Norris Goff Movies

Switching from black-and-white to color at the outset of its sixth season, The Andy Griffth Show began "the color years" with the episode titled "Opie's Job" (actually the series' second color episode). After wrecking his bike, Opie tries out for a box-boy job at Foley's Market. He wins the position over another boy, Billy Crenshaw (John Bangert), then discovers that Billy needs the job more than he does. Generously, Opie arranges to get himself fired-and, naturally, his dad Andy misunderstands. "Opie's Job" first aired on September 13, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally released under the more informal cognomen Goin' to Town, this was the fifth RKO B-picture based on the popular radio series Lum 'N' Abner. This time Lum (Chester Lauck) and Abner (Norris Goff), proprietors of the Jot 'Em Down Store in Pine Ridge, Arkansas, talk their neighbors into mortgaging their land so that everyone can dig for oil. When the gushers fail to gush, L&A hightail it to Chicago, where they fall prey to a group of confidence artists. By conning the con-ners, our heroes manage to earn back all the money that their neighbors had lost in the failed oil scheme. The supporting cast of Goin' to Town includes such dependables as Grady Sutton, Herbert Rawlinson and Sam Flint, as well as a pretty new ingenue by the name of Barbara Hale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The title of this "Lum 'N' Abner" comedy isn't explained until the film is half over. Chester Lauck and Norris Goff repeat their radio characterizations of Lum and Abner, proprietors of the Jot-Em-Down Store in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. This time, the boys journey to Chicago, where Abner hopes to collect his share of an inheritance, only to find out that they're responsible for their "benefactor's" debts. Required to take a medical exam, Abner is incorrectly informed that he has only two weeks to live (from the motion picture of the same name). In their efforts to raise enough money to square their debts, Our Heroes get mixed up with a Nazi spy ring. When this plot point is abruptly dropped (indeed, it looks as though the script was being made up as it went along), Abner agrees to take an experimental rocket trip to Mars for a huge cash sum. The climactic special effects are as ridiculous as the rest of the film; even so, Two Weeks to Live did well at the box-office thanks to the popularity of the Lum 'N' Abner radio show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dreaming Out Loud represented the film debut of radio favorites Lum 'N' Abner, aka Chester Lauck and Norris Goff. Proprietors of the Jot-Em-Down Store in Pine Ridge, AR, our heroes are currently preoccupied by their efforts to construct a mobile hospital unit in their community. In time-honored movie-comedy tradition, Lum 'N' Abner also set aside a moment or two to help out young lovers Dr. Kenneth Barnes (Robert Wilcox) and Alice (Frances Langford). More serious in nature than subsequent Lum 'N' Abner movie vehicles, the storyline is partially devoted to the search for the hit-and-run driver who struck down and killed lovable little Emmy Lou (Bobs Watson). Bandleader Phil Harris is allotted a surprisingly tiny amount of screen time, and isn't even afforded the chance to sing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi