My love and admiration for THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN knows no bounds. It was one of my first "favorite movies". One that I would watch each and every single time it was on TV. I watched THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW every Monday night back in those days. I vaguely remember GHOST playing in theaters. My earliest distinct memory of it was it's first network showing on the NBC Monday Night At The Movies. I was attracted to it because I knew Don Knott’s as Barney from "The Andy Griffith Show".

Just a few right elements made this terrifying to a child. The entry into the abandoned house, the record player coming on, the shears in the picture, the organ music. I was an impressionable child and while Don Knotts made me laugh, just hearing the music SCARED ME TO DEATH!

So much in fact, my parents wouldn't let me watch GHOST that first time it was on TV. (NBC Monday Night Movies) So the first time I ever saw it, I was about 12 and it was on the local (Columbus, Ohio) JERRY BECK'S SCHOENLING ALL-NIGHT THEATER. For several years, it was always part of the annual Halloween Triple-Feature. And typically, the LAST one shown. At 4am in the morning!! Some may find this hard to imagine... But back then (c.1972), if a movie was on at 4am in the morning, you had to watch it at 4am in the morning!!! (Before VCRs, life was hard!) I stayed up several years until 4am, just to see my beloved MR. CHICKEN.

They always say TGAMC is based on "The Haunted House" episode of "The Andy Griffith Show", in which Barney and Gomer attempt to retrieve Opie’s ball that landed in a spooky mansion (being used as a cover by a bootlegger.) But there’s really not much connection there.

Several of Knotts’ movies were more or less based on something prior. THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST is PALEFACE and THE RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT was HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO, both Paramount films from the 1940's. I wonder if there is another earlier film in the Universal or Paramount library (THE CAT CREEPS, GHOST BREAKERS) that TGAMC is based on?

Then there is an old MGM short starring Jimmie Stewart called IMPORTANT NEWS (1934) MGM presents Charles "Chic" Sale in Miniature. Directed by Edwin Lawrence. It stars Jimmy Stewart as Cornelius ("Out sneakin' a smoke.") It takes place in the typesetting newsroom of the Cole County Clarion- just like in TGAMC. Jimmy even wears the same kind of smock as Luther. But it is his boss that is called "Scoop."

In it a notorious criminal ("Pretty Face Wilson") is shot down by G-Men in the street. "Scoop" Stevens writes a piece and while Jimmy urges him to put it on the already set-up front page, it is explained how you can't leave out parts of the front page. It is put on back page in the obituaries. There is much name calling and scenes of a group of the town's men laughing at "Scoop": "Maybe Scoop should be in the undertaking business- He sure knows how to bury things." "Howdy Rip Van Winkle!" "You don't know a good story when you see one." "Maybe I don't, and maybe I do." "Did you hear about the accident- A big smash-up? Main Street ran into the State Highway!" "Scoop" is later praised for not sensationalizing a "hot" story.

The feel of this short subject is just so similar, it must have been an inspiration. Could Greenbaum and Fritzell have been writers? There are no other screen credits.

Did you know Don Knotts himself called Bon-Ami to secure rights to use the name in the film?! And Andy Griffith suggested they add "Atta Boy Luther"!

The small town atmosphere and casting was copied from the 1958 Columbia movie, PICNIC. PICNIC also featured Reta Shaw (from TGAMC) in a cast of other familiar TV stars: Arthur O'Connell, Verna Felton, Raymond Bailey (later Mr. Drysdale on "The Beverly Hillbillies") and Howard McNear (Floyd on "The Andy Griffith Show.")

TGAMC is also a who’s who of character actors of the time: many who also worked with Knotts on "The Andy Griffith Show". Hal Smith, Ellen Corby, Hope Summers, Burt Mustin and Rita Shaw to name a few. So it was fun to pick out the familiar faces. The movie was even written by two of "The Andy Griffith Show's" most prolific writers!

You can see 1958 Playboy centerfold Joan Staley in: Oceans 11 (1960), Midnight Lace, Dondi (1961), The Ladies Man (1961), Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961), Valley Of the Dragons (1961), Cape Fear (1961), Johnny Cool, A New Kind Of Love, Kissin Cousins, Roustabout, gunpoint. TGAMC was her last film. On TV you can catch her in: "The Beachcomber", "77 Sunset Strip", and "Broadside" (1964) Produced by the producer of TGAMC. Much episodic TV guest shots: "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Perry Mason", "Bonanza", "Batman" and "The Munsters". Her last appearance was in "Mission: Impossible" (1968), and then she disappeared.

