The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

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Set in Rachel Kansas, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is the first of Don Knotts movies after leaving The Andy Griffith Show. Many actors from Mayberry showed up Rachel.

The first is, of course, Don Knotts as Luther Heggs but we should start of with behinds the scenes folks.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. Andy Griffith also helped re-write the script but is uncredited for his efforts.

Those are only the beginning of the connections and fun trivia relating Mayberry and Don Knotts' first movie. Turns out there was so much that this will be the first of two episodes of Two Chairs No Waiting that we'll do on The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.

Background

TGAMC was written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. Andy Griffith also helped re-write the script but is uncredited for his efforts.

The Simmons House

http://www.thestudiotour.com/ush/backlot/street_colonial_2.html

Originally built for the 1946 movie "So Goes My Love". The MR. CHICKEN house (known as the Allison house) was built in the '40s for the film SO GOES MY LOVE with Don Ameche (as was the Munsters' house). The Allison House has similar characteristics to the PSYCHO house, but it is a different house altogether. Both the Allison house and the Munster house can be seen on the DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES TV show.

Featured in "Harvey" with James Stewart (1950) as no.348, the Dowd house

The house also featured in the short-lived Animal House spin-off Delta House, (1978 photo 000_spin_off_from_animalhouse_called_deltahouse.jpg)

You may notice that the house has many elements in common with the "Psycho" house (shown at right) , as they were both built from the same "stock" units.

The house on TGAMC has been used as Gabrielle's house in "Desperate Housewives" but has a slightly amended roof, possibly to avoid comparisons with the Psycho house. (000_mr_chicken_house_Desperate_Housewives_Gabrielles_house.jpg As seen in Desperate Housewives, September 2006)

Great information on TGAMC house can be found http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=10179.0



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059221/movieconnections

Besides Don Knotts, there are a number of actors from the Andy Griffith Show in this movie, some playing characters very similar to the characters they did in the Andy Griffith Show. For example, Hal Smith plays the town drunk in both productions. This was Knott's first film after leaving the Andy Griffith Show. 

	Don Knotts	... 	Luther Heggs					Barney Fife
	Charles Lane	... 	Lawyer Whitlow				Mr. Frisby
	Reta Shaw	... 	Mrs. Halcyon Maxwell			Big Maude Tyler, Eleanora Poultice
	Hal Smith	... 	Calver Weems (uncredited)		Otis Campbell
	Hope Summers	... 	Susanna Blush (uncredited)	Clara Edwards
	Lurene Tuttle	... 	Mrs. Natalie Miller			Annabelle Silby
	Jesslyn Fax	... 	Mrs. Hutchinson					Mrs. Le Grande  Andy's Investment (1967)
	Robert Cornthwaite	... Luthers's Lawyer Springer			Mr. Somerset Dogs, Dogs, Dogs (1963)
	Jim Begg	... 	Deputy Herkie (as James Begg)	Charles Keyes / Man / Young Man 
															– Opie's Drugstore Job (1968) … Man
															– Aunt Bee, the Juror (1967) … Charles Keyes
															– The County Clerk (1966) … Young Man 
	James Millhollin	... 	Mr. Milo Maxwell		Arnold Finch Aunt Bee Takes a Job (1965)
	Cliff Norton	... 	Charlie, the Bailiff		Wally Goober's Replacement (1966)
	Ellen Corby	... 	Miss Neva Tremaine				Myrt 'Hubcaps' Lesh Barney's First Car (1963)
	Phil Arnold	... 	Jury Foreman (uncredited)		The Hotdog Vendor A Black Day for Mayberry (1963)
	Ceil Cabot	... 	Occult Clubwoman (uncredited)	Andy's Investment (1967) … Woman
	Al Checco	... 	Gaylord Patie (witness - crazy) (uncredited)		Hennessey / Howie - Bank Robber
															– If I Had a Quarter Million Dollars (1965) … Hennessey
															– The Bank Job (1962) … Howie - Bank Robber 
	Herbie Faye	... 	Man in Diner (uncredited)		Eddie Blake / Manager / Mr. Clark 
															– The Tape Recorder (1967) … Eddie Blake
															– Aunt Bee Takes a Job (1965) … Mr. Clark
															– Banjo-Playing Deputy (1965) … Manager 
	Everett Greenbaum	... Man Saying 'Attaboy Luther' (voice) (uncredited)  Writer of 29 episodes of TAGS
	Lee Krieger	... Lester-Summons Server (uncredited) Merle Dean / Mort - Bank Robber / Motorist from Oregon
															– Gomer the House Guest (1963) … Merle Dean
															– The Bank Job (1962) … Mort - Bank Robber
															– The Pickle Story (1961) … Motorist from Oregon 
	J. Edward McKinley	... mayor Carlyle Preston (uncredited) Governor George C. Handley The Cannon (1965)
	Burt Mustin	... 	Mr. Deligondo (uncredited)		Jud Fletcher / Jud / Judd 
	Eddie Quillan	... Elevator Operator (uncredited)	Bell Hop The Taylors in Hollywood (1965)
	Maxine Semon	... Occult Clubwoman (uncredited)	Tillie Kincaid 
															– Only a Rose (1966) … Tillie Kincaid
															– Politics Begin at Home (1966) … Tillie Kincaid 
	Ruth Thom	... 	Occult Clubwoman (uncredited)	Ella Carson / Ella /Maggie Peters

Not on TAGS but note worth

Dick Wilson ... Bandmaster (uncredited) - For many years from the 1960s through the 70s, he played Mr. Whipple, the grocery store owner who admonished customers "Please don't squeeze the Charmin".


At a boy, Luther

"Atta boy" voice was Everett Greenbaum, one of the writers.


Links

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