a_chinn Don Knotts plays a fraidy cat typesetter at a local newspaper who wants to be a reporter, but who has a history of being hysterical and getting his stories wrong. 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. Don again gets the story wrong and causes all sorts of trouble, the least of which is ruining his chances with his crush, Joan Staley. Overall, there's nothing brilliant here, but if you find Don Knotts funny, which I do, you'll enjoy this one.

bigverybadtom Don Knotts is Luther Heggs, a typesetter at a small town newspaper who dreams of being a reporter. After several false starts, he gets his chance when his editor has him spend the night at a deserted mansion during the twentieth anniversary of an alleged murder-suicide by the husband and wife who lived there. The mansion is supposedly haunted by ghosts and is the obsession of a group of local female paranormal fanatics. But the nephew of the dead couple wants very much to take title of the mansion and bulldoze it as soon as possible. Luther Heggs spends the night as planned, and hears the organ playing and finds secret stairs. Heggs becomes a local celebrity, but the nephew files a libel suit against him. What next? It is Don Knotts's topnotch performance as the excitable Luther Heggs that carries the whole movie, jumping around nervously and stuttering. The script and the other performers fall short, and the whole thing could and should have been funnier...and more exciting. Knotts did the best he could with this material, but he could have used some support.

bkoganbing Don Knotts must have carefully chosen the script and story that would be his first starring film role. He certainly was taking a chance after leaving the Andy Griffith Show. 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 his first attempt at a big scoop which I won't go into make him a laughingstock not unlike Barney Fife at times. The girl he desires Joan Staley is disappointed and his rival Skip Homeier is having a great old time at Don's expense.Another opportunity presents itself however. The owner of an old abandoned mansion Philip Ober returns to town wanting to demolish said mansion just take the wrecking ball and bulldozer to it. There's a lot of opposition because it is reputed to be haunted primarily by the ghost of Ober's wife who was murdered there 20 years earlier. 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. Which is more than Barney Fife ever did. The part that Don plays here set a pattern for his film career playing the lovable, bumbling schlep who gets it right in the end and gets the girl besides. Of course that was while he was a lead. 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.

Brad I think we can all remember Don Knotts as that guy who always made us laugh by getting the daylights scared out of him. All someone would have to do is sneak up behind him, tap him on the shoulder and say "boo!", and Knotts would go into his bug-eyed, hair-standing-on-end routine of a guy that acts like he'd just seen a ghost. Don made a living out of playing such a character as Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show". An unlikely hero, Barney Fife was the kind of guy you would least expect to hold the job of a deputy sheriff. 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. He'd take the cowardly, scaredy-cat persona with him, though. 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. Luther has dreams of becoming an ace newspaper reporter someday, but he can never seem to come across that big scoop that will get him out of his lowly position in the basement.Then one day, the newspaper's editor/owner comes to Luther with what could be Luther's big break! To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of a horrendous murder/suicide, Luther is asked to spend the night in the deserted mansion where the horrific crime took place. 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 is to arrive at the house just before midnight and make note of any supernatural phenomena that he witnesses during his stay. After Luther sees what he thinks is the evil spirit of Mr. Simmons wreaking havoc about the dilapidated domicile, he returns to report his terrifying experience to his boss. 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. The plot almost seems to be a carbon copy straight from an episode of "Scooby Doo, Where are You?" Sure, it's fun to see Don Knotts acting as if he's about to jump out of his skin, but that's about the only main attraction in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". When the story concludes, and the real villain is revealed, you might find yourself scratching your head in puzzlement. 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. There genuinely are some creepy moments during the haunted house scenes, highlighted by Vic Mizzy's musical score. 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. Dick Sargent (the second Darrin on "Bewitched") plays Luther's boss. A couple of fellow "Andy Griffith Show" cohorts show up as well. There's Hal Smith (Otis on the Griffith show) playing (what else?) the local drunk. Also imported straight from Mayberry is Hope Summers and long-time favorite Burt Mustin. Glamorous actress and onetime Playboy model Joan Staley portrays Knott's love interest, Alma, but there's really not much on-screen chemistry between the two. The budding romance between Luther and Alma just doesn't seem very convincing.But don't let the faults in this film make you turn away from it. "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" spotlights one of the greatest comedic actors of all time. Fans of Don Knotts will not be disappointed as Knotts turns in a fine, energetic performance that only Don Knotts could do.