Attack of the Green Slime's Pick Shelf #6

So, Halloween is over. You watched so many horror movies that you can't sleep at night for fear of some sort of power tool or fang piercing your body. It's time to relax with my one of my all-time favorite stars of the big and little screens: Don Knotts!

 For my money, there's no one that embodies the underdog quite like Don Knotts. We're all underdogs from time to time. And just like (TV icon)  Deputy Barney Fife, who is constantly under-estimated, we sometimes persevere. If only we could do it while being sooo damn entertaining and hilarious. 

He wasn't afraid of making himself look ridiculous, and he was BRILLIANT at it.  Mr. Furley was the best thing about  "Three's Company" ,  an utterly ridiculous character.   Don Knotts gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling right in my belly.

So, without further ado, Let's nip this in the bud.

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Henry Limpet loves fish. Boy oh boy, the man loves fish. And it drives his wife crazy. Isn't that always the way, fellas?  You have an interest that doesn't include your girl, and she hates it.

Anyway, he's so henpecked, he makes a wish to be a fish. We can all relate to that, right? Well, watch out what you wish for, cuz it's liable to come true.

So what happens when you become a fish? How can that be used for the good of the nation? The answer is: You start fighting Nazis. Duh.

This movie blends live action with animation. It's super fun to watch.

A fish with glasses? A jaded old lobster named "Krusty". A beautiful fish love story, or a twisted Kafka-esque fantasy? You make the choice.

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 So, let me preface this by saying that I haven't seen "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", "Gus", or "The Prize Fighter". Those movie MAY very well be more deserving of a spot on the illustrious pick shelf. But this movie does beat out (just barely) "How to Frame a Figg" and "The Shakiest Gun in the West", and those are both great.

Roy Fleming works at an amusement park, running the rocketship ride for little bitty children. He aspires to be a Real astronaut, and goes to NASA to find his dream. Through a mix-up, he finds himself in the space program. Lucky for him, there's a Cold War on, and the government is all jazzed to show off their new spacecraft that's completely automated so that any layman, good ol' Joe American, can fly into space. But everything isn't as it seems. Watch out for Leslie Nielsen as the handsome REAL astronaut. Yeah, the Naked Gun dude was a handsome leading man. Crazy. 

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The Private Eyes (D:Lang Elliott, 1981) 

Don Knotts and Tim Conway are comic GOLD. And if you don't agree, then you are a jaded sumbitch. This movie is a big ol' ball of silly sweetness.

Playing a knuckleheaded version of Holmes and Watson called upon to solve a double-murder, the comic duo bumble their way into hijinks. They drink ink, kill pidgeons, stumble upon many a murder, and face a strange pigman. 

I used to watch this movie on HBO when i was a child. I saw it a few times, I guess, and it faded into the blur of memory. I got the store to order it, because we were SORELY lacking titles from Don Knotts. When I took this home to watch it, I was wisked away back to Memphis in the 80's. There I was, suddenly eatting a bowl of cereal at dawn while my parents both slept, watching a screwball whodunit with two of the most lovable comedians ever. Take a trip.

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  The Love God? (D:Nat Hiken, 1969)

Abner Audubon Peacock does bird calls. He does them at church set to music, to the joy of all the small town parishioners. His family buisness is a bird-watchers magazine, and times are tough. He may have to close it all down. In swoop a publisher of fine smut that is in legal trouble for obscenity. They buy his magazine and keep Peacock as official publisher. Then Peacock is transformed into a media creation, a man-of-leisure-playboy. But all he wants to do is save his family buisness and marry the girl-next-door.

This movie is such a great satire. It does well to lampoon the sexual revolution going on at the time, also of the power of media and the imaginary world it creates. But can a simple, all-American like Abner stay true to himself when confronted by oodles of tale and fame and money. Will he begin to believe he hype about himself?

WATCH. This one is the crown jewel of the pick shelf, barely edging out "The Incredible Mr. Limpit."

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