The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

Plot synopsis:
Luther Heggs is a typesetter at the Rachel Courier Express the local newspaper in Rachel, Kansas, but he aspires to be a reporter. One night, observing what he believes to be a murder outside of an old, supposedly haunted house known as the Simmons Mansion, Heggs rushes to the police station with his scoop. Unfortunately, as he relates the details of his story to the Chief of Police, the murder "victim" walks into the room, a local drunk who had merely been knocked unconscious by his irate wife, who had brought him in to be jailed. The next morning, Heggs walks downstairs to the dining room at the Natalie Miller boarding house and overhears Ollie Weaver (Homeier), a full-time reporter at the newspaper, mocking Luther's mistakes of the night before. Ollie is also dating Heggs' love interest, Alma Parker (Joan Staley). According to local lore, the Simmons Mansion was a "murder house" 20 years earlier, when Mr. Simmons murdered his wife (with some unknown sharp instrument that was never located — ultimately revealed to be a pair of gardener's pruning shears), and then jumped 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.
To increase newspaper sales, Luther is assigned to spend the night in the house on the 20th anniversary of the murder/suicide. At midnight, Heggs sees the old organ begin to play by itself. There are a few other mysterious happenings, including Luther's discovery of a secret staircase to the organ loft, hidden behind a sliding bookshelf, and a pair of gardener's shears in the throat of a painting of Mrs. Simmons. His eerie story gets the town abuzz and causes a delay in the plans of Nicholas Simmons (Philip Ober), nephew of the deceased couple, who intends to demolish the mansion. In retaliation, and to discredit Heggs, Simmons sues both Heggs and the Rachel Courier Express for libel.
In the courtroom, Heggs' credibility is impeached by damaging testimony from his grade school teacher (Ellen Corby) who testifies that Luther was "keyed up" as a child, prone to telling tall tales for attention. Luther's own testimony is twisted by Simmons' attorney, suggesting that Luther concocted the story about his spooky night in the mansion in order to win a job as a full-time reporter. Luther's dramatic denial prompts the judge to order the jury and all interested parties to appear at the Simmons house at just before midnight to allow Heggs to prove his story. But with everyone now inside the mansion, nothing happens, and they conclude that Luther made up the whole story. Everyone leaves the mansion except for Alma, who lingers behind in secret, hoping to find evidence to restore Heggs' reputation.
Outside the mansion, alone and dejected, Luther begins to walk home. However, he hears the old organ playing the creepy music again. Courageously, he re-enters the mansion and discovers his friend Mr. Kelsey (Liam Redmond), the newspaper's janitor, playing the organ. Kelsey, the former gardener for the Simmons family, confesses to being responsible for the mysterious happenings Heggs witnessed (including playing the organ remotely from an additional "tuning" keyboard located under the pipes). He tells Luther that Herkie, the overzealous police officer and acting security guard, kept him from entering the house earlier to help Luther confirm his story for the judge, jury and interested parties. Upon hearing a scream, they both descend the secret staircase to find Nicholas Simmons holding Alma captive. Kelsey confronts Simmons for killing his aunt and uncle for their fortune and leaving Kelsey's pruning shears behind to frame him (Kelsey had removed them before the police arrived to avoid being implicated in the murder). Nicholas Simmons' planned demolition of the house was an effort to destroy the hidden staircase that would ruin his alibi. Luther rescues Alma by knocking Simmons unconscious with a full body lunge ("made my whole body a weapon") from behind.
Nicholas Simmons is arrested and tied to a chair. Kelsey explains the details to the police chief and other persons (who have now returned to the mansion), and the case is closed. Alma takes Luther's hand, grateful for his heroic act in saving her. In the final scene, Heggs marries Alma at a small ceremony. At the end, the wedding's organ music suddenly changes to the spooky organ music of the Simmons' mansion. Everyone turns to see the small organ's keys moving by themselves, hinting that there really is a ghost after all.

Tags: murder

Review:
Pretty much every scene is a classic of comedy, from the malfunctioning elevator operator to the repeated motifs of 'Atta boy, Luther/Carlyle/Judge' and 'And they used Bon Ami!' It's also a treasure trove of fine performances, from Burt Mustin to Jesslyn Fax, not to mention Don K., of course.
The first film Don Knotts made after leaving Mayberry to sign a multi-film contract with Universal, I first saw "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" as a tiny tot when it played in support of "Munsters, Go Home" at the drive-in, and it was so funny I forgot all about the severe sunburn I had acquired at the beach earlier in the day.
