The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

As October draws to a close, I've grown a little tired of genuine, often R-rated horrors, so I picked another comedy. I do have another purportedly scary movie on the way, but it's less Halloween-y.

Despite the Mrs. Muir-parodying title, no one is named or nicknamed "Mr. Chicken." Presumably, it refers to protagonist Luther (Don Knotts), whose propensity to getting spooked outdoes Scooby and Shaggy. But between a desire to advance his thus-far dismal career at a small-town Kansas newspaper and a desire to impress Alma (Joan Staley), a boarding house neighbor currently dating snide reporter Ollie (Skip Homeler), he agrees to spend the night at a reputedly haunted mansion around the 20th anniversary of an alleged murder-suicide and report on his experience. Obviously, something happens, but what will others make of Luther's story? In particular, what will the mansion's owner, Nicholas (Philip Ober), who plans to tear it down soon, do about this?

If you're not a complete newcomer to the genre (which a viewer might be, given the G rating), you can guess that things are not as they appear to Luther. And as soon as I heard of Nicholas's plan, I could only assume that he wanted to hide evidence. And could do a good job of discrediting Luther. There isn't much room for surprise in this plot, perhaps least of all in the love triangle. At the same time, not all of it makes perfect sense when you think about it.

Predictability notwithstanding, is it funny? Well, I knew from The Andy Griffith Show that Knotts could carry a '60s comedy on his own with sheer gawkiness. Only now did I see how well he could add cowardice to the mix. If you prefer something less extreme in your humor, you might like the old ladies in town, who range from mere gossips to paranormal enthusiasts.

The 90 minutes go by quickly, partly because very few of them include any semblance of ghosts. This may have something to do with the production being low-budget even for the time. Still enough money to hire crowds, tho, including several other TAGS alumni. Actually, I understand that much of the writing is recycled from a TAGS episode. Universal really played it safe.

I might like this a little better than The Ghost Breakers. At least there's more of a longstanding basis for the romance, and the fleeting roles of African Americans in a cafe are not politically incorrect. But I don't see myself recommending it to anyone but a true Knotts fan.