a_chinn
Don Knotts plays a fraidy cat typesetter at a local newspaper who wants to be a reporter, but who has a history of being hysterical and getting his stories wrong. Knotts gets his big shot at writing a story when his editor has him spend the night in a local haunted house where a murder-suicide occurred. Don again gets the story wrong and causes all sorts of trouble, the least of which is ruining his chances with his crush, Joan Staley. Overall, there's nothing brilliant here, but if you find Don Knotts funny, which I do, you'll enjoy this one.
bigverybadtom
Don Knotts is Luther Heggs, a typesetter at a small town newspaper who dreams of being a reporter. After several false starts, he gets his chance when his editor has him spend the night at a deserted mansion during the twentieth anniversary of an alleged murder-suicide by the husband and wife who lived there. The mansion is supposedly haunted by ghosts and is the obsession of a group of local female paranormal fanatics. But the nephew of the dead couple wants very much to take title of the mansion and bulldoze it as soon as possible. Luther Heggs spends the night as planned, and hears the organ playing and finds secret stairs. Heggs becomes a local celebrity, but the nephew files a libel suit against him. What next? It is Don Knotts's topnotch performance as the excitable Luther Heggs that carries the whole movie, jumping around nervously and stuttering. The script and the other performers fall short, and the whole thing could and should have been funnier...and more exciting. Knotts did the best he could with this material, but he could have used some support.
dpandlisa
If you have young ones and you want to gradually introduce them to the horror genre without giving them nightmares, I suggest you start with this terrific movie, which does something that very few films have done successfully .... blend horror and comedy in a perfect mix. I wanted to share the Vincent Price/Roger Corman "Poe" films with my kids but chose this one first instead and I am glad that I did. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken had them laughing and shivering in fear within minutes of each other, with no lasting damage done (i.e., no nightmares). Luther (Don Knotts) is a jittery, energetic, nervous-as-all-getout, wannabe news reporter who is asked to spend one night in the scary old Simmons mansion, where a murder-suicide occurred many years before, and write an article about his experience. This sets up the first chilling night of terror in the Simmons house, where an organ spontaneously plays at midnight and there are creaks and shrills throughout. The kids were genuinely frightened by the old organ music (which scared me as an 8 year-old back in the day, too) but quickly got over it. Without spoiling any of the fun, I can say that I showed this movie at my daughter's slumber party and the whole gang of girls loved the film. I'm sure you will enjoy it too.
fom4life
When I was young, this film played a lot on TV. I think I liked it way back when. It has a few things going for it. It takes place in a Haunted house. There is something interesting about spending the night in a house where a gruesome murder took place. I would be spooked out if it was me who was in the house alone. YIKES!Bob Hope, Abbot and Costello, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, Martin and Lewis, Harold Lloyd, perhaps Buster Keaton and others have all been cast in wacky haunted house comedies. And this time it fell to the likes of Comedy legend Don Knots. Besides the premise the audience gets to witness 90 minutes of Don Knott's frighten facial expressions and him running around as a nervous ninny. He constantly brags about his Chuck Norris Karate skills and how his whole body as a weapon. I believe he uses this shtick in many a film.There is a somewhat amusing gag with a elevator that can't seem to stop all the way aliened with the right floor. There is some unseen heckler who always shouts out "That a Boy_______" That is where the amusement ends. The movie minus what I was mention is as dull as watching paint dry. "The Incredible Mr. Limit is an example of a great Don Knots film. Despite this being a comedy classic that somehow missed the AFI top 100. If you love Don Knots and are a movie buff it might be worth a rental, but it would be worth it more to watch the other film I mentioned. I know others will disagree with me on this film, but
.. someone has to be brave enough to avoid the ghosts and print the truth. Don Knots would have.
AD