The haunted house looks similar to the houses used in PSYCHO and "The Munsters" and is probably one of the two. All were Universal productions. The Bates mansion is copied from the painting, "House by the Railroad" (1925) by the American artist Edward Hopper.

On TV, from the late 1960's to c.1990, the letterboxed titles of The Ghost And Mr. Chicken had the old Universal widescreen borders, which normally featured a curlyque design in the spaces. For some prints of The Ghost And Mr. Chicken, they featured a special haunted house design in the top and bottom letterbox areas. New video copies have only black letterbox bars. The films Techniscope image is ENTIRELY letterboxed on videodisc and DVD.

The home videotape and disc also have an original letterboxed trailer which features narration by Knotts not found in the film. Line from trailer: “The worlds bravest coward, Three time Emmy award winner.”

Years ago, I taped the theme and organ music off the TV speaker with a microphone onto my cassette player and played it to death, wishing there was a soundtrack album. I would play it over and over.

The main theme music from The Ghost And Mr. Chicken is an adaptation of a song from the 1930's called, Mr. GHOST GOES TO TOWN by Will Hudson, Irving Mills & Mitchell Parish. 1936 and recorded by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra Victor 25509, 78 RPM; (vocal refrain by The Three Esquires). 1937 issue. With another well known version by THE FIVE JONES BOYS.

More than 40 years after it’s release, 4 cuts of music from THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN have recently been released on the CD, VIC MIZZY SUITES AND THEMES. I bought mine directly from the label: www.percepto.com. It was 20 bucks! And worth every penny.

This fantastic CD has original soundtrack music from many other wonderful Vic Mizzy scores. Including all his scores for Knotts and TV themes like: "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres". When I first placed this CD in my player and hit play, it brought the biggest smile to my face and tears of joy to my eyes. According to advance buzz from Percepto, Fall 2003 will see the release of the FULL SOUNDTRACK from TGAMC.

Hear the original MR. GHOST GOES TO TOWN, THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN theme and more HERE. Then, go to FILES/THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN.

In the late 70's, a friend of mine owned a 16mm print of GHOST and would show it in his musty basement. When he parted with the print, he sold me his mint-condition poster, which has now been hanging on my wall for about 20 years.

Don't you just know someone is going to have to remake TGAMC someday and probably RUIN it! I know Jim Carrey is a fan and he MIGHT be able to do it justice, but I doubt it. There is a remake of THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET in the works, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

The TV premiere of The Ghost And Mr. Chicken was on "NBC Monday Night At The Movies" 9:00pm to 11pm. In the 1980’s there began many repeated showings of Don Knott’s movies on cable stations like TBS, TNT and The Family Channel. It seems one or the other was on every few weeks.

When The Ghost And Mr. Chicken was shown on THE FAMILY CHANNEL, scenes were cut, including scenes of the shears stuck in the painting! (But were later put back in!)

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Video/DVD availability:VHS, DVD (MCA Home Video)

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Don Knotts Reminisces About The Making Of
THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN

Interestingly, when I did my first movie for Universal after the show- The Ghost And Mr. Chicken”- we incorporated an unseen character who yelled, “Atta boy, Luther” to me. Well, Andy came out to help us with a re-write on that movie. We had gotten into some trouble, and I asked him to help us out, and he did. He suggested that we make more of that guy. So, we worked him in throughout the movie. Strangely enough, it was Universal that wanted to finally show that guy at the end, but I refused. I felt real good about that movie. For years, Knotts recalls, people would yell at him, “That a boy, Luther.” Andy Griffith was fond of the line; “I’d rather have good food than bad food.”

Well, actually I left the show at the time because he had said he was only going to go for five years. I talked to him in the middle of the fifth year, and he said he still intended to stop. So I started to look around and I interviewed with a bunch of people, as I was hot, of course, at that time.

Then all of a sudden Andy turned around and changed his mind. He came to me and said, “I’ve decided to stay on. What do you think? We’ve got anew deal to offer you. Do you want to stay?” But by then I had already really committed myself to Universal, where I had an opportunity to make features. Although I didn’t have a production company, they gave me an office, my own writers, and a five year contract. It was a nice deal, and by then I thought it was time for me to move on- so I did. I came back and did a few shows with Andy. I used to kid them when I came back. I’d say, “Are you still working with that little screen?” Then they’d yell, “Here comes the movie actor.”

