The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is a 1966 American comedymystery film starring Don Knotts as Luther Heggs, the town dunce and a newspaper typesetter who spends a night in a haunted house, which is located in the fictitious community of Rachel, Kansas. Don Knotts' first major project after leaving The Andy Griffith Show, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken uses a similar small town setting and involved a number of alumni from the sitcom, including director Alan Rafkin and writers Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. It was a box office success, paving the way for a string of other Knotts-fronted comedy films. The working title was Running Scared.[1] The title is presumably a humorous variation of the film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947).[2]
Luther Heggs is a typesetter for the Rachel Courier Express in Rachel City, Kansas, who lives at the Natalie Miller boarding house and aspires to be a reporter. Luther is not taken seriously, and his peers mock him when his report of a murder near the supposedly haunted Simmons Mansion proves to be nothing more than a local drunk knocked unconscious by his irate wife. Full-time reporter Ollie Weaver ridicules Luther over his mistake. Ollie is dating Alma Parker, on whom Luther has a crush.
While at work, asked to add some filler to the paper, Luther learns from the newspaper's janitor Mr. Kelsey, who was a gardener at the Simmons Mansion, that the mansion was the site of a murder–suicide. Ephraigm Simmons killed his wife with a bladed instrument before leaping to his death from the organ loft. Legend has it that the ghost of Mr. Simmons can still occasionally be heard playing the organ at midnight.
Kelsey encourages Luther to write about the Simmons Mansion. When the editor, George Beckett, reads the article, Kelsey plants subtle hints resulting in Beckett assigning Luther to spend the night in the manor on the 20th anniversary of the murder-suicide and write about his experience. Fear makes Luther hesitant to take the job, but the realization that this is his big chance to become a reporter as well as an opportunity to impress Alma pushes him to accept. While staying at the mansion, he hurls a book at a bookshelf in an effort to silence eerie knocking and laughter which is keeping him from sleep, inadvertently opening a hidden passage to the organ loft. At midnight, the bloodstained organ begins to play by itself. Luther flees downstairs and finds pruning shears stabbed in a painting of Mrs. Simmons, with blood gushing from her neck.
Luther's story gets the town abuzz and makes him a local hero. He begins dating Alma, who tells Luther (and later Ollie himself) that her relationship with Ollie is not committed. Nicholas Simmons, the nephew of the deceased couple, had been planning to demolish the mansion, but his banker now refuses to close on the deal due to his spiritualist wife considering it a local landmark. Nicholas attempts to discredit Luther by taking him and the Rachel Courier Express to court for libel. Nicholas' attorney brings in Luther's grade school teacher as a character witness and accuses Luther of concocting the story in the Simmons Manor to win a job as a full-time reporter. The judge orders the jury and all interested parties to reconvene at the Simmons house before midnight to settle the issue.
At the mansion, Luther is unable to make the hidden passage open again. Alma remains to continue searching for the passage, while everyone else leaves the mansion, convinced Luther fabricated the story. Luther starts to walk home but hears the old organ and finds it played by Kelsey. Kelsey confesses to staging the mysterious happenings Luther witnessed, unable to help Luther confirm his story as he was kept out of the mansion by officer Herkie. Kelsey explains that he needs Luther's help to expose the true cause of the Simmons' deaths.
They hear a scream from the secret passage, and find Nicholas holding Alma captive. Kelsey accuses Nicholas of attempting to frame him for the murder of the Simmons couple by using Kelsey's shears as the murder weapon, and tearing down the Simmons Mansion to destroy the hidden passage he used as his alibi. Luther rescues Alma by knocking Nicholas over with a full body lunge from behind. Nicholas is arrested, and Kelsey explains everything. Alma and Luther marry. At the end of the wedding, the organ music segues to the theme played in the Simmons mansion. Everyone - including Kelsey - turns to see the small organ's keys moving by themselves, hinting that there really is a ghost after all.
This film was produced by Universal Studios, which produced numerous classic horror films. Actor Don 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 planned to leave the television series at the end of the 1964–65 season in order to pursue a film career. He had already starred in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964).
Andy Griffith, Knotts' co-star on The Andy Griffith Show, suggested expanding on an episode from the television series involving a deserted house (the old Rimshaw house in the episode "Haunted House" aired October 1963) in which Barney, Gomer, and Andy retrieve a baseball of Opie and his friend from the house.[citation needed] As The Andy Griffith Show approached the end of the 1964-65 season, Knotts asked two of the sitcom's writers, Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum, if they would be interested in working on a screenplay for him during the sitcom's hiatus. They agreed, and Universal put Fritzell and Greenbaum under contract.[3] The story outline was worked out by Fritzell, Greenbaum, Knotts, Griffith, and producer Edward Montagne in a series of meetings, with Griffith given a token compensation (and no screen credit) for his input, which included the idea of making the line "Attaboy, Luther!" a running gag.[3] Knotts also claimed to have had a hand in writing the actual screenplay, though he acknowledged that Fritzell and Greenbaum did the lion's share of it.[3] Greenbaum came up with the film's title, after the original title "Running Scared" turned out to be unavailable.[3]
After he learned that the film had a shooting schedule of just 17 days, Knotts suggested Alan Rafkin for the director's seat, since Rafkin had directed several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and impressed Knotts with his efficiency.[3]
Universal contract star Joan Staley was known by Rafkin from their work together on the sitcom Broadside. Normally a blonde, she had to wear a dark wig because the producers felt she was "too sexy" as a blonde (she was actually Playboy's "Miss November" 1958, but was photographed very modestly, being only partially nude) and the role called for a brunette. She wore the same wig previously worn by Claudia Cardinale in Blindfold (1966).[4]Al Checco, Knotts' Army-days comedy partner, had an uncredited appearance in the film.
