Return to Mayberry

• Director: Bob Sweeney
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Comedy Drama
• Movie Type: Americana
• Themes: Small-Town Life
• Main Cast: Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, Howard Morris, Jim Nabors
• Release Year: 1986
• Country: US
• Run Time: 95 minutes

Plot

Inspired by the success of previous TV sitcom "reunion" films, Return to Mayberry debuted on April 13, 1986. Eleven of the original cast members of the classic Andy Griffith Show were reunited in this marvelous blast from the past. The plot finds former sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith, of course), returning to Mayberry, North Carolina to visit his grown son Opie (Ron Howard, taking a break from his busy directorial career), who is now an expectant father. Andy's onetime deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts) is running for the sheriff's post, so Andy decides to stick around to help out. Barney thinks he's found an excellent publicity ploy when he discovers what seems to be a bigfoot-style monster roaming around the Carolina hills. Actually, he's the victim of a cruel hoax, compelling Andy once more to come to Barn's rescue. Also in the cast is George Lindsay as Goober, Jim Nabors as Gomer, Aneta Corsaut as Helen, Betty Lynn as Thelma Lou, and Howard Morris as Ernest T. Bass. Conspicuous by her absence was Frances "Aunt Bee" Bavier, who was too ill to make a comeback. The highest-rated TV movie of 1986, Return to Mayberry might have resulted in a series, but Andy Griffith decided to switch professional gears and star as an attorney in Matlock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Robert Broyles - Wilson; Aneta Corsaut - Helen Crump Taylor; Karlene Crockett - Eunice Taylor; Jack Dodson - Howard Sprague; Andy Griffith - Andy Taylor; Rance Howard - Preacher; Don Knotts - Barney Fife; George Lindsey - Goober Pyle; Richard Lineback - Butler; Betty Lynne; Jim Nabors - Gomer Pyle; Denver Pyle - Briscoe Darling; Allen Williams - Lloyd Fox; Ron Howard - Opie Taylor; Howard Morris - Ernest T. Bass; Hal Smith - Otis Campbell; Paul Willson - Ben Woods

Credit

Dale Allan Pelton - Art Director, Bob Sweeney - Director, David Solomon - Editor, Andy Griffith - Executive Producer, Richard O. Linke - Executive Producer, Earle Hagen - Composer (Music Score), Ray Storey - Production Designer, Richard C. Glouner - Cinematographer, Robin S. Clark - Producer, Dean Hargrove - Producer, Everett Greenbaum - Teleplay By, Harvey Bullock - Teleplay By

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