Return to Mayberry

Infobox film
name = Return to Mayberry

"Return to Mayberry" was a television movie made in 1986 on NBC. It was directed by Bob Sweeney. The show was a reunion movie for the 1960s American television sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show". The movie premiered on April 14, 1986, was one of the highest rated shows in the 1986 season, and was the second most watched program of the week (after "The Cosby Show"). Sixteen of the original cast members reunited for the movie, and it is generally regarded as one of the best of the "reunion" genre.

Plot

Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) returns to his hometown of Mayberry with wife Helen (Aneta Corsaut) (whom he had married in 1968, on the spin-off series "Mayberry R.F.D.") but without his second-born son Andy, Jr. (christened on "R.F.D."). Andy's main purpose for returning is to see son Opie (Ron Howard) into fatherhood, as his wife is nearly nine months pregnant.

Andy finds that his old deputy and cousin, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), has returned from Raleigh (where he had moved when Knotts left the series in 1965) to become the acting sheriff following the death of the preceding sheriff, and intends to run to win the position outright. However, he becomes annoyed as many townspeople "assume" that Andy has returned to take over the Sheriff's office (despite Andy's constant denial of the matter) and beg their old friend to take over. Barney also gets caught up in believing a commercial ploy to attract tourists to Myer's Lake via a mechanical monster. Meanwhile, Opie ponders moving his family out of Mayberry to expand his journalism career.

Most of the characters from the old series are revisited. The milquetoast Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson), in an attempt to look younger, is seen in various hues of hair color. The Pyle cousins, Gomer (Jim Nabors) and Goober (George Lindsey), share filling station duties (and are seen together for only the second time in Mayberry history). Howard Morris and Denver Pyle reprise the hillbilly roles of Ernest T. Bass and Mr. Darling, respectively, along with Maggie Peterson and The Dillards as the rest of the Darling clan. Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), the former town drunk, has become sober and now drives an ice cream truck.

In the end, Andy learns that hotel owner Wally Butler was using Ernest T. Bass and Barney to propagate a lake monster panic. A dragon artifact was confiscated from a defunct restaurant and planted in the lake to boost business. At a "victory rally" for Barney, an informal straw poll is taken. Andy is favored as sheriff despite not being on the ballot. Unwilling to keep Barney from realizing his dream, Andy steadfastly refuses to enter the race. Surprisingly, Barney makes an emotional withdrawal speech and endorses Andy. Andy agrees to serve, and the last shot seen is of the "new" sheriff and deputy putting up an American flag on Mayberry's Main Street.

Changes

Most of the surviving cast members of "The Andy Griffith Show" reprised their roles in the reunion movie. One notable exception was Frances Bavier, who played Aunt Bee for all eight TAGS seasons as well as two seasons of "Mayberry R.F.D.". Bavier had retired shortly after leaving "R.F.D." in 1970. Her absence was explained by a scene in which Andy visits the cemetery where Aunt Bee is buried. Bee had apparently died at some point between the end of "Mayberry R.F.D." and the events of this movie. (Bavier herself died in 1989.) Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker) and Jack Burns (Warren Ferguson) were two other cast members not to be involved in the movie. Some of the main "R.F.D." regulars, including Sam Jones, son Mike, and Millie Swanson—who first began on the last "TAGS" season—were also absent. (Ken Berry, who had played Jones, was forced to decline as he was busy playing Vinton Harper on "Mama's Family".) Former series regulars Howard McNear (as Floyd Lawson), Hope Summers (as Clara Edwards), and Paul Hartman (as Emmett Clark) had long since passed away.

Also in the movie, Gomer and his long time sweetheart LuAnn ("Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.") had gone their separate ways, as Gomer was shown as being unattached in this TV movie. Barney and Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn) finally married in the movie. In a 1966 episode Barney returned home to rekindle their relationship only to find out that Thelma Lou had married someone else. In the movie, it is briefly mentioned by Andy that Thelma Lou's first marriage had lasted only 18 months, although Barney quickly corrects him stating that they were only married 16 months. There is also no mention of Andy and Helen having any children, although Griffith and Courset's final guest appearance in "Mayberry R.F.D." was in the episode "Andy's New Baby".

Since the original outdoor sets from the original Andy Griffith television series had long since been destroyed, the producers had to recreate the town of Mayberry. As a result there were some differences between this version of Mayberry and the one from the TV series. One of the more notable differences was that the main street went past the courthouse rather than ending at the building, and that there was a small island with a flagpole on the street in front of the courthouse.

Cast

Andy Griffith ... Andy Taylor
Ron Howard ... Opie Taylor
Don Knotts ... Barney Fife
Howard Morris ... Ernest T. Bass
Jim Nabors ... Gomer Pyle
Hal Smith ... Otis Campbell
Betty Lynn ... Thelma Lou
George Lindsey ... Goober Pyle
Denver Pyle ... Briscoe Darling
Aneta Corsaut ... Helen Crump Taylor
Jack Dodson ... Howard Sprague
Maggie Peterson ... Charlene Darling
Robert Broyles ... Wilson
Karlene Crockett ... Eunice Taylor
Rance Howard ... Preacher
Karen Knotts ... Opie's Receptionist
Richard Lineback ... Wally Butler
Allen Williams ... Lloyd Fox
Paul Willson ... Ben Woods

External links

* [http://www.mayberry.com/ "Mayberry.com"] - home of "The Andy Griffith Show" Rerun Watchers Club w/ Interviews, Episode Guides, newsletters, and forums.
* [http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show.html "Behind the Scenes of the Real Mayberry"] - a behind the scenes look at "The Andy Griffith Show" and the real Mayberry, includes filming locations, the stars made on the show, and Mayberry trivia.
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091846/ "Return to Mayberry"] at The Internet Movie Database