Q: Were you satisfied with the films you made at Universal? DK: Yes, the first three films I made out there I was very pleased with (ghost, Reluctant Astronaut, Shakiest) The last two I was not. Q: Those would have been how To Frame A Figg and The Love God? DK: Right. Q: Many of your fans consider The Love God? A cult movie that ranks with your funniest efforts. D: Maybe, but many people thought it was too risqué for my image at that time. Most of the theaters that showed my films would not even book it because they thought it would not be acceptable to audiences.

Q: Speaking of bucking the traditional Don Knotts image, is it true you were the idol of a commune of hippies around the time of The Love God? DK: That’s true, I ran into a guy in Hawaii- on Waikiki. He was a hippie and invited me to his “pad.” When I got there, I found all these guys hanging out passing around marijuana. (laughs) However, I only spent one day with them- I never moved in.

His first motion picture, TGAMC, did exploit the character of Barney and the Man On The Street for Knott’s role as Luther. The script, after all, was written by two writers from The Andy Griffith Show. In fact, the picture is very reminiscent of the episode entitled, “The Haunted House,” in which Barney and Gomer attempt to retrieve Opie’s ball that landed in a spooky mansion (being used as a cover by a bootlegger.) In any event, Knotts subsequent family entertainment films moved him light years away from the original character of Barney.

TGAMC was filmed in 17 days. There was some concern about the use of the trade name, "Bon-Ami." After some waiting, during which no one on the production staff had yet contacted the company, Don Knotts himself decided to call Bon-Ami and ask permission to use the name in the film, which was granted.

Luther drives a sharp, 1950’s Edsel. TGAMC takes place in Rachel, Kansas. The familiar Universal suburban street set is used extensively.

a Nitpicker's guide to THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN

The following movie mistakes from THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN are from Nitpickers.Com

* When Don Knotts is alone in the haunted house, and the organ begins to play by itself, Don panics and runs through the house. The beam of the flashlight Don is carrying is provided by a stagehand with a spotlight, and the stagehand just goes crazy, shining the spotlight all over the place, even onto Don Knotts! But never where the flashlight is pointing!

* When Don Knotts arrives at the haunted house to spend the night, he falls through a coal chute into the basement - except its NOT Don who slides down the coal chute! The stuntman, even though he is holding his arms up to cover his face, has very obvious STRAIGHT hair as opposed to Don Knotts CURLY hair!

* When Don Knotts arrives at the haunted house to spend the night, he falls through a coal chute into the basement, but after he climbs out Don's character is not the least bit dirty after having slid down a coal chute and climbed out of a coal bin!

* When Mrs. Maxwell (Reta Shaw) and her "Psychic Occult Society of Rachel" group, comes to the haunted house, Loretta Pine (Sandra Gould) lays her hand on a gate post. In her close-up, she yells for Mrs. Maxwell. Instantly in the full shot, Loretta is now about two feet away from the gate, goes toward the post and lays her hands on it.

* After Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) and Beckett (Dick Sargent) leave Mr. Simmons (Phil Oser) and his attorney Whitlow (Charles Lane), Luther falls into the elevator. In the full shot, Beckett is standing with his back to the wall and his hands are up by his face. Instantly in the next shot, Beckett is turned facing the wall with his left hand on a handle.

* When Kelsey (Liam Redmund) and Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) are in the secret passageway with Mr. Simmons (Phil Ober) who has Alma (Joan Staley) as a hostage, Kelsey is holding a candlestick. His hand is about in the middle of the candlestick. When there is a close-up of Kelsey holding the candlestick just when he is about to give instructions to Luther, his hand has moved about three inches up. In the next shot of him holding it, his hand is back down to where it was earlier.

* When Luther Heggz (Don Knotts) first enters the haunted house, he is scared by his own reflection in the mirror. There are cobwebs all over the house, including around the mirror indicating there hasn't been any cleaning or usage by humans for quite awhile. Yet, the mirror is very cleaned. There is no explanation in the movie as to why the mirror is so clean.

