The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken: Directed by Alan Rafkin. With Don Knotts, Joan Staley, Liam Redmond, Dick Sargent. A timid typesetter hasn’t a ghost of a chance of becoming a reporter – until he decides to solve a murder mystery and ends up spending a fright-filled night in a haunted house.

“This picture is easy to rave about. I donu0026#39;t know how many times Iu0026#39;ve seen it, but u0026#39;Chickenu0026#39; never fails to work its magic. A thesis could be written on its gentle lampooning of small town America, the travails of the u0026#39;little guyu0026#39;, and the character studies which show the human comedy which surrounds us every day of our lives. Pretty much every scene is a classic of comedy, from the malfunctioning elevator operator to the repeated motifs of u0026#39;Atta boy, Luther/Carlyle/Judgeu0026#39; and u0026#39;And they used Bon Ami!u0026#39; Itu0026#39;s also a treasure trove of fine performances, from Burt Mustin to Jesslyn Fax, not to mention Don K., of course. Reta Shaw, James Millhollin, Harry Hickox, Hope Summers, Philip u0026quot;Philu0026quot; Ober, Harry Hines, Eddie Quillan, Herbie u0026quot;Iu0026#39;m almost up to my Jell-ou0026quot; Faye, Charles Lane, and the great Al Checco, what could be better? Everything is genuine, from wise-apple Skip Homieru0026#39;s matching with (former Playboy model) Joan u0026quot;Above Averageu0026quot; Staley to Lutheru0026#39;s accurate but frenzied punching of the transmission buttons in the center of the steering wheel of his 1958 Edsel. Vic Mizzyu0026#39;s score is incredible, and his crazed organ toccata will burn itself into your memory even more than his trademark electric guitar accents. Everything is well-composed in Techniscope. This picture, along with the rest of the Knotts Universal contract (climaxing in the very odd but hilarious u0026#39;The Love God?u0026#39;), plus u0026#39;Angel in My Pocketu0026#39;, and even u0026#39;Cold Turkeyu0026#39; form an amazing comic vision of Americana, created by brilliant minds who knew how to capture it without resorting to cheap shots or vulgarity. u0026#39;Chickenu0026#39; is a great comedy, a classic, and its greatness is found in its humbleness.”