Blog site from internationally-selling poet and children's book author Steven Helmer showcasing movie and product reviews, nature photography and more.
Did The Andy Griffith Show's Mayberry Have a Serial Killer?
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For reasons that are too complicated to explain, I find myself thinking about The Andy Griffith Showtoday and, more specifically, Andy Taylor's love life early on in the series.
Prior to meeting school teacher Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut), the woman he would eventually marry, Andy had a revolving door full of women. Specifically, he had three serious relationships, Ellie Walker (Elinor Donahue), Mary Simpson (Julie Adams) and Peggy McMillan (Joanna Moore).
The interesting thing about each of these girlfriends is, not only did the relationships not last, the characters were never seen or spoken about again. This, in my mind, raises a question - was Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) a serial killer?
I know, on the surface, that might not seem like a legitimate question. After all, Mayberry's sheriff wouldn't even carry a gun. But many serial killers turned out to be people who were handsome and charming, so the idea of Andy having a darker side shouldn't be dismissed.
He was, after all, only human and, as his son, Opie (Ron Howard) could attest, had a temper. With his large size, an angry fit after a sudden rejection could easily result in a death. And, being sheriff, he was in a position to hide the bodies, prevent an investigation, and intimidate the townspeople into keeping their mouths shut.
I also haven't dismissed the theory that Andy himself wasn't necessarily the killer and, instead, it was someone close to him. Was it his pal/deputy Barney (Don Knotts)? Barney was known to be a bit unstable and did carry a (sometimes loaded) gun. He also had a bit of an unhealthy obsession with his friend's love life. Andy also was close enough to Barney to feel obligated to help cover up his indiscretions and assist him in getting a job in another town.
Or, perhaps it was Helen. Maybe she became obsessed with Andy and, prior to using her influence over Opie to gain his attention, took care of the competition. This would explain why she was the one woman who lasted more than a season with him and eventually got the ring.
My money would actually be on Mayberry barber Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear). His skill with sharp objects gave him a Sweeney Todd-like quality. His motivation could have either about protecting his friend or, possibly, his own failed love life made him literally insane with jealousy. He was also a Mayberry citizen I could see Andy going out of his way to protect/hide evidence for.
Regardless of who was behind the crime and why, I think the possibility of Mayberry having one (or more) murderers as part of its small population shouldn't be overlooked. The evidence is there.
We have two cats in our house and they seem to go through a ton of cat food, to the point I feel like I'm constantly having to buy more. Adding to this is the fact my cats are apparently very picky about the food they eat and, even though they will occasionally eat Friskies canned food (my preference because it is cheaper and comes in bigger cans), they aren't overly thrilled with it and, instead, seem to have a preference for Fancy Feast (which is, of course, more expensive and comes in smaller cans). Having been a cat parent long enough to know the whole "let them go hungry until they eat it" trick doesn't work, at least if I don't want my cats keeping me up all night or getting on the counters/in the garbage, I have mostly just given up and purchased the more expensive cans of food for them. However, when I was at the grocery store last night (once again, for the sole purpose of buying cat food), I noticed the store added this brand to the shelf. Thi
Our church had outdoor services in the park last weekend and, as part of that, we were all asked to bring a dish to pass. Since we were stopping by Costco the day before anyway, I decided to just pick up something there (both more convenient and, in most cases, cheaper than making something from scratch). Originally, I had planned on getting a tray of pre-made sandwiches. However, as we were passing the refrigerated section, we ended up picking up a container of Country Maid Country Classic Potato Salad. Our decision to do this was based solely on price. The potato salad was just $5.99 (compared to $12.99 for the salads) and the container was large enough for multiple people to have some. As it turns out, however, it wasn't as good of a purchase as we originally thought it would be. I, personally, don't like any kind of potato salad (definitely not my favorite). But, my wife loves it. So, when she doesn't like a particular variety of it, I take her at her word. And
Synopsis: Kidnapped and imprisoned, a paperboy tells three stories of horror in an effort to distract the witch who is planning on serving him up for dinner. Who's In It? The movie stars Debbie Harry , Matthew Lawrence , Christian Slater , Steve Buscemi , Julianne Moore and William Hickey . Review : I came across this film on one of our movie channels a couple nights ago and, since it had been a long time since my wife and I had taken the time to watch it, I ended up recording it for later. We finally finished up the movie last night and, after seeing it again, I have to say it was better than I remembered it. The wraparound story about the kidnapped paperboy (Lawrence) and the child-eating witch (Harry), was a little predictable and, at times, a little dumb. But, the stories the paperboy ends up telling her are what make this movie and are a big reason why the film is enjoyable. My personal favorite was the second one, about the killer cat. That segment ended u
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