* When Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) and Alma (Joan Staley) are getting married, whenever there is a frontal shot, they are only a few inches apart. In the shots taken behind them, they are about a foot or more apart. When Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) and Alma (Joan Staley) are at the town's picnic honoring Luther, there isn't a female server behind the two, as he says the line "I just love good food" and she says, "So do I." However, instantly, in the next shot, there is now a woman (wearing a reddish dress with a white apron) behind them serving the people at the next table. Pretty bad editing.

* In the courtroom scene when Ollie (Skip Homeier) tells Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) that he hopes they fry him, the attorney is looking down at his paperwork. Instantly, in the next shot, the attorney is now looking at Luther.

* When there is a close-up of Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) and Ollie (Skip Homeier) at the breakfast table at "Natalie Miller Room & Board," Luther excuses himself. Skip's left hand drops an item on the table and goes under the table. Immediately in the full shot, as Luther is seen getting up from the table, Skip's forearm is now on the edge of the table.

* Watching closely, between the time of the full shot of Mr. Maxwell (James Millhollin) at his desk with Mr. Simmons (Phil Ober) and the time of the close-up of Mr. Simmons, the lamp sitting on the secretary's desk, moves about a foot. With the position of the lamp on the desk in the full shot, the lamp should have been directly behind Mr. Simmons instead of over his left shoulder, in the close-up.

* Watching closely, the lamp sitting on the secretary's desk is turned to the viewer's left, as Mr. Maxwell (James Millhollin) and Mr. Simmons (Phil Ober) sit down. In the close-up of Mr. Simmons, the lamp has turned about a 45 degree angle to the viewer's right. Then in the next full shot, the lamp is back to the left, it's original position.

* There are two problems with the pipe organ in the haunted house playing by itself. At the end of the movie Kelsey admits it was he who played the organ remotely from a tuning keyboard under the pipes. In the first place, any pipe organ requires an air blower to operate, and since the house has been abandoned for 20 years, where did Kelsey get the electricity to run the blower? In the second place, the keys in the organ console only operate air valves to the organ pipes, so any tuning keyboard would be the same and not mechanically linked to operate the keys of the main console!

* The sprinkler moves and floods the area in a matter of seconds. The water sprinkler can be seen behind Alma (Joan Staley) as she first talks with Mrs. Miller (Lurene Tuttle) outside at "Natalie Miller's Room & Board," is about six feet away from the sidewalk. The sidewalk and street are pretty much dry.

* Watching closely, the 2×4 "murder weapon" moves a couple of times. It stays in the same position from the time of the "murder" to the time the lady witness and Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) come up to the guy. However, when he takes a picture of the 2 × 4, it has slightly turned. Then, as Luther leaves, it is back to it's original position.

* In the full shot of Mr. Chicken (Don Knotts) driving by the haunted mansion, there is the drunk man staggering along on the sidewalk. He reaches about even with the tree. Instantly, in a closer shot of the guy, he is magically about two feet ahead of the tree.

* When Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) and Alma (Joan Staley) are outside visiting at "Natalie Miller Room & Board," in the shot from Alma's left, both of her arms are down. Instantly, in the next shot from the passenger's side of the car, her right arm is on the back of the seat and her left arm is in the window of the driver's door.

* Throughout the scene with Kelsey (Liam Redmund) and Luther (Don Knotts) talking about the haunted house, Kelsey's hand placements are inconsistent. One prime example is in the full shot of two, as Kelsey says the line, "I was the gardner" his right hand is on his left hand. Immediately, in Kelsey's close-up, as he says "Young Mrs. Simmons was a beautiful, beautiful woman...", Kelsey's left hand is now on his right hand.

* Luther has cobwebs on the left side of his sweater when he is in the organ loft. After seening the organ playing, he runs down to the first floor. When he descends the staircase to the first floor, he is clean.

* When Don Knotts (Luther) is in the Simmons' mansion, his flashlight moves when the light from the flashlight does not. Especially in the secret passage scene. One time, while leaving a room, his flashlight points away from him, but the light actually shines on him.

* Reta Shaw's desert cup is full, then empty, then full in the breakfast scene with her and Mr. Maxwell the banker.

