Comedy

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

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June 6, 2016February 13, 2022

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) starring Don Knotts, Joan Staley, Dick Sargent

In The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Luther Heggs (played by Don Knotts), is a typesetter for his small town newspaper, the Rachel Courier Express. He aspires to be a reporter however and gets his big break when the editor (played by Dick Sargent of Bewitched fame) asks him to spend the night at the old Simmons mansion that, 20 years before, was the site of a now-famous murder-suicide. The case has aroused local interest not only because of the anniversary but because the nephew of the murdered couple, Nicholas Simmons, has returned to Rachel aiming to tear the mansion down.

The Incredible Mr. Limpet

by user
June 6, 2016December 25, 2023

The Incredible Mr. Limpet, starring Don Knotts

The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a very funny, entertaining film, starring Don Knotts. He’s the mild-mannered Henry Limpet. Set during World War II, the patriotic Mr. Limpet, an avid fan of fish, tries to enlist in the Navy, only to be rejected due to his poor eyesight. A wish magically comes true, and Henry Limpet is turned into a fish, who becomes the Navy’s secret weapon during World War II.

The Reluctant Astronaut

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June 5, 2016September 2, 2023

The Reluctant Astronaut (1967) starring Don Knotts, Leslie Nielsen

Don Knotts takes his ‘nervous fraidy-cat’ character to outer space (or at least to orbit) in this funny, family-friendly comedy. The Reluctant Astronaut begins with Roy Fleming (Don Knotts in the title role) appearing to be in a space capsule orbiting the Earth. Until the camera zooms out, and reveals that instead he’s operating a kiddie ride at an amusement park. Once the ride is over, he leaves the ride (with the help of the actor who played one of the ‘old men’ on the Andy Griffith Show). In order to demonstrate to the audience that Don Knotts’ character has a severe fear of heights. On his break, he asks one of his fellow employees at the amusement park for a date. And after much begging, she reluctantly agrees. His normal day at work is interrupted by an urgent call from his mother, causing him to dash home.

Warner Brothers archive collection - DVD - Jackie Gleason - Steve McQueen - Tuesday Weld

Soldier in the Rain

by user
June 5, 2016April 13, 2024

Soldier in the Rain (1963) starring Jackie Gleason, Steve McQueen, Tuesday Weld. A very unusual, funny, and sweet “buddy” film

The Private Eyes

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June 5, 2016May 12, 2022

The Private Eyes (1980), co-starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts

Don Knotts and Tim Conway co-star in The Private Eyes. It’s a silly little comedy where they spoof the murder mystery in general, and Sherlock Holmes in particular. Called from Scotland Yard, Inspector Winthrop (played by Don Knotts), and his bumbling assistant Dr. Tart (played with mindless abandon by Tim Conway) to solve the murder of Lord Morely.

Nothing in Common

by user
June 4, 2016December 28, 2023

Nothing in Common (1986) starring Tom Hanks, Jackie Gleason

Nothing in Common – Jackie Gleason’s final film role, as the gruff father who needs to repair his relationship with his son Tom Hanks before he dies

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again

by user
June 4, 2016May 31, 2022

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) starring Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Harry Morgan

In The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, Amos and Theodore (Tim Conway and Don Knotts) the two bumbling outlaw wannabees from The Apple Dumpling Gang are back. They are trying to make it on their own. When they arrive at the town they are going to, all sorts of things go awry. They accidentally subdue the town’s legendary lawman, Wooly Bill Hitchcock thus enraging him into tracking them down. They also are accused of bank robbery. And they “enlist” in the army, and burn down the fort. Amid all this, the army is besieged by someone stealing their supplies.

The Prize Fighter

by user
June 4, 2016September 20, 2023

The Prize Fighter (1979), co-starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts

The Prize Fighter is a very funny, very sweet comedy. Set in depression-era America, Tim Conway stars as Bags Collins who has a perfect record as a boxer – twenty fights, twenty knockouts—and twenty losses. His manager, Shakes, is the ‘brains’ of the team, played by Don Knotts. However, his luck starts to change, and Bags starts to win against other ‘loser’ boxers and eventually gets a shot at the title in his weight category. Unfortunately, this is when they find out that the fight has been rigged …

Silent Movie

by user
June 3, 2016August 15, 2021

DVD review of Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie – Aspiring filmmakers Mel Funn (Mel Brooks), Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman) and Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise) go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the movie more marketable, they attempt to recruit a number of big name stars to appear, while the studio’s creditors attempt to thwart them

Editorial Review of Silent Movie, courtesy of Amazon.com

One of Mel Brooks’s weaker vehicles, this 1976 feature finds a movie producer (Brooks) deciding that the public is ready for the silent film form again. Reasonably ambitious and promising, the film ultimately doesn’t do for silent cinema what Brooks did for atmospheric horror (by reviving it while parodying it) in Young Frankenstein. Lots of famous faces pass through Silent Movie, to varying effect. Perhaps the best joke in the movie is the one performer who actually has a line of dialogue: mime Marcel Marceau. —Tom Keogh