January 22, 1968 * Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor * Ron Howard as Opie Taylor * Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee Taylor * Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump * Jack Dodson as Howard Sprague * Paul Hartman as Emmett Clark * Mary Lansing as Martha Clark * Sheldon Collins as Arnold Bailey * Hope Summers as Clara Edwards * William Keene as Reverend Tucker * Vince Barnett as Elmo * Directed by Lee Philips * Written by Earl Barret and Robert C. Dennis