The Ghost And Mr. Chicken (1966)

A type setter (Don Knotts) at a small town newspaper has ambitions to become a full fledged reporter. When he writes a small filler about a supposedly haunted house, he gets his chance but only if he spends the night in the house. After his success on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (he won 5 Emmys), Knotts made a series of low budget comedies for Universal pictures and this one is the best of the bunch. It plays to his strengths and it's reminiscent of a couple of comedies Bob Hope made at Universal in the 30s and 40s, CAT AND THE CANARY and GHOST BREAKERS. This one has a lot of charm and some wonderful sight gags and a great supporting cast of familiar faces. My favorite was Reta Shaw as the head of a local occult club who becomes near orgasmic when she touches Knotts. Knotts' leading lady, the charming Joan Staley is a blonde but she's given a brunette wig here to make her less sexy. Directed by Alan Rafkin. The wonderful supporting cast includes Lurene Tuttle, Dick Sargent, Skip Homier, Liam Redmond, Charles Lane, Philip Ober, Nydia Westman, George Chandler and Ellen Corby.