Cozy, spoopy, and above all else—charming. Perfect dreary, lazy day/afternoon off before work starts tomorrow kinda movie that also works as an excellent background movie during October.
Luther Heggs, a typesetter for the town newspaper, pitches an idea for a story about a local haunted house where a famous murder/suicide occurred 20 years earlier. After the editor assigns Luther to spend one night alone in the mansion, Heggs has a number of supernatural encounters and writes a front page story that makes him a hometown hero...until the nephew of the deceased sues him for libel.
Where to watch
1The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is showing in 1 cinema in Los Angeles — next screening Sunday 2 August at 14:30 at Old Town Music Hall.
Sunday, 2 August
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Cast & crew
6What people say
An aspiring reporter (Don Knotts) is struggling to solve a murder mystery. He takes a job to stay at a haunted house to score points with his boss, even though he’s literally terrified of everything. I think you know what you’re getting into if you watch this—and Knotts delivers it. His spastic mannerisms, bulging eyes, feeble karate chop hand movements and defenses, and fleeing, are all in full effect here. And, I was here for it all. It’s all mildly funny, and probably not funny at all if you find him annoying. I genuinely find him entertaining. The look and feel of the film is very 1950’s sitcom. Many of the writers on this film are from The Andy Griffith Show (even Andy himself helped with the screenplay). The ending takes a nice twist.The film was a big hit for Knotts and basically launched his career as a reluctant hero. Recommended. If you’re looking for a wholesome family movie with a Halloween bent (in the vein of Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein), you can’t go wrong with this one.
"I didn't know you knew karate.""Yeah, I've been studying it by mail for years."Don Knotts' first filmic foray after The Andy Griffith Show kept a lot of the staff behind the camera, (even Andy Griffith, who reportedly contributed the "attaboy Luther" gag.) Griffith director Alan Rafkin was chosen by Knotts for his efficiency when the shooting schedule was trimmed to just 17 days.For me this runs rings around Knotts' follow-up The Reluctant Astronaut, which is nearly ruined by a score that punctuates every joke with tedious horns. No such trouble here. The divine organ-heavy soundtrack lets Knotts work out his existential angst all by himself, and I loved every second of it. He's a more neurotic Pee-Wee; we feel his every setback in the same way. The film cleverly uses the most mundane dialogue to get its points across without worrying about words. I love Knotts' scenes with Joan Staley. Their insipid small talk got funnier and funnier to me and is an acknowledgement up front that we all know every beat of this story, how it will play out, and how it will end.The courtroom scene might be my favorite. The gag of being put on trial and having your first grade teacher called to recount your playground foibles is such a perfectly funny dart to our collective persecution complex.The film is packed with wonderful character faces, including a parade of fascinating old ladies forming the Psychic Occult Society of Rachel, Kansas, and at least two stars from TV's Bewitched. For a Universal backlot production, the film looks great, with lovely frames and vivid technicolor by William Margulies, but the production design could have been more colorful. There's a bit more beige at work than is necessary for a fun comedy. I would not have minded a few establishing shots as well, the lack of them smacks of television.Though Knotts and his brand of nervous shlub give embodiment to our insecurities, I feel like some of the gags here could have been taken further; the house made spookier and more terrifying, the screws put to Luther Heggs even more decisively. But I enjoyed this much more than I expected to; my relief once I realized the soundtrack was not going to make demands of me let me lean back and drink it in at my own pace. Its cheapness becomes apparent when placed next to its contemporaries but as a little slice of 60's fun it hit the spot.
Common questions
What is The Ghost and Mr. Chicken about?+
The film follows a timid newspaper typesetter who spends a night in a reputedly haunted mansion to prove his worth as a reporter, only to become entangled in a murder mystery.
Who directed The Ghost and Mr. Chicken?+
It was directed by Alan Rafkin, a television veteran known for his work on The Andy Griffith Show and this 1966 comedic feature.
Has The Ghost and Mr. Chicken won any awards?+
While the film did not win major competitive awards, it has achieved enduring popularity as a cult classic of 1960s family comedy. Watch the film on Mood.
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