MOUNT AIRY, N.C. (WGHP) – The name of the movie is “Mayberry Man,” but it feels a bit like “Back to the Future.”
Clint Howard, brother of the inestimable actor/director Ron Howard and occasional castmate on “The Andy Griffith Show,” was on social media last week touting this heretofore little-discussed project related to one of North Carolina’s most beloved brands.
Because we live in that sphere of influence of the true Mayberry, the concept of “Mayberry Man” was both exciting and perplexing. Clint Howard’s weren’t the first words about the movie, but this was all a bit of a surprise, nonetheless.
And then there is the plot of “Mayberry Man:” An egotistical actor is stopped for speeding in a small Southern town and is sentenced by the judge to attend the “Mayberry Fest.”
Second things first: We all know that Mount Airy is Mayberry. It’s the birthplace of Andy Griffith, and it was the inspiration for his television show. The town embraces its legacy like Otis Campbell protected his stash of ‘shine, from restaurants to gift shops to the Griffith museum and right down to each fall’s celebration of Mayberry Days, the festival to which the show’s original stars always have flocked.
But, if you know anything at all about “The Andy Griffith Show,” you know all of that emanated from an episode in February 1960 of the sitcom “Make Room For Daddy,” starring the singer and comedian Danny Thomas.
You may recall in that episode that a rather loud and egotistical entertainer, Danny Williams (aka Thomas), was stopped for running a stop sign in a small Southern town. The sheriff and the presiding justice of the peace, to Williams’ astonishment and antagonism, was Andy Taylor.
Williams protested the injustice, was fined $100 or 10 days in jail and then took his complaint to the “Mayberry Gazette,” whose editor was – yes – Andy Taylor (sidebar: Opie Taylor, aka Ron Howard, grew up to do that job in “Return to Mayberry,” a sequel TV movie). Ron Howard and Frances Bavier appeared in the episode, and a character introduced Campbell’s town drunk.
Williams took the jail sentence and then aired his complaint on an Edward R. Murrow knockoff show, and from that situation a comedy was born. “The Andy Griffith Show” hit the airwaves in the following October.
“Mayberry Man” was not something so auspicious, launched as an independent film in 2021 not from another show but from a son’s dream and designated not for primetime on CBS but as a pay-per-view order on Prime after some premiers in theaters in Indiana.
1. So do we recognize anyone involved in this movie?
Brett Varvel plays Chris Stone, the actor, and Ashley Elaine plays a festival organizer. Unlike the hilarious “Make Room For Daddy” episode, this one had a romantic schmaltz and personal discovery among the laughs. The cast, too, includes actors who played Floyd Lawson and Gomer and Goober and Mayor Pike, who may look familiar. A woman named Karen Knotts, yes, the daughter of Don “Barney Fife” Knotts, played herself making an appearance at the festival. Who knew she was in “Return to Mayberry” and about 20 other acting roles? Another was producer/actor Gregory Schell, who had one other acting credit but also is the son of Ronnie Schell, who played Gomer Pyle’s buddy Duke in “Gomer Pyle USMC,” a spinoff on CBS.
2. We didn’t see the film crews in Mount Airy. Where was this filmed?
This is where this discussion takes a mysterious turn for anyone from North Carolina. “Mayberry Man” primarily was filmed at various locations Indiana and California, focused in part on a Mayberry in the Midwest Festival held each year in Danville, Indiana, a town of about 6400 due west of Indianapolis. The parade in Danville’s festival was an element used in the movie. But, as a hotel clerk in the movie tells the actor Chris Stone, “Mayberry isn’t just a place; it’s a state of mind. It’s in Georgia. It’s in Indiana. It’s even in California.” That sort of explains it all. Alas organizers last week canceled Danville’s festival. So much for product placement.
3. Wait, why in the world was it filmed in Indiana. There aren’t many small Southern towns in Indiana? And Mount Airy has the real festival that hasn’t been canceled.
The movie is the creation of its writer/director, Stark Howell, and his brother Cort, a producer who had an acting role in the movie. They chose the locations near their hometown in Indiana. They were involved because their father, Hoke Howell, was connected to the show and attended Mayberry Days, and when they were kids they used to play with the Howards.
