Barney Fife
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Bernard "Barney" Fife[1] was the fictional deputy sheriff in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.
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[edit] Overview
Played by Don Knotts, Fife was the hyperkinetic but comically inept counterpart to Mayberry's cool-headed Sheriff Andy Taylor. To the other people in town, Barney was generally viewed as a blowhard, whose services in the line of duty seldom matched his interpretation. He was smug and self-confident until a real-life situation arose, wherein he would become exasperated. He was known for being overly analytical or overenthusiastic about an otherwise benign situation, especially in regard to the crime in Mayberry. He would often take a simple situation, blow it out of proportion, and then devise an elaborate plan (sometimes involving other inept townspeople, like Gomer) to resolve it, only causing more trouble as a result, and then get bailed out by Andy in the end. Despite his ineptitude, he had a strong passion for his career as a law enforcement officer, regularly spouting off penal codes and police jargon in any applicable situation, and although many of the townspeople lost patience with him, he was generally well-liked, if not nearly as respected as Andy.
Calling someone "Barney Fife" is an American slang term for an incompetent or overzealous police officer or authority figure.
In one episode, Barney finds a poem written about him in graffiti on the side of a wall. It said:
"There once was a deputy called Fife,
Who carried a gun and a knife.
The gun was all dusty,
And his knife was all rusty,
Because he never caught a crook in his life."
He blamed Andy's son Opie (Ron Howard) for the incident but he later found out Opie could not write yet—a true example of his overzealousness.
Very sensitive and sentimental, Barney could be moved to tears, anger or any other over-reaction quite easily. He has what he describes as a "low sugar blood level" and must eat regularly or he gets a headache; he eats large meals but remains very thin. Barney also has a habit of being naive and tends to believe anything and, even though he is constantly warned by Andy, he will go along with any scam. This gullibility is evident in the episode "Barney's First Car", where he buys a car with his life savings from a con-artist posing as a sweet old widow, which turns out to be a lemon.
One major source of trouble with Barney is his abilities with a firearm. After several occasions of accidentally discharging his revolver (usually a Colt "Official Police" model .38 caliber), Andy restricted Barney to carry only a single bullet which was to be kept in his shirt pocket, "in case of an emergency," and that his gun would contain no bullets otherwise. The bullet(s) always seemed to find its way back into the pistol where predictably it would be accidentally discharged, sometimes when Barney was demonstrating his famous "fast draw." There was a running gag on the show in which Barney would instruct inexperienced gun users on the safe use of firearms, show them how to properly handle the weapon, and then return it to its holster whereupon it would invariably fire into the floor. Andy, who would be silently standing by, would then hold out his hand, and Barney would once again have to hand over his gun.
Although Barney enjoys singing, he has no vocal talent. This fact was a common thread throughout the show, and is highlighted by several episodes, most notably "Barney and the Choir" and "The Song Festers". He is also self-deceived over his prowess in the art of Judo. Barney often puts on a show of bravado to mask his insecurity and lack of confidence. His behavior often made him appear arrogant and foolish, but he was at heart a kind, caring person. He is an inveterate gossip and finds it almost impossible to keep a secret, even when it is a matter of police business (for example, an armored car full of gold coming through the town).
Early in the series, Andy and Barney comment that they are cousins, but the family connection is never mentioned after the first few episodes. The two are best friends, having grown up together in Mayberry. It was mentioned a few times that they had the same teacher in elementary school, and that they both graduated from Mayberry Union High together.
Like Andy, who was stationed in France, Barney served in World War II, although he was a file clerk who never left the United States. Barney was nevertheless proud of his war record: "I did my part to lick the dreaded Hun," he boasted on one occasion. Ironically, Barney later acquired knowledge of military discipline from Herman Hopfleisch, a retired German soldier who served in World War I and eventually took up residence in Mayberry. "[He] may have been on the wrong team back in '18," Barney admitted, "but he's a heck of a soldier!"
