Titled with a question mark for a reason, this Don Knotts vehicle casts him as a meek, mild-mannered magazine publisher who is mistaken for a suave playboy after his ornithological magazine is rebranded by a smut merchant while he is out of the country. Upon returning to America, Knotts finds himself as a pawn of sorts for several parties with specific agendas, including a team of lawyers who believe that he is a perfect advocate for free speech. His looks of utter disdain in court as he is branded "dirty" are absolutely pitch perfect as Knotts slides comfortably into the role of a man in over his head. The best performance in the film though comes from B.S. Pully as a gangster in the mix who is insistent on improving his grammar, dropping 'big' words like "fastidious" and "prerogative" at all the wrong points. Frequently funny as the film may be, its satirical ambitions are unfortunately not always at the forefront with the vast majority of gags derived from how unlikely a candidate Knotts is for a playboy, which in turn makes the film feel a lot like a one-joke comedy at times. An abrupt ending furthermore causes the proceedings to end on a low note. And yet, while the potential for more is striking, this is an undeniably engaging motion picture while it lasts. The imaginative costumes need to be seen to be believed, the set decoration in the master bedroom is quite creative and Knotts has a ball playing a character torn between wanting to be seen as a conservative, upstanding citizen and gradually coming to like the idea of being seen as a charming rogue.

Don Knotts stars as Abner Adubon Peacock the IV, who owns a bird-watchers magazine with dwindling readers that gets purchased by an unscrupulous man(played by Edmond O' Brian) who converts it into an adult mens' magazine(like Playboy) Abner is devastated by this, but to placate him, he is fooled into believing that he is the ideal modern man by the fashion editor(played by Anne Francis) who finds herself falling for him, as the hoax grows out-of-control... Absolutely preposterous comedy doesn't have a believable moment in it, and isn't remotely funny, and too dumb to be in bad taste. Hideously dated, and helped kill Knott's solo film career. A total bust, best forgotten.

Clean and decent ornithologist Don Knotts (as Abner Peacock IV) is about to see his poor-selling bird-watching magazine peck it in. Meanwhile, smut-peddling publisher Edmond O'Brien (as Osborne Tremain) loses his magazine's license, due to pornographic content. To continue printing his bosomy babes, O'Brien tricks Knotts into turning over his periodical's editorial content. After sending Knotts off on safari, O'Brien turns the tame "Peacock's Magazine" into a titillating masturbatory aide.Knotts returns to find himself corralled into becoming the defendant in a "free speech" case. With assistance from enterprising editor Anne Francis (as Lisa La Monica), Knotts is transformed into a Hugh Hefner-type publishing giant. Then, Ms. Francis falls in love with playboy Knotts...Knotts can't help but be funny; this particular characterization was perfected in his role of "Mr. Furley" on the TV series "Three's Company". His "Abner Peacock" is little less sure, perhaps necessarily so, considering the times. Note, the screeching and shouting was not part of Knotts' later routine. Under-appreciated writer/director Nat Hiken cleverly mixes satire and sexy women. "The Love God?" is colorful, and features a delightful supporting cast. Unfortunately, by the last act, the film's direction, and humor, has pointedly unraveled.***** The Love God? (1969) Nat Hiken ~ Don Knotts, Anne Francis, Edmond O'Brien

Although people have been writing this movie off for years, the reality is, is that this is a very funny movie. Don Knott's performance as Abner Peacock is excellent. Here he takes his funny talent and uses it in a different kind of movie. The main reason people don't like this movie, is because they're not willing to see Don Knotts play lead character in a somewhat dirty movie. Knotts has always been a family movie person, but I think this movie gave him a chance to do something else. The funniest scenes are during the court case, where a bumbling Mr. Peacock is frustrated at his lawyers going against him, and the one where he sings the song of the birds, in church. This is a must see if you like good humor.