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about the cast and crew:

Don Knotts as Luther Heggs (aka "Scoop")

(b.07/21/24) Morgantown West Virginia
Worked as a team with Red Ford and Mickey Shaughnessy.
Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts- appeared as a comedy act
Windy Wales on the Bobby Benson western radio and TV show- Mutual Network
Search For Tomorrow- 3 years on NBC soap opera
The Garry Moore Show- introduced his nervous character here
The Tonight Show- Steve Allen- regular for 4 years, “Man on the Street”. He was hired for the show by Bill Dana (Jose Jiminez).
No Time for Sergeants- on Broadway- while doing Tonight
(197?) Three’s Company
Comedy album on UA
Movie credits:
(1958) No Time for Sergeants (WB 111m D: Mervyn Le Roy)
(1960) Wake Me When It’s Over (TCF 126m D: Mervyn Le Roy)
(1961) The Last Time I Saw Archie (UA D: Jack Webb) w. Robert Mitchum, Louis Nye, Joe Flynne, Jack Webb
(1963) It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (UA D: Stanley Kramer)
(1963) Move Over Darling (TCF D: Michael Gordon) w. Doris Day
(1964) The Incredible Mr. Limpet - while on hiatus from TAGS
(1966) The Ghost And Mr. Chicken
(1967) The Reluctant Astronaut
(1968) The Shakiest Gun The West (remake of bob Hope’s The Paleface)
(1969) The Love God?
(1971) How To Frame A Figg (+ Co-writer)
(1975) The Apple Dumpling Gang (Disney)
(1976) No Deposit, No Return (Disney)
(1976) Gus (Disney)
(1976) Joys (TVM) Parody of Jaws (Possibly a Bob Hope special)
(1977) Mulefeathers (Indie.) as the voice of the mule
(1977) Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo (Disney)
(1978) Hot Lead And Cold Feet (Disney)
(1979) The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (Disney)
(1979) The Prize Fighter
(1980) The Private Eyes
(1984) Cannonball Run II
(1987) Pinocchio And The Emperor of The Night (voice only)
(199?) Pleasantville

Joan Staley as Alma

Joan Staley was Playboy’s, Miss November 1958! Likely a Universal contract player. She was on Broadside with Dick Sargent in 64-65 as Machinist Mate Roberta Love. Broadside was also produced By Edward Montagne. Staley was Vic Damone's date, "Tiger" in the 1962 season of TV’s The Lively Ones, a 62-63 comedy-variety summer replacement series. She was also on 77 Sunset Strip in the 63-64 season as Efrem Zimbalist's secretary, secretary Hannah .

Movie/TV credits:
Mission Impossible Versus the Mob (1968) [Actress .... Ginny]
... aka Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob (1968)
Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The (1966) [Actress .... Alma Parker]
Gunpoint (1965) [Actress .... Uvalde]
Roustabout (1964) [Actress .... Marge]
"Broadside" (1964) TV Series [Actress .... Machinist's Mate Roberta Love]
Kissin' Cousins (1964) [Actress .... Jonesy] (uncredited)
"77 Sunset Strip" (1958/I) TV Series [Actress .... Hannah (1963-1964)]
New Kind of Love, A (1963) [Actress .... Danish Stewardess]
Johnny Cool (1963) [Actress .... Suzy]
"Beachcomber, The" (1962) TV Series [Actress .... Linda] ... aka "Mystery Adventure: The Beachcomber" (1979) (USA: syndication title)
Cape Fear (1962) [Actress .... Waitress]
Valley of the Dragons (1961) [Actress .... Deena] ... aka Prehistoric Valley (1961) (UK)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) [Actress .... Girl in low-cut dress] (uncredited)
Ladies' Man, The (1961) [Actress]
Gun Fight (1961) [Actress .... Nora Blaine]
Dondi (1961) [Actress .... Sally]
Midnight Lace (1960) [Actress .... Blonde Pedestrian] (uncredited)
Ocean's Eleven (1960) [Actress .... Helen] (uncredited)