When he's not patrolling the streets of Mayberry, Barney spent his free time dating a local girl named Thelma Lou (played by actress Betty Lynn). Thelma Lou was Barney's main girlfriend throughout the show, although he also dated other women, in particular, a diner waitress named Juanita, who is never seen but only referred to. Barney remained a bachelor throughout the show's run and given his propensity to "play the field" Barney could be understood as somewhat of a rogue when it came to women. Barney took up residence in different places including the local YMCA and Mrs. Mendelbright's boarding house. When not on duty, he was usually seen in a fedora and his "salt-and-pepper" suit.
Barney's middle name remains a mystery but according to the episode "Class Reunion" Barney's middle name is Milton. But sometimes he is called "Bernard P. Fife", but Andy says at one point, "I thought your middle name was Oliver!"
Barney Fife appeared on The Andy Griffith Show from the show's beginning in 1960 until 1965, when Knotts left the show to pursue a career in feature films. It is explained that Barney Fife had left Mayberry to take a job as a detective in Raleigh. Knotts reprised the character in guest appearances each season until The Andy Griffith Show left the air in 1968. He would also reprise it in the reunion film Return to Mayberry in 1986, by which time Fife has moved back, become acting sheriff, and was running for sheriff himself.
[edit] Memorable moments
- Barney invests his life savings in a new car. He buys it from an old lady, who actually turns out to be a con-artist. The car turns out to be a lemon. Andy and Barney then hunt down the old lady who sold the car to him.
- Barney locks up the entire town because he was "going by the book".
- Feeling Andy is putting off getting married, Barney lines up a group of likely candidates. Andy finds Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut) as a likely date, but Barney refuses after he finds out she cannot cook.
- Barney sets up a "posse" to protect the sheriff after hearing a former criminal wants to settle the score with him.
- Barney disguises himself as a conman to get information from another prisoner, he locks himself in the jail cell and helps the prisoner escape.
- Barney constantly wears his uniform after a man tells him he will beat him up if he sees Barney in public without his uniform.
- Barney makes the Mayberry Jail like a city jail, as two big-city prisoners do time at "the Rock".
[edit] Famous quotes
- "Nip it in the bud!"
- "Heartaches!"
- "Nip it! Nip it! Nip it!"
- "Tick a lock!"
- (Referring to Ernest T. Bass) "He's a nut!"
- (Someone seeing him perform an unusual action) "What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a man (action being performed) before?"
- "You know what they say about a man that puts off getting married? They say he starts getting irritable, yep. That's what they say."
- "Now men, I have just one thing to say, this isn't gonna be kid's stuff, and you'll be on your own and there will be no mollycoddling."
- "That badge means something! Don't disgarace it!"
- "It is definitely no fun when that iron door clangs shut on you" (when Barney teaches Opie and his friends about the law).
- "The kindness of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven."
- "Floyd, if you would keep your mind outta Washington, and stick to your barbering, I might get a better haircut. Now what did you do with my sideburns?"
- (Paying Floyd) "Here, go buy a barber book!"
- "Hablae usted espanoly?"
- "Now men I have just one thing to say: just to start to ignore any grief later on. Here at 'the Rock', we have two distinct rules: Number one, obey all rules! Second, do not write on the walls...as it takes a lot of work...to erase writing...off of walls."
- "All right, All right, All right! Of course you smell gas. What do you think this car runs on, coal?!"
- (Referring to Floyd) "See what I mean?, he's blind as an owl!"
- "All right, shakedown!"
- "You're real funny, you know that? We ought to book you on one of those excursion lines." (there are various versions of this theme, after Andy has gently poked fun at Barney).
[edit] Trivia
- Because of his bumbling behaviors and (initial) resemblance to Don Knotts, the security guard(s) in the video game Half-Life was nicknamed "Barney." Later, "Barney" would gain a last name (Barney Calhoun), his own spin-off game (Half-Life: Blue Shift) and a key role in Half-Life 2.
- An unnamed but unmistakably cartoon version of Deputy Fife are in an couple of cartoon crossovers, in an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies; on an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; and in an episode of "Toby Danger" from the cartoon series Freakazoid!.
[edit] References
- ^ In "A Plaque for Mayberry" episode, Andy states that Barney's middle name is Oliver. In later episodes Barney refers to himself as Barney "P." Fife and in the episode Class Reunion the Mayberry Union High yearbook lists Barney's name as Bernard Milton Fife.
