Escape's episode "Papa Benjamin" is based on the short story by William Irish (aka Cornell Woolrich). It is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans where a struggling bandleader named Eddie uses a sacred voodoo chant as a gimmick to help save his failing nightclub act. Unfortunately, Eddie doesn't take the threat of a voodoo curse too seriously.
This is an interesting story that will keep your attention. There is a moral here about what can go wrong when an artist steals a sacred work from its creators. In this case, Eddie steals then exploits a sacred voodoo chant that he does not fully understand and can not control. In the end, it all kind of backfires on Eddie.
The sound effects are good and the music is more impressive than the average episode of Escape. There do not seem to be any actual African-Americans performing in this episode but that is typical of the era in which it was made. This show was broadcast on January 24, 1948.
"Papa Benjamin" was also an episode of the television series Thriller in 1961. The short story also appears under the titles "Dark Melody of Madness" and "Music from the Dark". The 1965 horror movie anthology Dr. Terror's House of Horrors used this story as well.
Download Escape.1948.01.24_Papa_Benjamin.mp3
(Image from Morguefile.com)
Wow, that was a great episode. Good story and great music. I felt a little strange humming the voodoo chant after it was over but I haven't lost any weight yet...darnit.
Posted by: Daryl Russ | February 04, 2008 at 02:35 PM
Nice write-up, and thanks for providing the download link to the show.
I posted a link to your entry in our A Thriller A Day blog review of Papa Benjamin.
http://athrilleraday.blogspot.com/2010/10/papa-benjamin-season-1-episode-26.html
Posted by: John Scoleri | October 01, 2010 at 11:42 AM
Thanks, John. I have seen the episode of Thriller that was adapted from Papa Benjamin. (In fact, it is the only episode of Thriller that I have seen.) So, I'll have to keep an eye on your blog. Your post mentions that there are two other Cornell Woolrich stories that Thiller adapted, and I'd be interested to see them. Best,--Christine
Posted by: Cmillinsf | October 01, 2010 at 01:11 PM