The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Alan Rafkin

Writers:

James Fritzell (writer)
Everett Greenbaum (writer)

Release Date:

20 January 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

G-G-GUARANTEED! YOU'LL BE SCARED UNTIL YOU LAUGH YOURSELF SILLY! (original theatrical poster - all caps)

Plot:

Luther Heggs aspires to being a reporter for his small town newspaper, the Rachel Courier Express. He...

Plot Keywords:

Newspaper | Reporter | Courtroom | Murder | Haunted House

Cast

Don Knotts	...	Luther Heggs
Joan Staley	...	Alma Parker
Liam Redmond	...	Kelsey
Dick Sargent	...	George Beckett
Skip Homeier	...	Ollie Weaver
Reta Shaw	...	Mrs. Halcyon Maxwell
Lurene Tuttle	...	Mrs. Natalie Miller
Philip Ober	...	Nicholas Simmons (as Phil Ober)
Harry Hickox	...	Police Chief Art Fuller
Charles Lane	...	Whitlow
Jesslyn Fax	...	Mrs. Hutchinson
Nydia Westman	...	Mrs. Cobb
George Chandler	...	Judge Harley Nast
Robert Cornthwaite	...	Springer
Jim Begg	...	Herkie (as James Begg)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (Certificate #21086) | UK:Uc | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

One of the few American films shot in the Technicolor Corporation's Techniscope wide screen process. The wide screen effect was achieved by essentially splitting the usual film frame horizontally into two smaller frames with a greater width to height ratio. It was inexpensive, but yielded a grainy image, which probably explains why it was seldom used in Hollywood.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double in coal chute.

Quotes:

Whitlow: I'm asking you a question, Heggs! Can't you curb your imagination for one minute?
Luther Heggs: Can't you curb your tongue for a minute?
Man in audience: Atta boy, Luther!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Designing Women: Monette (#1.14)" (1987)

Entertaining horror spoof of a more innocent time.

As the spunky, witty typesetter of the local newspaper who is sometimes afraid of his own shadow, Don Knotts goes up against the local legendary haunted house, a garden-shears-carrying nemesis, and a real true to life bad guy in this funny, quirky, endearing mystery from Universal's 1966 archives.

"Everything I ever needed to know about life, I learned from the Ghost and Mr. Chicken." the Fiend :.

This is an excellent, wholesome horror/comedy featuring many of your favorite members of the "Mayberry" bunch. It's delightful entertainment for the whole family, and one of Knotts's best performances as the underdog with the stout heart and quaky knees.

And best of all, the ending is a bit of a surprise.

This was my favorite movie as a child, and it rates a 9/10 from...

the Fiend :.