Don Knotts' work on The Andy Griffith Show is so indelible that it's easy to overlook his movie roles. Barney Fife is such an iconic character that any career would've peaked in Mayberry. But rather than rest on his laurels, Knotts instead put together an impressive filmography, starring in upwards of 25 feature films. 

1996, one of the funniest of those films, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, saw a resurgence in popularity when it was released on home video for the first time. Fans had anticipated the release for years, and the VHS arrival allowed an entirely new group of viewers the chance to see the movie for the first time.

Don Knotts, for his part, seemed just as excited as his rabid fans. In a phone interview with The Tennessean, Knotts reflected on the movie's production and what it meant for his career.

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"The whole thing was a very productive experience for me, all the way around. I got the idea for the picture when I remembered an episode [from The Andy Griffith Show] that had Andy and Jim Nabors and I in this haunted house. I thought that would probably be a good idea to start with. It was a tough picture to write. We had to make it a mystery and a comedy."

It's no wonder, then, that the movie came out so great. The episode Knotts referred to, "The Haunted House," from The Andy Griffith Show's fourth season, is one of the series' best-remembered episodes. To this day, it's frequently cited among fans' favorite episodes.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken saw Knotts in the role of a paper typesetter who must spend the night in a haunted house for a 20th-anniversary story about a murder that took place there.

"I was really proud of it," said Knotts. "From beginning of script to end of production it was a hard-fought battle. Like most pictures, when you make the movie you wonder if people are actually gonna like it. By the time you finish it, you lose your objectivity. I remember after watching it in the screening room, we just stared at each other."

He could've left the fear onscreen though, as the movie proved to be a hit upon its release in 1966.