Notable TV Guest Appearances
"Adam-12" (1968) playing "Jenny" in episode: "Airdrop" (episode # 5.3) 27 September 1972
"Adam-12" (1968) playing "Agnes Wellman" in episode: "Log 92: Tell
Him He Pushed a Little Too Hard" (episode # 1.25) 29 March 1969
"Ironside" (1967) playing "Millie O'Neil" in episode: "Girl in the Night" (episode # 1.14) 21 December 1967
"Mission: Impossible" (1966) playing "Ginny" in episode: "The Council: Part 2" (episode # 2.12) 26 November 1967
"Mission: Impossible" (1966) playing "Ginny" in episode: "The Council: Part 1" (episode # 2.11) 19 November 1967
"Pistols 'n' Petticoats" (1966) playing "Cynthia" in episode: "Harold's Double" (episode # 1.26) 11 March 1967
"Rango" (1967) in episode: "Gunfight at the K.O. Saloon" (episode # 1.4) 3 February 1967
"Batman" (1966/II) playing "Okie Annie" in episode: "It's How You Play the Game" (episode # 2.26) 1 December 1966
"Batman" (1966/II) playing "Okie Annie" in episode: "Come Back, Shame" (episode # 2.25) 30 November 1966
"Munsters, The" (1964) playing "Clara Mason" in episode: "Cyrano De Munster" (episode # 2.23) 24 February 1966
"Virginian, The" (1962) playing "Maggie" in episode: "Beyond the Border" (episode # 4.10) 24 November 1965
"Laredo" (1965) playing "Laurie Martin" in episode: "Anybody Here Seen Billy?" (episode # 1.6) 21 October 1965
"Burke's Law" (1963) in episode: "Nightmare in the Sun" (episode # 3.6) 20 October 1965
"Burke's Law" (1963) playing "Traffic Cop" in episode: "Who Killed Don Pablo?" (episode # 1.31) 1 May 1964
"Burke's Law" (1963) playing "Laura" in episode: "Who Killed Wade Walker?" (episode # 1.9) 15 November 1963
"Wagon Train" (1957) playing "Polly Ann Hill" in episode: "The Sam Pulaski Story" (episode # 7.8) 4 November 1963
"Stoney Burke" (1962) in episode: "Kelly's Place" (episode # 1.27) 15 April 1963
"Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Sally" in episode: "The Case of the Double-Entry Mind" (episode # 6.4) 18 October 1962
"Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Gina Gilbert" in episode: "The Case of the Lonely Eloper" (episode # 5.30) 26 May 1962
"Hawaiian Eye" (1959) playing "Sue Alden" in episode: "Location Shooting" (episode # 3.33) 9 May 1962
"87th Precinct" (1961) playing "Monica" in episode: "Girl in the Case" (episode # 1.30) 30 April 1962
"Tales of Wells Fargo" (1957) playing "Clarissa" in episode: "To Kill a Town" (episode # 6.26) 31 March 1962
"Untouchables, The" (1959) playing "Marcia Stone" in episode: "Hammerlock" (episode # 3.10) 21 December 1961
"Dick Van Dyke Show, The" (1961) playing "Valerie Blake" in episode: "Jealousy!" (episode # 1.7) 7 November 1961
"Bonanza" (1959) in episode: "The Burma Rarity" (episode # 3.5) 21 October 1961
"Lawless Years, The" (1959) in episode: "The Miles Miller Story" (episode # 3.8) 30 June 1961
"Checkmate" (1960) playing "Gloria" in episode: "A Matter of Conscience" (episode # 1.20) 18 February 1961
"Hawaiian Eye" (1959) playing "Sandra" in episode: "Girl on a String" (episode # 2.10) 16 November 1960
"Hawaiian Eye" (1959) playing "Kiana" in episode: "Sea Fire" (episode # 2.4) 5 October 1960
"Bonanza" (1959) playing "Dixie" in episode: "The Stranger" (episode # 1.24) 27 February 1960
"Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Judith" in episode: "The Case of the Gallant Grafter" (episode # 3.15) 6 February 1960
"77 Sunset Strip" (1958/I) playing "Flight attendant" in episode: "Secret Island" (episode # 2.10) 4 December 1959
"Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Roberta Quinn" in episode: "The Case of the Corresponding Corpse" (episode # 2.1) 20 September 1958

Dick Sargent as Mr. Beckett

b.1937-d.198?
Dick Sargent was on TV'S: Broadside ABC as Lt. Maxwell Trotter, One Happy Family NBC 01/61 to 09/61 as meteorologist Dick Cooper, The Tammy Grimes Show ABC 09/66- as her square twin brother Terrence. He then became Darren #2 on TV's Bewitched from 69-72. He was actually the first choice to play Darren but had to turn it down as he was contracted to appear in Broadside. He appeared in the films: Bernardine (1957), Operation Petticoat (1959), That Touch Of Mink (1962), The Ghost And Mr. Chicken (1966), The Private Navy Of Sgt. O’Farrell (1968), Hardcore (1979) with George C. Scott. **show on TBS

