The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 28, 2017

Writers, and would-be-writers in particular, are apt to do whatever it takes to get the big story, even if it means scaring themselves silly in a haunted house. Fortunately, Blu-ray reviewers aren't subjected to such things, not literally, anyway (if Blu-ray.com did review video games, though, that might be a different story). The scariest part of reviewing usually comes not from sifting through cobwebs or jumping at a sudden clap of thunder (though with VR movies certainly to come at some point and Atmos sound, who knows) but rather with that heart-sinking feeling when yet another package with yet another movie that holds zero interest for the reviewer shows up on the doorstep. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, though, is one of those precious welcome additions to the reviewing schedule, a movie about, yes, an aspiring writer who scares himself silly in a haunted house and the aftermath that follows, i.e. a big to-do by the people who are negatively affected by the story. And they're not happy about it. And they're suing. Score another one for the reviewers. No lawsuits yet (knock on wood). Seriously, though, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is a Horror-Comedy done right, infectiously zany and nailing all the haunted house cliché without a flinch, even if the literal scares represent only a small portion of what the movie has to offer.

Yikes!

Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) is a typesetter for the local paper in his small Kansas town, but he's a dreamer. He wants to get out of typesetting and graduate to writing for the paper. He thinks he catches his big break when he witnesses a murder, but it turns out the man is merely a drunk and the victim of an irritated wife. But he catches another break when he's assigned a not-so-posh assignment: a night and a supposedly haunted house that was, apparently, the site of a murder-suicide some two decades prior. At the house, poking around and bundling up in his trusty sleeping bag, Luther scares himself silly, makes a few startling discoveries, and writes the story of his life. It makes the front page and turns him into a local hero. But the celebration is short-lived when he finds himself in the middle of a libel suit, leaving him no choice but to return to the house and prove to the world that his night of scares was no bad dream.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken tells a rather humorous, if not particularly unscary story of a would-be reporter out of his league, scared out of his skin, and driven right out of the business. All because he saw (heard, felt) something and said (wrote) something. Truly, any of the movie's dark little underpinnings are so comically played, and so pushed into cliché that the scares rightly give way to comedy. The movie plays to its strength, making use of the prototypical dark and stormy night and cobweb-infested home where self-playing pianos, shadow-casting mannequins, and secret compartments behind bookshelves, supported by opportune claps of thunder and bolts of lightning, make the place less a mad house and more a kid-friendly scary mansion (yes, that's two video game nods in one review of a 1966 movie). Whatever dark and spooky underpinnings might actually exist are offset by the movie's light, fluffy, friendly, approachable style. It's more charming than it is chilling, joyfully and innocently having fun at the genre's expense and getting a ton of mileage from its star.

Indeed, for whatever the movie gets right or wrong or how it works it all into the plot or how scary or not-so-scary it may be or however far the plot may meander from the central concept of the haunted house and the title "ghost," it all works as well as it does thanks to Don Knotts' spot-on performance. Knotts is, well, Knotts. He is, of course, best known for the character "Barney Fife" in The Andy Griffith Show, and while he doesn't shake his persona in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, there's no mistaking this as his movie, playing his trademark character with physical and verbal humor that's equal parts insanity and grace, getting plenty of mileage from mannerisms and movements and his verbal cadence as he talks to and often scares himself silly. His is a classic "scared of his own shadow" character and the performance reflects a comically oriented approach to horror, though his best moment arguably comes when he faces what is apparently his greatest fear: public speaking. His turn at the podium in front of a neighborly crowd is a home run scene in which he get as tongue-tied as any human being ever has and finds the perfect middle ground between making a complete fool of himself and turning on the lovable, clumsy charm he does so well. The movie probably wouldn't work without Knotts in the lead in what is one of the great comedy performances certainly of his career and arguably in genre history, too.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal is known to have a somewhat spotty track record with catalogue and budget Blu-ray releases, but there's no need to worry here. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken looks fantastic on the high definition format. The image retains a beautifully even grain structure, lending a natural film-like appearance to the Blu-ray presentation. Details are pleasant, perhaps not as razor-sharp and intimately revealing as might be found on the top Blu-ray releases but the image enjoys plenty of refined textures along the way. Heavier sports coats and attire are a main draw. Skin textures enjoy a good bit of inherent complexity. Old stone, woods, cobwebs, and dusty odds and ends around the mansion are never wanting for increased detail. Clear-day exteriors enjoy lifelike complexity. Color saturation is excellent and contrast is dialed in. Bright shades pop in the daylight, particularly reds at a mid-film picnic. Warmer house interiors are pleasing. Black levels are terrific, with nighttime darkness appearing deep and without crush. Skin tones appear accurate. Print wear is next to zero and no major encode flaws are apparent. Fans are going to be ecstatic with this presentation.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken scares up a straightforward DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. It's unsurprisingly limited in its capabilities, and the film itself doesn't have much on offer in terms of music or effects, but Universal's presentation is more than capable and carries the film well. Music doesn't spread very far from its center-imaged position. Clarity is decent, though, and some haunted house-style organ music plays with a fair sense of heft and front-side fulfillment. A few basic sound effects are handled nicely enough. Claps of thunder manage a little spread and enough of a jolt to satisfy any given scene's needs and justify Luther's fright. Dialogue delivery enjoys a pleasing accuracy and effortlessness with a seamless phantom-center positioning. Prioritization is fine, though the film never offers any challenge to the spoken word; background music at a picnic sequence partway through the film, for example, naturally gives way and plays well underneath Kotts' clumsy exchange with his love interest.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Ghost and Mr. Chicken contains no supplemental content. No top menu is included. Chapter selection and subtitles can only be accessed in-film via the pop-up menu. No DVD or digital versions of the film are included, either.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is a seriously funny movie, but that's pretty much all thanks to Don Knotts. The comedian nails the part, largely by playing himself, and elevates the movie's somewhat ambling plot and overabundance of cliché with a performance that finds just the right cadence in both his verbal and physical humor. The movie is light and breezy, a basic comedy with mild Horror elements that are as family-friendly as "creepy" is ever going to get. It's a good movie, a lot of fun and a fine way to kill 90 minutes and put a smile on the face. Universal's budget Blu-ray release is unfortunately devoid of any supplemental content, but 1080p video is rock-solid and the two-channel lossless audio presentation is fine. Recommended!