The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

I haven't ever heard anything about this movie. But once in a while taking a chance with one of the older movies gives one a fun experience like with this amusing comedy.

The movie isn't scary. It is just a comedy. But I am sure watching it for a child can be both funny and scary, and it is family friendly to watch with a kid as well. If kids are willing to watch old movies these days of course.

I am pretty sure this is the first movie with Don Knotts that I watched. And I was impressed by his comedic skills. He is great in physical comedy where he can make his faces and movements alone be pretty funny.

The haunted house as well as comedy scenes seem to be typical of that time. This also includes the court scene that brought a lot of laughter, the elevator scene which also showed Don Knott's great performance as well as the communism joke that made me laugh and pretty excited when I thought about the times when it was made.

When full time typesetter and wannabe reporter, Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) spends the night in the town "haunted" house, he finds far more than a ghost story to write about.

THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN is arguably the best movie Knotts ever appeared in. Featuring a supporting cast of characters that seem as though they actually hail from Mayberry, and blessed with incredible music by Vic "THE ADDAMS FAMILY" Mizzy, this is a comedic gem! A perfect Halloween film for the whole family!

Be sure to watch for Luther's "magic" flashlight that throws a 1000 watt spot on the walls! It also shines on his back at one point!

Also, do not miss the wedding scene!

P.S.- Check out Mizzy's brilliant, spooky organ music on YT!...

The first film Don Knotts made after leaving Mayberry to sign a multi-film contract with Universal, I first saw "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" as a tiny tot when it played in support of "Munsters, Go Home" at the drive-in, and it was so funny I forgot all about the severe sunburn I had acquired at the beach earlier in the day. And now, 37 years later, it's still hilarious. An adult, especially a college graduate who majored in English, isn't supposed to admit that "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" is one of his favorite films, at least not without embarrassment at his lack of "sophistication," but I admit it with pride. Knotts may not have had a film career on a par with Laurel and Hardy, but he's their equal in my book and this is his best film. It even manages to be genuinely spooky at times (that organ music-yikes!). This is a comedy classic, and a family film in the best sense of the word.

I remember watching this movie back in the 1960's with my twin sister Tammy and being frightened when Don Knott's character Luther was alone in the haunted Simmon's Mansion. Now that I am grown I realize the movie was not scary at all, but instead is just a lot of fun. This movie is very funny and by far the best film Don Knotts ever made. Whenever I watch this movie (I own the VHS tape) it takes me back to a more innocent time. I also own The Love God, The Relunctant Astronaut, The Shakiest Gun in the West, and How to Frame a Fig, all starring Don Knotts, but this is my favorite movie of his. This is a great family film, and brings back wonderful childhood memories.

After attaining stardom playing Barney Fife on TV, comedy actor Don Knotts made the jump to feature film vehicles with movies such as this one. He plays Luther Heggs, a typesetter for his small town newspaper. What he really wants to be, naturally, is a reporter, and gets his big chance for a scoop when his bosses suggest that he spend the night in a supposedly haunted house.

However, the unaware should know that he actually doesn't spend much of the movie in the house. The balance of the story has him trying to defend himself when the owner of the place, Nicholas Simmons (Philip Ober), sues him for libel. So he is obliged to prove that the supernatural phenomena that he saw in the house were not merely the product of his overworked imagination.

Knotts is priceless in this harmless bit of goofy entertainment. It has a pleasant feel of small town Americana as well as an amusingly decorated Old Dark House. (Whoever was in charge of the cobweb machine clearly went nuts.) The material runs a little hot and cold, though. Whenever Knotts is called upon to do his thing, things get very funny. Whether he's over reacting to the slightest thing, or performing his version of "karate", or awkwardly wooing the lovely young Alma (appealing Joan Staley), he's a riot. All of that jittery energy that was his trademark is in full force. The action is further enhanced by an entertainingly silly music score by Vic Mizzy.

Knotts is supported by an incredible array of top notch character players, most of whom play the straight man - or straight woman - to his antics. It's particularly delightful to see Charles Lane and Robert Cornthwaite as opposing attorneys. The only elements that got annoying quickly to this viewer were the kooky Psychic Occult Society ladies and that "attaboy" heckler (voiced by co-writer Everett Greenbaum).

"The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" is not always terribly funny, but it's certainly got a great charm about it.

Seven out of 10.