Liam Redmond as Mr. Kelsey

b.1913-d.19??
Irish Actor, and “Abbey player.” Movies: I See A Dark Stranger (1945), Captain Boycott (1948), High Treason (1951), The Gentle Gunman (1952), The Divided Heart (1954), Jacqueline (1956), Night Of The Demon (1957), The Boy And The Bridge (1959), The Ghost And Mr. Chicken (1966)(US), Tobruk (1966)(US), The Twenty-fifth Hour (1966), The Last Safari (1967)

Skip Homeier as Ollie

b.1929
Started as a child actor.
Movies: Tomorrow The World (1944), Boys Ranch (1946), Mickey (1948), The Gunfighter (1950), fixed Bayonets (1951), Sailor Beware (1952), Beachhead (1954), At Gunpoint (1956), Comanche Station (1960), Bullet For A Badman (1964), The Ghost And Mr. Chicken (1966) He was the lead in TV's: Dan Raven- NBC 09/60- 01/61. Also on: Studio One- CBS 48-58, Schlitz Playhouse Of Stars- CBS- in the musical "Autumn in New York" with Polly Bergen 04/52, Suspense- CBS 1964, The Interns- CBS 70-71 as Dr. Hugh Jacoby.

Reta Shaw as Mrs. Halcyon Maxwell (the banker's wife)

She was in the movie: Picnic (195?) which was an inspiration for the small town atmosphere of The Ghost And Mr. Chicken. Was on TV in: A female criminal on The Andy Griffith Show, The housekeeper in The Ghost And Mrs. Muir- ABC- 196? and guest starred on MANY other TV series.

Phil Ober as Nicolas Simmons

b.1902
Movies: The Secret Fury (1950), From Here To Eternity (1953), Tammy (1956), North By Northwest (1959), Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960), The Brass Bottle (1964), The Ghost And Mr. Chicken (1966). Phil Ober was married in real life to Vivian Vance and played "Dory Schary" on the Hollywood episodes of I Love Lucy. The Ghost And Mr. Chicken was a long way down from his role as Deborah Kerr's husband in the movie From Here To Eternity.

Charles Lane/Levinson as Mr. Whitlow

Lurene Tuttle as Natalie Miller/Room & Board

TV: Life With Father CBS 53-55 as the wife. It was the 1st live color series in Hollywood, Julia- NBC 68-70 as Nurse Hanna Yarby. Prior to The Ghost And Mr. Chicken, she had been in the Hitchcock’s film Psycho (1960) which used the same house as in The Ghost And Mr. Chicken.

Harry Hickox as Police Chief Fuller

Jesslyn Fax as Mrs. Hutchinson/woman in boarding house

Nydia Westman as Mrs. Cobb/woman in boarding house

George Chandler as The Judge

b.1902-d.1985
An ex-vaudvillian who specialized in sly or comically nervous roles. TV: Lassie- CBS 58-59 as Uncle Petrie Martin, Judge Ichabod And Me- CBS 61-62 (also starring Reta Shaw and Burt Mustin from The Ghost And Mr. Chicken.)
Movies: The Light Of Western Stars (1930), Blessed Event (1932), Hi Nellie (1934), Fury (1936), Threee Men On A horse (1936), Nothing Sacred (1937), Jesse James (1939), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939), Arizona (1941), Roxie Hart (1942), It Happened Tomorrow (1944), This Man’s Navy (1945), Dead Reckoning (1947), The Paleface (1948), Kansas Raiders (1950), Hans Christian Anderson (1952), The High And The Mighty (1954), Spring Reunion (1957), Dead Ringer (1964), The Ghost And Mr. Chicken (1966), One More Time (1971)

James Begg as Herkie

James Millhollin as Mr. Maxwell. (The Banker)

Ellen Corby as Miss Tremaine, Luther's Teacher

b.1919-d199?
Character actress specializing in nosey neighbors and prim spinsters. TV: The Andy Griffith Show (she sold a lemon car to Barney), Grandma Walton on The Waltons. MOVIES: Sons Of The Desert (193?), The Dark Corner (1946), The Spiral Staircase (1946), It’s A Wonderful Life (1946), I Remember Mama (1948), Fighting Father Dunne (1948), Madame Bovary (1949), On Moonlight Bay (1950), About Mrs. Leslie (1954), The Seventh Sin (1957), Macabre (19958), Visit To A Small Planet (1960), The Strangler (1964), The Ghost And Mr. Chicken (1966), The Gnome Mobile (1967)

Robert Cornthwaite as Mr. Springer

Sandra Gould as Loretta Pine

Cliff Norton as The Bailiff

Jim Boles as Billy Ray (He looks a bit like Rory Calhoun)

Not Credited on Screen

Hal Smith as Calver Wheems

He was Otis on The Andy Griffith Show, the voice of Goliath on TV's Davey And Goliath and was Rock Roll in “The Twitch” episode of The Flintstones.

