How to Frame a Figg

If folks were really this stupid I could be the SRW - Supreme Ruler of the World. In this one Knotts plays a dimwitted bean counter for some little jerk water town run by a group of crooked simpletons only slightly brighter than he is. When things appear a bit shaky for the crooks they go for a frame-up of the patsy Figg. Plenty of laughs as Knotts does his usual bumbling, stumbling act. I especially appreciated the extension cord scene; asininity at it's highest level.

This zany film rivals the Ghost and Mr. Chicken as one of Don Knott's finest film performances. Knotts is an accountant for a Podunk city hall that is good for swindling the citizens. They fire the "three competent bookkeepers and keep the dumb one" (Knotts of course is the dumb one). When his garbage collecting cohort accidentally empties the wrong trash can, Knotts finds himself wrapped up in a bizarre trap set by the city council for him. Funny moments in the movie include the Bowling Alley Restroom scene, and the cemetery scene is absolutely hilarious. Typical Knotts, the nervous ninny act is well used, and as usual he is surrounded by lots of crazy character actors from the sixties. Such actors as Frank Welker, and Pitt Herbert add to the mayhem. As one may expect Knotts's armed with a big car, a pretty girl, and no real clue of what he's doing. Fun for anyone, especially nostalgia buffs, but just about anyone will love it.

HOW TO FRAME A FIGG is a vintage Don Knotts-frenetic, farcical comedy, and features him at the top of his form as the hysterical, cat-on-hot-tin-roof nervous, persecuted civil servant Hollis Figg. What a lot of people may not recognise is that they are also seeing someone else in a rare character appearance: Figg's slightly dim-bulb sidekick, Prentiss Gates, who is played convincingly by Frank Welker. Welker, whose face is relatively unknown, has nonetheless a voice that is very well known indeed: He is heard in literally bazillions of films, TV series, and cartoons. You have watched but few shows in recent years, including "The Simpsons", that did not feature Frank Welker's remarkable ability to mimic animal sounds and other weird aural effects.

"How to Frame a Figg" was the last of the Universal film vehicles for comedy star Don Knotts, and it definitely yields lesser results, although it's still good for some laughs. Knotts plays Hollis A. Figg, a none too bright accountant at City Hall, who is turned into a patsy for a troupe of crooked politicians. Among them are Kermit Sanderson (Joe Flynn), the mayor (Edward Andrews), and the towns' elderly bigwig, Charley Spaulding (Parker Fennelly). One method employed by our comedic villains is to reward Figg with a do nothing job and a smoking hot secretary (Yvonne "Batgirl" Craig).

Knotts is in typically fine form, even if he's had better material before and after this one. He still knows how to do a great comedic over reaction. Here, his flamboyant style is complemented by a young co-star, and it is here that "How to Frame a Figg" has its greatest value: a rare substantial on screen appearance by the legendary voice over artist Frank Welker, a guy whom most people have to have heard in SOMETHING. He's had tons of credits over the last several decades. He's good as a cheerful, endearingly annoying type. It also helps Figg look smarter by having a sidekick who's even more dense (and who is prone to constantly reference classic movie moments).

The very fine supporting cast helps matters a lot. Elaine Joyce is appealing as a waitress and love interest for our hero. Craig is tantalizingly sexy as the temptress with lots of "doting uncles". Fennelly is a hoot as the irascible ringleader who refers to his underlings as "poop heads". (This IS rated G.)

Like a lot of comedies, it can get pretty silly and tiresome at times, but it's still impossible to truly dislike.

Directed by Knotts' frequent co-conspirator Alan Rafkin ("The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", "The Shakiest Gun in the West"), with appropriately goofy music by Vic Mizzy. Knotts shares story credit with Edward Montagne.

Six out of 10.

...it is still entertaining and interesting. Many people have complained that this is Don on autopilot. Nothing could be further from the truth. Granted, the FILMMAKERS were on autopilot. The overt kiddie flick tone of "Figg" was obviously an attempt to counter the perceived flack the studio got from the mild sexual overtones of Knotts'previous film, the classic "The Love God?". And "Figg" is a goofy, childish film in many ways--similar to the worst of Disney's live action romps like "Herbie Goes Bannanas" or "The Million Dollar Duck.".

But the film does do one thing right—it changes up the standard Don Knotts film character. As everyone notes, the standard character in Knotts' five classic Universal flicks is basically Barney Fife. But it's more complex than that. In the first four films, the Knotts character was invariably a naïf loser who is put upon, becomes an undeserved success, gets a big head, is brought down again, and eventually perseveres. Through it all, however, he is always a nice guy.

This, however, is only half of the Fife persona. The other half is what I like to call the "Dick Barney," as in "The Barney Who Acts Like a Dick." This angrier Barn is evident in the "Andy Griffith" episodes in which Barney is in charge of Gomer or Goober. Seeing them as inferiors, the inferiority-complex riddled Barney is always compelled to order them around, yell at them, and call them stupid—in other words, to just treat them like a dick. This kind of interaction was the source of many hilarious "slow burn" Barney tantrums.

The Knotts we see in "Figg" is not the Nice Barney, it is definitely the Dick Barney. So, even though the plot of "Figg" is pretty much a cookie-cutter slice of the standard Knott's formula, the lead character is a definite change for the film series. The substitute Gomer in "Figg" is Knott's best friend Prentiss, played by voice artist Frank Welker. And Prentiss makes Gomer look like a freakin' genius (in fact Welker's performance is so over the top childlike that he seems literally retarded—but no one really seems to notice). Knotts' Figg character verbally rails on Prentiss without mercy, eyes popping, veins bulging, his whole body vibrating with rage. IT IS A RIOT TO BEHOLD!

So, even though the script, supporting cast, and direction of "Figg" were all substandard, Knotts himself did at least try to give us something different instead of simply rehashing the same ole same ole. Gotta give him credit for that!