The "Simmons Mansion" is not the Munster house, although they are next door to each other on the new (relocated) Colonial street, with the Munster house on the right. Originally, they were on the old Colonial street, which was located next to New York street and Courthouse Square, with the Munster house to the left of the "Simmons Mansion". The old Colonial Street is where The Ghost and Mr Chicken movie was filmed.[citation needed]
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.[6] Throughout the movie, Knotts drove an Edsel Corsair, which was considered a commercial failure, to bolster the character Luther Heggs' quirky reputation.[7]
The original cut of the film included a scene where the portrait stabbing was explained. Kelsey had printed a copy of the portrait and placed on the back side of the one on the landing of the staircase. When pressing a secret button, the portrait turned to reveal the shears stuck in the throat with red paint. This scene was cut from all other prints and has only been seen a few times in theaters, and on some television showings.[citation needed]
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken grossed $4 million in the first five months after its release on a $500,000 budget.[8]
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a score of 67%, based on six critics, with an average score of 6.2 out of 10.[9]
Home media
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was released on VHS in 1996.[10]Universal released the film on DVD September 2, 2003, and again on January 9, 2007, and on Blu-ray on October 4, 2016.[11]
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 film Games (1967).
Gaseous Globe (Universal logo intro)
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 tag)
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
Jesse Donald Knotts was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also played Ralph Furley on the highly rated sitcom Three's Company from 1979 to 1984. He starred in multiple comedic films, including leading roles in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966). In 2004, TV Guide ranked him number 27 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.
The Haunted Mansion is a 2003 American supernatural horror comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and written by David Berenbaum. Loosely based on Walt Disney's theme park attraction of the same name, the film stars Eddie Murphy as a realtor who, along with his family, becomes trapped in the titular building. Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, Marsha Thomason and Jennifer Tilly appear in supporting roles.
Howard Jerome Morris was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in The Andy Griffith Show as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (1954). He did voices for television shows such as The Flintstones (1962–1965), The Jetsons (1962–1987), The Atom Ant Show (1965–1966), and Garfield and Friends (1988–1994).
Good Neighbor Sam is a 1964 American Eastman Color screwball comedy film co-written and directed by David Swift, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Jack Finney. It stars Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, Dorothy Provine, Michael Connors, Edward Andrews, Louis Nye, Robert Q. Lewis and Edward G. Robinson.
"Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song)" is the theme song for The Haunted Mansion franchise and its attractions at Disney theme parks. It was composed by Buddy Baker, with lyrics written by X Atencio. Its melody has been adapted for numerous uses since its composition in the late 1960s.
So Haunt Me is a British television sitcom about a family that moves into a home occupied by the ghost of its previous resident, a middle-aged Jewish mother. The show was created by Paul Mendelson who was also credited on another British sitcom May to December. So Haunt Me was produced by Cinema Verity for the BBC and originally aired from 1992 to 1994.
The Shakiest Gun in the West is a 1968 American comedy Western film starring Don Knotts. It was directed by Alan Rafkin and written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. The film is a remake of The Paleface, a 1948 film starring Bob Hope and Jane Russell.
The Reluctant Astronaut is a 1967 American comedy film produced and directed by Edward Montagne and starring Don Knotts in a story about a carnival ride operator who is hired as a janitor at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston and is eventually sent into space.
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case is a Laurel and Hardy pre-Code comedy horror film released in 1930. It is one of a handful of three-reel comedies they made, running 28 minutes. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Angel in My Pocket is a 1969 American comedy film directed by Alan Rafkin and starring Andy Griffith. One of three films originally planned by Universal Pictures to star Griffith, it also features Lee Meriwether, Jerry Van Dyke, Kay Medford, Henry Jones, Edgar Buchanan, and Gary Collins.
The Munster Mansion, is an exterior set located at Universal Studios. It is most famous for its use in the 1964–1966 sitcom The Munsters, but has appeared in several other productions, both before and after.
Alan Rafkin was an American director, producer, and actor for television.
Mother Carey's Chickens is a 1938 American drama film starring Anne Shirley and Ruby Keeler. The film was directed by Rowland V. Lee and based upon a 1917 play by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Rachel Crothers, which in turn was adapted from Wiggins' Mother Carey's Chickens.
Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances.
James Edward McKinley was an American character actor. He frequently played authority figures, including lawmen or medical personnel.
Everett Greenbaum was an American television and film writer and actor who contributed to such shows as The Andy Griffith Show, M*A*S*H, Love American Style, The Real McCoys, Sanford and Son, and The George Gobel Show. Greenbaum was a co-writer with Jim Fritzell of Mister Peepers an important early television show created by David Swift and starring Wally Cox. He wrote the Hollywood feature film Good Neighbor Sam, as well as a series of films starring Don Knotts that included The Shakiest Gun in the West, The Reluctant Astronaut, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.
Jim Fritzell was an American television and film screenwriter.
Jesslyn Fax was a Canadian-American actress. She is known for playing 'Miss Hearing Aid' in Rear Window (1954), Avis Grubb in The Music Man (1962), Miss Hemphill in The Man Who Died Twice (1958), and Airline passenger in The Family Jewels (1965).
Al Checco was an American film, television and theatre actor. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was known for playing the role of Bernard Stein in the 1968 film The Party.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
