The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) is a Universal Pictures feature film starring Don Knotts as Luther Heggs, a newspaper typesetter who spends a night in a haunted house.
Knotts was best known at the time of the film's production for his Emmy Award-winning five seasons on the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show as small town deputy sheriff Barney Fife. Knotts left the television show at the end of the 1964-1965 season in order to pursue a film career with The Shakiest Gun In The West and The Apple Dumpling Gang being two of the many films that followed his departure from the series. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was directed by Alan Rafkin with a screenplay by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum; all three men had been associated with the success of The Andy Griffith Show. Several players from the television show also appear in the film including Burt Mustin, Hal Smith, and Hope Summers.
Plot
According to a legend noted in the film, the Simmons mansion was a "murder house" 20 years earlier, when Mr. Simmons murdered his wife, then jumped from the tower to his death. Legend says that you can hear the ghost of Mr. Simmons playing the organ at night. To increase newspaper sales, Luther Heggs (Knotts) is assigned to spend the night in the house on the 20th anniversary of the murders. At midnight, Heggs sees the old organ begin to play by itself. His story gets the town abuzz and Nicholas Simmons (Philip Ober), nephew of the deceased couple, sues Heggs for libel. In the courtroom, Heggs is made into a fool, but the judge orders the courtroom to the Simmons house at midnight to allow Heggs to prove his story. Nothing happens, and after everyone else leaves, Heggs notices the old organ playing. Heggs sees Mr. Kelsey (Liam Redmond), the newspaper's janitor, tickling the keys (the organ has an additional keyboard under the pipes). The editor and janitor then confront Nicholas Simmons, who killed his aunt and uncle and has been trying to cover up the story all this time. Luther knocks out Nicholas Simmons with a body slam, and the case is closed.
Production notes
Andy Griffith, Knotts' costar on The Andy Griffith Show, suggested expanding on an episode from the television show involving a spooky old house.
Al Checco, Don Knotts' Army-days comedy partner, had an uncredited appearance in the film.
Don Knotts personally called the Bon Ami company president to get permission to mention the cleaning product's name in one of the film's running gags.
Joan Staley, normally a blonde, had to wear a dark wig because the producers felt she was "too sexy" as a blonde.
Cast
Home video releases
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was released on VHS on April 30, 1996. On September 2, 2003, Universal released the movie on DVD.
Soundtrack
On July 12, 2005, Percepto released the soundtrack on Compact Disc. Composer Vic Mizzy used the old tune Mr. Ghost Goes to Town as his main theme. Mizzy's haunted house organ theme also appeared in the 1967 film Games.
The track listing is as follows:
- Gaseous Globe
- Main Title
- Luther Has a Scoop
- Laugh's on Luther
- Bashful One
- Kelsey's Tale
- Twenty Years Ago
- Super S'Luther
- Clock Watchers
- Oh, Chute
- Rickety Tik Phono
- Creepy Jeepers
- Haunted Organ
- Hero to the
- Hero's Picnic
- Picnic Table
- Speech Is Over
- Alma Matters
- Back to the Mansion
- Chick-Napped
- Plucky Chicken
- Wedding & Finale
- When in Southern California, Visit Universal City Studios (promotional)
External links
