. Ollie is also dating the lovely Alma Parker who Luther is in love with. There is a mansion where 20 years before, a husband murdered his wife and committed suicide. For a story, the editor proposes that Luther spend the night in the Simmons mansion.It's a little fun to see Don Knotts stumble around and being scared living off of his TV success. It's Don Knotts being Don Knotts. It's not that funny but it has a light charm. It's very light and not that compelling. There are few big laughs. I would think Andy Griffith fans loved this movie when it came out but I never actually seen the show. My Don Knotts is Ralph Furley.

Barney Fife and Ralph Furley, two of the most memorable cowardly braggarts of T.V. sitcoms, are instantly recognizable in the personality of Don Knott's Luther Heggs, the typesetter on the newspaper of a small city who longs to be a reporter but can't seem to get the scoop. He fails in his first try to report a murder when the corpse walks in, and when he has the chance to redeem himself by spending the night in the house where a grizzly murder took place, he takes it, even though it is the night of the 20th anniversary. The entire town stands behind him with the exception of the haunted house's owner who intends to tear down the rat trap and doesn't want any publicity.Knotts had left "The Andy Griffith Show" the year before after the lead in the extremely successful "The Incredible Mr. Limpet", and while he didn't explode into a huge comedy movie star, the films he did under his brief contract with Universal were amusing, if sometimes instantly forgettable. "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" is by far and large the most popular of these light-hearted farces which played mainly on the "neighborhood" circuit rather than the huge movie palaces still rampant in the 1960's. It is perhaps a bit too long, but most of it moves very fast, even though the revelation of the mystery of the so-called haunted house is not at all surprising.In many ways, this feels like a big-screen version of some T.V. sitcom, probably because the cast is filled with veterans of 1960's sitcoms, particularly "Bewitched". Not only is there Dick Sargent (The replacement Darren) and Sandra Gould (the second Gladys), but Reta Shaw (Aunt Bertha/Hagatha) and Charles Lane (several parts), and of course, Don Knotts who had achieved T.V. fame on "The Andy Griffith Show". Hope Summers, who plays the screaming woman in the opening scene, appeared on tons of sitcoms, and Lurene Tuttle (Knott's kindly landlady) was everywhere as well. Shaw is hysterical as the head of a ladies organization not just interested in the supernatural, but obsessed with it.Special note should be made of the snappy music by Vic Mizzy whose scores dominated many similar movies of the 1960's, as well as a few T.V. series including "The Addams Family". When you hear this music, you can't help but realize that it screams '60's, and in the most delightful nostalgic way. Another reason why this film screams "sitcom" is the fact that its director, Alan Rafkin, was behind the cameras on many T.V. shows from the 1950's through the 90's, only directing a few features, and mostly ones like this.

