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 special can that shoots out peanut butter and then proceeds to do a dance around him like a snake? I am on the floor rolling! And who would ever think that Leslie Nielsen would ever become the icon for 90s comedies that he has today? He is very straight in this film which gives the film balance.
They don't movies like this anymore. I highly recomend this video. Buy it now before it goes out of print.
Peanut butter scene is absolutely hilarious.
I saw "The Reluctant Astronaut" when I was in about the fourth grade on television. There were no VCR's in those days, and I waited and waited and waited for it to come on the tube again. It never did. Now, It's available!!!! I'm a little old for this fare, I would imagine! But I would definitely reccomend this movie for kids, based on how funny I found the movie when I was a kid. Let me just add: the scene where Don Knotts is trying to make a peanut butter on crackers meal is absolutely hilarious; it is one of my favorite movie scenes that I saw as a child. Anyway, I would definitely reccomend this movie for kids.
Classic Don Knotts
Great movie. This is for all fans of Barney Fife and Don's previous films like Ghost and Mr. Chicken. My favorite part is when Don comes back home after some training at NASA and he is at home with friends and family who are congratulating him. A little kid is the only one in the room who isn't buying Don's astronaut exploits. He grills Don about certain specifics and the rest is classic. PHONY!
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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When Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushings (played by Barbara Rhoades) is captured after a stagecoach holdup, she is unexpectedly offered a pardon, if she will help the government by finding out who is running guns to the Indians. When her contact, who is to go undercover with her as her husband, turns up with a bullet through him, Penny needs a new husband and quick! She needs someone dumb and easily manipulated, someone like...Dr. Jesse Haywood (Don Knotts), a dentist dude from back East, who wants to spread the gospel of oral health in the West! Under Penny's watchful eye, Doc Haywood begins a life of danger and renown. Now, if only he can stay alive long enough to enjoy it. [Color, released in 1968, with a running time of 1 hour, 41 minutes.]
This is a very funny, family-friendly movie.... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Alan Rafkin DVD Release Date: Released the 02 September 2003 Usually ships within 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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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!!! More Info about this DVD Director(s): Alan Rafkin DVD Release Date: Released the 02 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I rented this at our local video store thinking it would be good because it had Don Knotts in it. But it wasn't good at all. The Movie was pure garbage vulgar, Immoral, not a family film. Not even an Adult Film. This was an immoral piece of garbage. I mean who wants to see such a vulgar film that is full on ideas about evil things.
Pile Of Garbage.
Save your money and buy one of the other 4 Don Knotts comedy Classics Instead! More Info about this DVD Director(s): Nat Hiken DVD Release Date: Released the 02 September 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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