You almost can't watch it, but my seven and nine-year-old sons make me rewind it over and over, laughing their heads off each time.Introduce your kids to this, and other silly movies starring Don Knotts.
"The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" is as much a nostalgic picture of small town life (as is "The Music Man") as it is a family horror-mystery.
Despite the low budget, it looks like every penny got on the screen, and the film was a hit, so much so that it led to other Knotts vehicles such as "The Reluctant Astronaut" and "The Shakiest Gun in the West".
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.
Playing a type-setter at a local newspaper, he gets his chance to be a reporter when his editor elects him to spend a night in the local reputedly haunted murder house.
Ms. Staley shines as Knott's love interest, helping him to solve a mystery in a haunted house.
Knotts even wears the same salt and pepper suit with white fedora that he wore on "Andy Griffith".This is still a fun movie to watch though.
His stage-fright speech at the town picnic is great ("let me clarify this")and there are two recurring joke lines, "and they used Bon Ami!" and "atta boy, Luther" which keep being said and which will crack you up every time..
My favorite line is "And they used Bon Ami!" Out of curiosity, I've checked with a number of published guides to DVDs available for sales/rental and, to their credit, most of the authors of those books acknowledge that the film, however "minor," has humor and a good deal of charm, and that Knotts is at his best..
The movie trailers refer to Don Knotts' character, Luther Heggs, as the bravest coward and I think that is an accurate description.
There is an excellent supporting cast with many very recognizable character actors, among them Dick Sargent (Miles Beckett, Luther's Editor), Reta Shaw (Mrs. Maxwell), Lurene Tuttle (Mrs. Miller), Charles Lane (Mr. Witlow, Nick Simmons' attorney), and of course Ellen Corby (Miss Tremaine).
Even though Fife was yellow on the inside, he still somehow managed to come out on top at the end of each episode.As Don Knotts ended his stint on the Griffith show after five years, he signed on with Universal Studios to go into the movie business.
His first outing with Universal, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", showcased that same weakling quality that helped make Knotts a star.Knotts plays Luther Heggs, a typesetter working in the basement of a small-town newspaper.
The old house is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Mr. Simmons, who allegedly murdered his wife in a fit of jealous rage and then, in turn, leapt to his own death by jumping from the top floor of the mansion.
Luther becomes an instant celebrity when his story of horror is published in the morning paper, and the old Simmons place becomes the hottest tourist attraction in town.The movie is certainly a fine piece of family fare, with Knotts almost creating the Barney Fife character all over again in Luther Heggs.
The initial seed of the story provides for the perfect vehicle for Knotts to perform his "Mr. Chicken" guise.The film overall, though, seems to lack a strong enough, believable storyline.
There are a few holes left unfilled and loose threads left hanging when the mystery is solved, but because of the fine cast and production, the inconsistencies can be easily overlooked.The best moments in the movie, of course, are during Luther Heggs's visits to the spooky Simmons mansion.
Mizzy (who wrote "The Addams Family" theme) even provides the bone-chilling organ music emanating from the old pipe organ inside the ghostly mansion.There's one or two familiar faces working with Don Knotts here.
In The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Knotts once again takes the character of a bumbling nerd with a good heart - trying to make a name for himself in Small Town America while not always noticing how much he is dismissed by his fellow citizens.
When Luther asks the town drunk what he is doing when he is supposed to be dead, it's the first of several memorable quotes the kids loved repeating.The movie looks clean; the classic Technicolor filming gives the movie the feeling that it was put together by people who knew what they were doing.
None other than Don Knotts.In The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Knotts stars as Luther Heggs, a local newspaper printer who has just been the witness to a murder...or so he thought.
Now Luther, Ollie, Alma, and the rest of the town try to stop the relative of the Simmon's from tearing the house down to the ground.This movie makes a haunted house seem like a laugh riot.
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken offers up a funny plot mixed with comic genius that make for a great time.
I first saw this in the mid-1970's and it was great fun for a kid to be immersed in a bloody murder mystery that took place in a creepy old house!
It does seem to drag at times when they veer off to build up the budding romance part of the film, but Don Knotts along with a great group of character actors (keep an eye out, most of these actors show up in many 1960's TV shows, mostly on "Bewitched") make this a fun little romp.
For a story, the editor proposes that Luther spend the night in the Simmons mansion.It's a little fun to see Don Knotts stumble around and being scared living off of his TV success.
This movie hails from the traditional straight laced crowd in the 1960's a period in time when the amercian rush to old world family values based suburban perfection was at its Zenith.The jokes are plentifiul and funny if quaint.
