DOVER, N.H. (AP) – Who killed the curator of the Norman Rockwell Museum?

And can Langford Fife, son of Barney, solve the crime?

For those who are tired of hearing about “The Da Vinci Code,” a team of local filmmakers is putting the finishing touches on “The Norman Rockwell Code,” a spoof of the best seller.

As Robert Langdon, the protagonist in New Hampshire author Dan Brown’s book, stands over the curator’s dead body in the Louvre, Langford Fife will be scratching his head over the dead curator of the Rockwell museum in Stockbridge, Mass.

Like the book, “Rockwell” does have clues and anagrams. But while Brown uses ancient artifacts to find answers, creator Alfred Thomas Catalfo solves the mystery with an Ovaltine secret decoder ring.

“We refer to it as a comedic homage,” said Catalfo, who wrote, directed and acts in the 20-minute film.

“But things like homages and parodies and spoofs are allowed and protected by the First Amendment,” said Catalfo, a Dover lawyer.

“I have met Dan (Brown). He has a great sense of humor, and I think he’ll be very pleased with the time and effort that went into this.”

Catalfo said filming for the “Rockwell Code” took place over the past three weeks in Kittery and York, Maine; and Dover. The final weekend of filming, was at Rollinsford’s Salmon Falls Mills, where a room was transformed into the Rockwell Museum.

Sunday night, as the actors waited for the next shot, they discussed the film’s occupational hazard – speaking on and off camera like Barney Fife, the bumbling deputy played by Don Knotts on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

“My wife is going to kill me if I don’t stop talking like this,” said actor Mike Walsh, who plays Langford Fife. Catalfo said Walsh’s impersonations of the character inspired the film.

“One day, I thought, What if Barney Fife was called to the Norman Rockwell Museum to investigate the murder of the curator?”‘ he said.

The film heads into postproduction next week. Catalfo said he expects it to be complete in less than two months.

“No one typically gets money off a short,” said Catalfo. “This was done purely for the love of the craft, and for fun.”

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