Mr. Franchot Tone visits the study of his friend, the late William Seabrook. He tells his audience that the room as been closed for years. Now, based on the directive in Seabrook’s will, it is being opened and the secrets within it are being revealed. Seabrook researched witchcraft for 20 years. He was convinced that most unusual happenings that were attributed to witchcraft were actually the power of suggestion. To illustrate Seabrook’s theory Tone describes a story that he claims was true and that happened on the coast of France.
Fred (Darren McGavin) is an American. He arrives at night, during a storm, at a French inn run by Martin Plomb (Robert Middleton). Fred is there to meet his friend Louis (John Baragrey). Louis is engaged to marry Marie (Annemarie Roussel) and Fred is there to attend the wedding as the best man. When Louis arrives, he has bad news for Fred.
He tells Fred that Marie’s step-grandmother, Madame Tirelou (Blanche Yurka), hates him and refuses to let Marie marry. He also tells Fred that Madame Tirelou is a witch and has threatened to put a curse on Louis should Marie defy her. Fred thinks this is all nonsense and visits the Tirelou cottage. Fred pretends to be lost to gain access to the cabin. He slips Marie a note from Louis. When Madame Tirelou realizes that Fred is a friend of Louis’ she tosses him out.
Louis and Marie meet in the woods. Madame Tirelou sees them together. She goes back to the cottage and performs a voodoo incantation over a wooden doll in Louis’ image. She sticks the doll in a pile of brambles. The ritual makes Louis paralyzed from the waist down. Fred fully believes that what Louis is experiencing is psychological and vows to save his friend and get Marie away from the sadistic Tirelou.
“Witchcraft” was released in 1961 and was directed by Harold Young. It was an unsold horror pilot. The only episode done was called “The Doll in Brambles”. The show was intended to be a weekly half hour anthology series that would showcase stories written by William Seabrook. The format was supposed to be similar to “The Twilight Zone” where a host would give a tease at the beginning of the story and an epilogue at the end. The stories were to have a witchcraft theme.
The story is short and quick. It is a low budget pilot, but it does have some interesting atmosphere. Darren McGavin and Blanche Yurka give good performances. Franchot Tone was OK but he’s no Rod Serling.
William Buehler Seabrook was an American occultist, explorer, traveler, journalist and writer. He traveled extensively and wrote numerous books and stories about voodoo, zombies and cannibalism. He even stated that he partook in human flesh himself. He was also an alcoholic and a sadist. He committed suicide September 20, 1945, by a drug overdose in Rhinebeck, New York.
I’ve seen the pilot available through sinister cinema and Amazon prime.