Hope Summers as Suzanna Blush

She was Clara Edwards on The Andy Griffith Show and appeared on Hawkins Falls, Population 2000- NBC from 06/50 to 10/50 as Mrs. Catherwood. Then this soap opera started as prime time show, was on The Rifleman- ABC 60-63, as Hattie Denton. Appeared on Another Day- CBS 04/78 as Olive Gardner/a regular. Look for her in a bizarre role in the 1968 occult movie, Rosemary's Baby. And spelling cuss words while playing Scrabble in FOUL PLAY (1978).

Burt Mustin

Dick Smith as The Bandleader

Eddie Quillan (Elevator operator)

J. Edward McKinley as the Mayor

Directed by Alan Rafkin

Writers: James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum

Producer: Edward J. Montagne

Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen

Music by Vic Mizzy

(SMJO) Sheet Music J - O: Mr. GHOST GOES TO TOWN by Will Hudson, Irving Mills & Mitchell Parish. 1936. Deco design of a ghost in top hat and cane descending on New York City. SM1275

Victor 25509, 78 RPM; Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra performing Mr. Ghost Goes to Town, and Lookin' Around Corners for You (vocal refrain by The Three Esquires). 1937 issue.

Dorothy Shay/Various- Park Avenue Hillbillies & West End Cowboys With: Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - Zeke Manners & His Swing Billies

That's Jig Time - Best Of Jive Vocal Groups 1- P-Vine PCD 5778 With- THE FIVE JONES BOYS: Mr. Ghost Goes To Town

Lawrence Welk - Dance To The Big Band Sounds Catalog #: 692688 THE HAUNTED HOUSE- various- NIMBUS- 710357-20082-3 Oct 2000 (DORSEY) COMPUTER CLAVIER- Fats Waller Encores QRS Pianomation Music Library

A great version is in the 1996 Capitol ULTRA LOUNGE CD, Volume 11, "Organs in Orbit." Here there is a 1958 instrumental version of “Mr. Ghost Goes To Town” (track #11), which would have been recorded well before the1966 release date of The Ghost And Mr. Chicken. Done by "The John Buzon Trio" from the Capitol album, "Inferno!" It could have influenced Vic Mizzy’s score for The Ghost And Mr. Chicken. The song on the CD is credited to (Hudson/Parish/Mills).

JOHN "BERMUDA" SWARTZ recorded a version of MR. GHOST that is played on the Dr. Demento Show.

The haunting organ music in The Ghost And Mr. Chicken, (played by Mizzy himself, was used again in another Universal movie, GAMES (1967). That film’s main music score was by Samuel Matlovsky.

In 1995, the alternative group, "Mr. Bungle," (a side project of "Faith No More") released a CD called "Disco Volante." On it is a cut, (#2) called, "Chemical Marriage," that features wild pipe organ playing, that is surely inspired by music from The Ghost And Mr. Chicken, if not the ULTRA LOUNGE version above.

Similar organ cues can be heard in THE BEASTIE BOYS- Body Movin' from 1998.

***

Capsule Reviews:

HALLIWELL'S FILM GUIDE

THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM by Michael Weldon

TV MOVIES by Leonard Maltin

MOVIES ON TV by Steven H. Scheuer

Links of related interest:

the official Vic Mizzy website

a TGAMC trivia quiz

a review and analysis

a review

a review

a TGAMC model kit!

Herbie Faye (the man in the diner!)

a review of Vic Mizzy's music

Don Knotts!

a 13 year-old's favorite film!

about Don Knotts

Edsels in Hollywood!

more Edsels!

more on Don Knotts

TGAMC theme

the organ in TGAMC!

more organ from TGAMC!

copyright 1997-2003 by Mark R. Hill, all rights reserved.