I think we can all remember Don Knotts as that guy who always made us laugh by getting the daylights scared out of him. All someone would have to do is sneak up behind him, tap him on the shoulder and say "boo!", and Knotts would go into his bug-eyed, hair-standing-on-end routine of a guy that acts like he'd just seen a ghost. Don made a living out of playing such a character as Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show". An unlikely hero, Barney Fife was the kind of guy you would least expect to hold the job of a deputy sheriff. Even though Fife was yellow on the inside, he still somehow managed to come out on top at the end of each episode.As Don Knotts ended his stint on the Griffith show after five years, he signed on with Universal Studios to go into the movie business. He'd take the cowardly, scaredy-cat persona with him, though. His first outing with Universal, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", showcased that same weakling quality that helped make Knotts a star.Knotts plays Luther Heggs, a typesetter working in the basement of a small-town newspaper. Luther has dreams of becoming an ace newspaper reporter someday, but he can never seem to come across that big scoop that will get him out of his lowly position in the basement.Then one day, the newspaper's editor/owner comes to Luther with what could be Luther's big break! To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of a horrendous murder/suicide, Luther is asked to spend the night in the deserted mansion where the horrific crime took place. The old house is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Mr. Simmons, who allegedly murdered his wife in a fit of jealous rage and then, in turn, leapt to his own death by jumping from the top floor of the mansion. Luther is to arrive at the house just before midnight and make note of any supernatural phenomena that he witnesses during his stay. After Luther sees what he thinks is the evil spirit of Mr. Simmons wreaking havoc about the dilapidated domicile, he returns to report his terrifying experience to his boss. Luther becomes an instant celebrity when his story of horror is published in the morning paper, and the old Simmons place becomes the hottest tourist attraction in town.The movie is certainly a fine piece of family fare, with Knotts almost creating the Barney Fife character all over again in Luther Heggs. The initial seed of the story provides for the perfect vehicle for Knotts to perform his "Mr. Chicken" guise.The film overall, though, seems to lack a strong enough, believable storyline. The plot almost seems to be a carbon copy straight from an episode of "Scooby Doo, Where are You?" Sure, it's fun to see Don Knotts acting as if he's about to jump out of his skin, but that's about the only main attraction in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". When the story concludes, and the real villain is revealed, you might find yourself scratching your head in puzzlement. There are a few holes left unfilled and loose threads left hanging when the mystery is solved, but because of the fine cast and production, the inconsistencies can be easily overlooked.The best moments in the movie, of course, are during Luther Heggs's visits to the spooky Simmons mansion. There genuinely are some creepy moments during the haunted house scenes, highlighted by Vic Mizzy's musical score. Mizzy (who wrote "The Addams Family" theme) even provides the bone-chilling organ music emanating from the old pipe organ inside the ghostly mansion.There's one or two familiar faces working with Don Knotts here. Dick Sargent (the second Darrin on "Bewitched") plays Luther's boss. A couple of fellow "Andy Griffith Show" cohorts show up as well. There's Hal Smith (Otis on the Griffith show) playing (what else?) the local drunk. Also imported straight from Mayberry is Hope Summers and long-time favorite Burt Mustin. Glamorous actress and onetime Playboy model Joan Staley portrays Knott's love interest, Alma, but there's really not much on-screen chemistry between the two. The budding romance between Luther and Alma just doesn't seem very convincing.But don't let the faults in this film make you turn away from it. "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" spotlights one of the greatest comedic actors of all time. Fans of Don Knotts will not be disappointed as Knotts turns in a fine, energetic performance that only Don Knotts could do.

The first Don Knotts vehicle I've watched is widely considered his best effort; however, I was let down by it following the internet hype back when the film surfaced on DVD (including an endorsement by Mario Bava biographer Tim Lucas on his blog). The title explains all: the star is a milquetoast who works as type setter at a small-town newspaper – of course, he really wants to be a journalist (though his inexperience leads him to report a murder solely on hearsay, only to be embarrassed when the alleged victim turns up shaken but very much alive at the Police station!) and eventually finds his great opportunity with a story about a legendary local haunted house (where a violent death and suicide had occurred twenty years earlier).Asked to spend the night there by his editor, the hero comes across secret panels in the library, organs that play by themselves (complete with bloodied keys), not to mention a portrait slashed by a dagger! Consequently, by the next day he's a celebrity – with frequent off-screen enthusiastic goadings of "Attaboy, Luther!" – which also earns him the attention of the woman he had long fancied but who, of course, is the girlfriend of his biggest persecutor, a hot-shot at the same paper; the latter's constant wheedling of Knotts causes the couple to split and, needless to say, the hero gets the girl himself by the end of it.Let me put it this way: THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN is a pleasant enough diversion (especially the last half-hour featuring the courtroom scene – the current owner of the haunted house has filed a libel suit, in which it's established that Knotts has always had a vivid imagination – and the eventual disastrous on-site verification of the haunting – since the manifestations, unbeknownst to the hero, were only the handiwork of the helpful Irish janitor at his workplace!). Still, plot and characterization are so clichéd as to render the film utterly predictable which, coupled with its own inherently unassuming nature, makes for something less than classic (at least in my book)! For what it's worth, Vic Mizzy's bouncy yet atmospheric score clearly proves an asset – with the antics of an old ladies' group keen on the paranormal, while essentially silly, being a fairly amusing touch as well. Incidentally, I should be able to get my hands on five more of Knotts' films – but the one I'll be sure to check out presently is THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST (1968), since it's a remake of the Bob Hope classic THE PALEFACE (1948)