- William Lee Martin
Episode 17 : Swifties In The Movies, Teachers Gone Wild, And The Movie: The Ghost and Mr. Chicken!
This Week's Episode of the Cowtown Drive-In Podcast the Team breaks down movie etiquette, a teacher thats gone wild, and Don Knotts best comedic moments!
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Fun Facts About the Movie:
Cast:
Directed by: Alan Rafkin
Written by: James Frittzell, Everett Greenbaum, Andy Griffith
Don Knotts – Luther Heggs
Joan Staley – Alma Parker
Liam Redmond – Kelsey
Dick Sargent – George Beckett
Skip Homeier – Ollie Weaver
Reta Shaw – Mrs. Maxwell
Lurene Tuttle – Mrs. Miller
Philip Ober – Nicholas Simmons
Harry Hickox – Police Chief Fuller
Charles Lane – Lawyer Whitlow
Jesslyn Fax – Mrs. Hutchinson
Nydia Westman – Mrs. Cobb
James Millhollin – Mr. Maxwell
Box Office:
The Filmed grossed $4 million in the first five months after its release on a $500,000 budget
Ratings:
7.2/10 IMDb
67% Rotten tomatoes
Fun Facts:
According to Don Knotts's autobiography, the off-screen voice yelling, "Attaboy, Luther!" belongs to screenwriter Everett Greenbaum.
This film inspired a short-lived craze for yelling out "Attaboy, (name)" during speeches and other situations. This came from a running gag used in this film. The Farrelly Brothers used the same gag in Kingpin (1996).
The film earned $1,245,684 during its first week of release, making it the #1 top grossing movie of the week
The "Simmons Mansion" was next door to the Munster Mansion on the Universal back lot. It appears, without the fence, in the opening credits of Munster, Go Home! (1966). However, the Munsters house doesn't appear in this film.
An uncredited script consultant was brought in to authenticate the Haunted House conspiracy based on an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show." That consultant was in fact Andy Griffith.
The car Luther Heggs drives is a 1958 Edsel Corsair, a short-lived marque of the Ford Corporation named after Henry Ford's son, Edsel Ford. That car was a colossal failure, which would have been familiar to the audience of the time, and thereby reinforce Luther's image as a lovable loser.
Besides Don Knotts, there are a number of actors from The Andy Griffith Show (1960) 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. Also, "Griffith" show veterans, such as Burt Mustin and Hope Summers are featured in this movie. This was Knotts' first film after leaving the Andy Griffith Show. Also, Reta Shaw appeared in two episodes of TAGS as Barneys voice teacher and as one of the trio of escaped women convicts the previous season.
The original cut of the film included a scene where the portrait stabbing was explained. Kelsey had printed a copy of the portrait and placed on the back side of the one on the landing of the staircase. When pressing a secret button, the portrait turned to reveal the shears stuck in the throat with red paint. This scene was cut from all other prints and has only been seen a few times in theaters and on some television showings.
Our Ratings:
William Lee - 6
Lisa - 6
JT - 6
Cowtown Drive-In Average - 6/10