In "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" Knotts plays Luther Heggs, the small town newspaper's typographer who's ready to cover the big story.
Luther takes a challenge to stay a night in the old house before it gets torn down, and the mayhem starts to happen.It's not terribly original, nor is it hard to guess what crime might be involved.
As for fright – can anyone seriously be scared in a haunted house or "horror" film with Don Knotts, Abbott and Costello or the Three Stooges?
Anybody old enough to have seen this movie when it was first released, remembers as a child, the Saturday nights spent piling into the family car and going to the Drive-In to watch multiple movies, eating buttered popcorn, drinking soda pop and overall, having a pretty darn good time.Well, this movie brings back one of those specific memories for me!
Why?Well, Don Knotts, who had just recently left the highly successful Andy Griffith show where he had enjoyed tremendous success as Andy's sidekick deputy sheriff Barney Fife, was pretty popular amongst the populous at that time, and the movie played up on that popularity by not only using a number of "Barneyisms" (my nickname for the wacky stuff Barney Fife was known for saying on the Griffith show), but they also employed several actors who were also synonymous with the show (Otis the drunk, Aunt Bee's gossipy friend Clara, etc., etc.).Also, the show basically had a Good versus Evil plot that if one remembers how things tended to go at that time (at least on TV shows), one can probably figure out how the movie is going to end.
There are lots of good jokes (including several running gags), and the classic Don Knotts formula-- Small town nothing becomes a hero, reluctantly.
Parents won't have to prescreen this one to insure that their children aren't scarred by any shenanigans; adults and kids alike will find the whole venture entertaining and enjoyable; and it is actually refreshing in this age of graphic violence, filthy dialog, insipid TV sitcom (sub)writing to discover a little gem like this that the whole family can enjoy.Make no mistake: This is NOT visionary film-making.
The truly funny lines are character driven throw aways and subtle observations such as "And they used Bon Ami", "She came home and vibrated for an hour", and "my entire body's a weapon." However, you're not watching this to feast on gag lines -- it's Don Knotts who delivers the laughs with his now-perfected brand of physical comedy (you just may spend the next new days after viewing this shouting out "Atta boy, Luther!" when others speak however).Vic Mizzy's score is simple but effective.
Delightful Family Fun. I remember watching this movie back in the 1960's with my twin sister Tammy and being frightened when Don Knott's character Luther was alone in the haunted Simmon's Mansion.
This movie is very funny and by far the best film Don Knotts ever made.
I also own The Love God, The Relunctant Astronaut, The Shakiest Gun in the West, and How to Frame a Fig, all starring Don Knotts, but this is my favorite movie of his.
When full-time type-setter and wannabe reporter, Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) spends the night in the town "haunted" house, he finds far more than a ghost story to write about.
After attaining stardom playing Barney Fife on TV, comedy actor Don Knotts made the jump to feature film vehicles with movies such as this one.
What he really wants to be, naturally, is a reporter, and gets his big chance for a scoop when his bosses suggest that he spend the night in a supposedly haunted house.However, the unaware should know that he actually doesn't spend much of the movie in the house.
Fortunately he chose well and in addition to a character that suited him perfectly he was surrounded by a cast of familiar and tried and true character players, including a few familiar faces from the Andy Griffith Show.The Ghost And Mr. Chicken finds Knotts as a typesetter on his local small town paper with aspirations to be a reporter.
But it's a town landmark of sorts and Knotts goes to investigate and comes up short the first time, but eventually solves a 20 year old murder.
Later on played various character roles, partnered with Tim Conway and those two were hilarious and is best known to today's audience as the mysterious TV repairman in Pleasantville.The Ghost And Mr. Chicken was a fine beginning for Don Knotts as a big screen leading movie comedian..
Don Knotts stars as Luther Heggs, a typesetter for his local newspaper who dreams of being a reporter, and gets his chance when his editor(played by Dick Sergeant) assigns Luther the task of spending the night in the old Simmons mansion, where a murder-suicide occurred 20 years earlier.
It has a bit of everything in it and the whole family can enjoy it and any level or age..Don Knotts was an absolutely one off and his humor will not ever be repeated, i honestly recommend this movie to anyone seeking an honest funny warm movie that you'll remember for a long time if not forever.In summary its fun fun fun for all...I hope everyone who watches this movie enjoys it as much as i have, as i still haven't been able to find another that gives me that good feeling after watching it...............
