With "The Ghost And Mr.Chicken" a very close second..........the scenes in this movie are just a hoot, especially the ones in the diner and the bowling alley. Even though Don is still in his Barney Fife personna, the nervous, lovable fool; you still get your money's worth here. He even has a drunken scene, watch for him trying to hang up the mink coat and the explanation given for the secretary's numerous minks! Love the ending, too. What a wonderful cast, the same familiar catchy music from his other Universal films and repeated gags. You will howl with laughter. Even though we all were sad when he left The Andy Griffith Show after only five years, thank goodness he signed with Universal to do these type of comedies, and with Disney to pair with the likes of Tim Conway, too!!!
Nearing the end of the line
This work of Don Knotts' doesn't hold a candle to "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" or "The Reluctant Astronaut". One of the most disappointing aspects is that Knotts is not the bumbler he was in the other movies, but place second fiddle in that aspect to a young unknown (to this day) actor playing a city garbage collector.
As for the transfer of this movie, however, all I can say is...it's too bad some of the movie companies don't put this kind of care into some of the classics....it's beautiful.
While I can't really recommend the film on its own merits, I will say that if you are a fan of the movie, you will be thrilled with the job MGM has done with putting it on DVD.
Film and trailer are both anamorphic.
A Very Entertaining Don Knotts Film
Alan Rafkin (1928-2001, who mostly directed television shows and was nominated for four Emmies and won one in 1982) directed his last bit-screen film with "How To Frame A Figg" in 1971. Taking place in a small fictional town, a bungling city accountant, Hollis Alexander Figg (Don Knotts), becomes the unwitting patsy of the town's mayor (Mayor Chisholm played by Edward Andrews), the town's wealthiet man (Old Charley Spaulding played by Parker Fennelly) as well as several other high-ranking city officials who have been embezzling the town's money. To prevent from being caught, the embezzlers fire all of the town's accountants, except for Hollis so that he can operate their newly purchased (but used), room-filling computer known as LEO. While demonstrating the computer to his friend Prentiss Gates (Frank Welker), Hollis stumbles upon a questionable city contract that Prentiss (who works for the city's sanitation department) has in his waste collection cart. To keep Hollis from finding any other questionable financial statements, Mayor Chisholm appoints Hollis to be a commissioner with his own private secretary, Glorianna Hastings (Yvonne Craig, who is better known as Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in the 1966-1968 TV series "Batman") to the chagrin Hollis' girlfriend, Ema Letha Kusic (Elaine Joyce), who works as a diner waitress. Hollis remains oblivious to being used until Old Charley Spaulding is ready to lower the boom upon him and is forced to find a way to prove his innocence.
"How To Frame A Figg" isn't known as well as some of his previous films ("The Incredible Mr. Limpet" in 1964, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" in 1966, etc.) due to its somewhat weak plot, but it's still a very funny film that can entertain both children and adults alike. Memorable scenes in the film include Hollis' fingers getting stuck in a bowling ball, Old Charlie Spaulding using his cane in city hall meetings, the ketchup scene at the diner, the garbage truck delivery, and the search for extension cords. Overall, I rate "How To Frame a Figg" with 4 out of 5 stars. Other memorable characters in the film include Kermit Sanderson (Joe Flynn, 1925-1974), Commissioner Henderson (Bill Zuckert, 1915-1997) and Dr. Schmidt (Pitt Herbert, 1914-1989).
Enjoyed the Reluctant Hero pack very much, despite DVD region problems. These movies have good American humour - and I also enjoyed watching the simple, wholesome culture of life back then. I also think Don Knotts displays a sad side to his characters sometimes which is quite moving. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Alan Rafkin - Edward Montagne DVD Release Date: Released the 06 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Ever wonder what would happen if the imaginary worlds of Bedknobs and Broomsticks and SpongeBob SquarePants were to collide? If so, chances are good you've yet to discover The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Starring the irrepressible Don Knotts, this 1964 family feature combines live (land) action and animated (undersea) sequences with delightful results. During World War II, Knotts is mild-mannered, spectacle-sporting bookkeeper Henry Limpet. More than anything--he's a fish fan and a patriot. When the navy rejects him due to poor eyesight, he falls into a funk from which not even his beloved aquarium or loving--if bossy--wife can rescue him. So he makes a wish... to become a fish. Next thing he knows--he is! With a little help from a hermit crab named Crusty and the lovely... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Arthur Lubin DVD Release Date: Released the 01 October 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Remember watching this silly little comedy from your childhood? It may not have aged all that well, but is still goofy, good fun. Okay, so you can spot the stunt double, and Don Knotts's twitches are a little more obvious. Still, fans of his familiar routines will be comforted in knowing they can again watch their skinny underdog hero solve the ghost story while winning the prettiest girl in town. Knotts plays a trembling typesetter hoping to become a reporter by cracking the mystery of the local haunted house. To do so, he must spend a night there. Good-hearted, non-threatening, and completely gooey, this is the equivalent of light-weight cinematic junk food. -- Rochelle O'GormanMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Alan Rafkin DVD Release Date: Released the 02 September 2003 This item is currently not available.
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Don Knotts and Tim Conway star in The Private Eyes, a 1980 comedy about two bumbling detectives solving a murder. It's an impressively incompetent affair. Every ancient joke falls with a muffled thud as Knotts and Conway ham their way through the pointless story: The lord and lady of a capacious manor are killed, and the lord's ghost seems to have returned to knock off the staff one by one. There's an austere housekeeper, a snooty butler with compulsive twitches, a sexy upstairs maid, a deformed groomsman, and a buxom young heir to the estate, who of course is going to be in some state of undress before the movie is over. People get killed, their bodies disappear, Knotts and Conway wander aimlessly through secret passageways, dimly seeking some way out of this movie. Conway cowrote... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tim Conway - Don Knotts Director(s): Lang Elliott DVD Release Date: Released the 10 October 2000 Usually ships in 6 to 8 days
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Once again Leonard Maltin is wrong, wrong, wrong (see above). You either like Don Knotts or you don't. For those who do, and there are millions of us, his comedies from the 1960s like "The Reluctant Astronaut" are very entertaining, and, yes, very funny films.
I grew up in the 1960s and "The Reluctant Astronaut" was another of those Don Knott's comedies that the whole family was taken to the drive-in theatre on a Friday night. For Leonard Maltin to call this childish is an unfair statement. I'm almost forty now and I still LOVE watching this movie as every bit as I did back in '67. I would never pay a dime to see Leonard Maltin act and I always turn the channel whenever he comes on television with one of his one sided reviews.
What is funnier than seeing Knott's up in space opening a... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Edward Montagne DVD Release Date: Released the 02 September 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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