Papa Benjamin
- Episode aired Mar 21, 1961
- 1h
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
165
YOUR RATING
A composer in need of inspiration turns to Voodoo melodies, but finds himself the victim of a Voodoo curse by Papa Benjamin.A composer in need of inspiration turns to Voodoo melodies, but finds himself the victim of a Voodoo curse by Papa Benjamin.A composer in need of inspiration turns to Voodoo melodies, but finds himself the victim of a Voodoo curse by Papa Benjamin.
Photos
Alibe Parsons
- Voodoo Dancer
- (as Alibe Copage)
Bess Flowers
- Nightclub Patron
- (uncredited)
Sam Harris
- Nightclub Patron
- (uncredited)
Shep Houghton
- Nightclub Patron
- (uncredited)
Hans Moebus
- Nightclub Patron
- (uncredited)
Lillian O'Malley
- Nightclub Patron
- (uncredited)
Harry Raven
- Nightclub Patron
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsWhen Eddie Wilson meets with his agent Jerry Roberts in his New York office, it is snowing outside of one window, yet the weather is clear outside the window right next to it.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)
Featured review
C'mon-- Play the damned thing and CROAK ALREADY!!
When it comes to horror--- magazines, comics, tv, movies...Everybody's gotta have at least one venture into voodoo. Too bad for Thriller that this one is such a total bore. We were two minutes into the opening scene and I couldn't believe how the pace of the show was ALREADY at a dead standstill.
The obsessed guy who dabbles in the sacred religion and ends up paying the price, the concerned, caring wife, the concerned caring manager...etc,..all the stock characters and situations are here, but with NOTHING special to recommend.
But the voodoo ceremony scene is very cool; certainly the highpoint of this otherwise pathetically drab episode. And where's the credit for the show's best performance---that of Jester Hairston as the title character? He was only a part-time actor, and yet his powerful presence dominates the proceedings. Hairston, a remarkably talented guy, was a composer and choral director; he was revered as the father/guru of American choral music--- as a composer (he wrote the lovely Christmas Carol "Mary's Little Boy Child", among others), arranger and spokesman for the black spiritual/choral tradition in the U.S. Fascinating guy (I used to see him interviewed by Johnny Carson on "Tonite Show.") But how did the dancers, who were raising an incredible ruckus with their rituals, manage to hear the box that John Ireland accidentally knocked over in the next room, I wonder---or should I bother?
Big Steve Mitchell's DVD interview with director ted Post reveals that this episode was the EIGHTH Thriller to be produced, though delayed until the 26th spot for airing; that would certainly explain a lot of its problems, since the series was in turmoil during its early months. Post also mentions that star John Ireland insisted on playing his role in a mind-numbing, semi-comatose state--- which helps explain a lot that's wrong with this show. He's supposed to be a big time, charismatic performer. The most he can accomplish, it sees, is a limp, half-hearted attempt at beating time, just prior to his patented COLLAPSE to the stage floor. What an act!!
Since there's so little of interest in this episode, here's some TRIVIA: at 27:28', during the first big nightclub scene, the mature woman in the lower right-hand corner of the screen is Bess Flowers, known as the "Queen of the Hollywood Dress Extras"; she probably appeared in more films than anyone in history, usually doing exactly what she does here (she did, however, have a couple of prominent roles with the 3 Stooges in the late '30s).
Alas, during the final nightclub scene (during which Ms. Flowers was re-positioned over on the extreme right hand of the screen close to the stage), I admit that I joined in with the audience's shouts of "Voodoo Rhapsody"---c'mon, play the damned thing and CROAK ALREADY!!!
The obsessed guy who dabbles in the sacred religion and ends up paying the price, the concerned, caring wife, the concerned caring manager...etc,..all the stock characters and situations are here, but with NOTHING special to recommend.
But the voodoo ceremony scene is very cool; certainly the highpoint of this otherwise pathetically drab episode. And where's the credit for the show's best performance---that of Jester Hairston as the title character? He was only a part-time actor, and yet his powerful presence dominates the proceedings. Hairston, a remarkably talented guy, was a composer and choral director; he was revered as the father/guru of American choral music--- as a composer (he wrote the lovely Christmas Carol "Mary's Little Boy Child", among others), arranger and spokesman for the black spiritual/choral tradition in the U.S. Fascinating guy (I used to see him interviewed by Johnny Carson on "Tonite Show.") But how did the dancers, who were raising an incredible ruckus with their rituals, manage to hear the box that John Ireland accidentally knocked over in the next room, I wonder---or should I bother?
Big Steve Mitchell's DVD interview with director ted Post reveals that this episode was the EIGHTH Thriller to be produced, though delayed until the 26th spot for airing; that would certainly explain a lot of its problems, since the series was in turmoil during its early months. Post also mentions that star John Ireland insisted on playing his role in a mind-numbing, semi-comatose state--- which helps explain a lot that's wrong with this show. He's supposed to be a big time, charismatic performer. The most he can accomplish, it sees, is a limp, half-hearted attempt at beating time, just prior to his patented COLLAPSE to the stage floor. What an act!!
Since there's so little of interest in this episode, here's some TRIVIA: at 27:28', during the first big nightclub scene, the mature woman in the lower right-hand corner of the screen is Bess Flowers, known as the "Queen of the Hollywood Dress Extras"; she probably appeared in more films than anyone in history, usually doing exactly what she does here (she did, however, have a couple of prominent roles with the 3 Stooges in the late '30s).
Alas, during the final nightclub scene (during which Ms. Flowers was re-positioned over on the extreme right hand of the screen close to the stage), I admit that I joined in with the audience's shouts of "Voodoo Rhapsody"---c'mon, play the damned thing and CROAK ALREADY!!!
helpful•30
- lrrap
- Mar 27, 2020
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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