This underrated Movie stars Don Knotts as Luther Heggs (a nevus jerky typesetter for the local paper) who gets the opportunity to become a full-fledged report if he spends the night in the local haunted house.
I think this was the first film Knotts did after leaving the Andy Griffith Show, so he still had that Barney Fife/nervous man characterization in full bloom.
And the courtroom scene was really funny ("Atta boy, Luther!"- If I ever met Don Knotts, I'd just have to yell that out!)   A comedy classic that, until recent years, wasn't even available on video.
He is great in physical comedy where he can make his faces and movements alone be pretty funny.The haunted house as well as comedy scenes seem to be typical of that time.
This also includes the court scene that brought a lot of laughter, the elevator scene which also showed Don Knott's great performance as well as the communism joke that made me laugh and pretty excited when I thought about the times when it was made..
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) is a Comedy/Family/Mystery/Romance starring Don Knotts as Luther Heggs.
The acting, plot, and dialogue are creative, hilarious, and unbelievably entertaining.I very much enjoyed the performance of the main actor Don Knotts and his authentic portrayal of an awkward man who is not like everybody else but wants to be seen as a success.
Luther (Don Knotts) is a jittery, energetic, nervous-as-all-getout, wannabe news reporter who is asked to spend one night in the scary old Simmons mansion, where a murder-suicide occurred many years before, and write an article about his experience.
Don Knotts made it work.The supposed haunted house was a vehicle that was used plenty of times in plenty of movies as in Abbot and Costello, Bowery Boys, Lewis and Martin , so it was nothing new there.What stood out was a very average, albeit nervous person doing something he was petrified to do.
One of the few movies I have watched over and over since I was a kid and enjoyed every time..
Mild-mannered newspaperman Don Knotts (as Luther Heggs) is assigned to spend a night in his small Kansas town's "haunted house", on the 20-year anniversary of its ghastly murder/suicide.
Not too funny, not too frightening; give it an "attaboy", for trying.**** The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) Alan Rafkin ~ Don Knotts, Joan Staley, Skip Homeier.
So if you just want to see a really entertaining (mildly spooky) and funny movie, one that you can enjoy with your kids, then go out and rent or buy "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken." Unless you're some kind of a chowderhead.ELIMIDATE?
Don Knott's character, Luther Heggs, is challenged to spend the night in this house, writes a story for the newspaper (for which he is a typesetter) and ends up in a lawsuit with the nephew of the deceased, Nick SimmonsThis story evokes all those feel-good times in the 1960's when people drove big convertibles, left their doors unlocked and the biggest thing happening was Telstar.
This is a great comedy from the time when a film could be fun and funny and still remain something that you could show the whole family.
Don Knotts was a very funny actor, although a bit stereo-typed, and the supporting cast is filled with familiar faces from that era of TV and films.
Although a great film to watch around Halloween, it never gets too scary for everyone to enjoy.
Knotts gets his big shot at writing a story when his editor has him spend the night in a local haunted house where a murder-suicide occurred.
Small town schnook Luther Heggs, a newspaper typesetter and would-be reporter (whom everyone sarcastically calls "Scoop"), gets his first assignment: to spend the night in a supposedly haunted house on the anniversary of a murder/suicide which occurred there 20 years ago.
Don Knotts is at his finest when he's offered a newspaper writer contract if he spends the night in the town haunted house.
The janitor provokes Knott's boss to convince him to spend the murder night in the mansion Lot's of great character actors add to this, and Vic Mizzy's classic background and organ music add to the humor.
meek typesetter (Don Knotts) for small newspaper spends night in haunted house.
The title explains all: the star is a milquetoast who works as type setter at a small-town newspaper  of course, he really wants to be a journalist (though his inexperience leads him to report a murder solely on hearsay, only to be embarrassed when the alleged victim turns up shaken but very much alive at the Police station!) and eventually finds his great opportunity with a story about a legendary local haunted house (where a violent death and suicide had occurred twenty years earlier).Asked to spend the night there by his editor, the hero comes across secret panels in the library, organs that play by themselves (complete with bloodied keys), not to mention a portrait slashed by a dagger!
Don Knotts is Luther Heggs, a typesetter at a small town newspaper who dreams of being a reporter.
The entire town stands behind him with the exception of the haunted house's owner who intends to tear down the rat trap and doesn't want any publicity.Knotts had left "The Andy Griffith Show" the year before after the lead in the extremely successful "The Incredible Mr. Limpet", and while he didn't explode into a huge comedy movie star, the films he did under his brief contract with Universal were amusing, if sometimes instantly forgettable.