A Coffin Too Frequent

Written by Stella Linden

Directed by David Winters

Produced by Robert Rafelson&Bert Schneider

Songs: “Goin’ Down” by Diane Hilderbrand, Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, David Jones&Peter Tork, “Daydream Believer” by John Stewart

Guest Appearances

        Henry                                   George Furth

       Mrs. Weatherspoon                 Ruth Buzzi

       Boris                                  Mickey Morton

Premiered on November 20, 1967

Summary

The Monkees prepare for bed but they are soon disturbed by the sound of laughter downstairs.  The thought that it might be a burglar sends them scurrying downstairs where they find Henry Weatherspoon preparing for a séance in the living room.  He tells them that  they have three minutes to leave before the guests arrive and within seconds the guys race back upstairs, get dressed, pack their bags and head back downstairs where Henry explains that their lease states that on this night they have to vacant the pad by midnight till sunrise and even shows them the lease.  The guys are about to leave when elderly Aunt Mildred Weatherspoon appears at the door insisting they stay as witnesses for the return of Elmer Weatherspoon from the dead!

The guys are none to willing to stay as witnesses for such an event, they try to leave only to be foiled by Mrs. Weatherspoon and Henry's cousin Boris, a giant Frankenstein-looking man who is totally under his control.  Boris barges in the pad with the coffin containing Elmer’s corpse knocking the door down and the guys agree in fear to stay as witnesses.  In a fantasy sequence, the guys are in a courtroom with Micky as the prosecutor, Mike the witness, Davy the defendant and Peter as the judge as they give a mock trial.  Peter starts sneezing and Mrs. Weatherspoon convinced it’s a cold rushes him upstairs for tea while Henry sends Boris to fetch their luggage and then explains to the others that Elmer will rise from the dead at midnight playing his trumpet and depart. This frightens them into heading out the door again only to be blocked by Boris coming back with the luggage.  Meanwhile, upstairs, Mrs. Weatherspoon has Peter in bed giving him several cups of tea to drink for his cold.

Henry shows the guys a bottle of aspirin claiming he invented it in order to bring Elmer back from the dead but Mike accuses him of trying to use it on them in order to make them believe they’re seeing Elmer rise.  While Davy chats with Boris about a High and Low act he use to do with a tall person, they wind up doing a “Tea for Two” tap dancing act dressed in vaudeville clothes when they’re interrupted by a disapproving Henry.  Soon they all hear Peter crying for help upstairs and everyone heads up there to find that Mrs. Weatherspoon has placed an oxygen tent on Peter for his cold.  Davy tries  talk with Mrs. Weatherspoon about the matter but is stopped by Henry claiming the Monkees to be disbelievers and will drive Elmer away.  Davy accuses him of being a crook and Henry retaliates by sicking Boris on him who nearly throttles him until Mrs. Weatherspoon stops him and sends both Boris and Henry out of the room.  Then she explains her intentions of giving her Nephew all of her money if he succeeds in bringing Elmer back from the dead as Henry and Boris ease drop.  Soon Davy opens the door as both Henry and Boris come crashing through and everyone notices Mrs. Weatherspoon’s disappearance.  They all find her downstairs where she taps Micky on the head with her umbrella to stop him from opening Elmer’s coffin causing Micky to collapse.

Later, when the guys agree to help Mrs. Weatherspoon, she claims they are angels and they soon imagine themselves dressed as angels dancing on the clouds with a harp. (Now that’s a trip).  Micky declares he can’t allow the old lady from having her money stolen but everyone’s afraid that Henry will sick Boris on them if they interfere.  Micky twice attempts unsuccessfully to subdue Boris, first by ramming into his stomach then by trying to use judo on him only to wind up with a headache.  Mrs. Weatherspoon offers to cure his headache with an Egyptian Head Banging Cure by having Micky cover his eyes and then stomp hard on his foot so he’ll forget about his head problem as Micky cowers in pain from his foot.  Later, they all prepare for the séance as they all take hands and Henry attempts to summon Elmer and suddenly the sound of a trumpet playing is heard.  When Henry commands Elmer to speak, a ghostly voice accuses him of being a crook who’s cheating the dead and planning to run off with his aunt’s money driving the frightened Henry to confess.  When the voice demands he start begging and pleading for mercy, Henry does so while down of his knees and soon Micky pops out of the coffin to everyone’s surprise.  It had all been just trick to get Henry to confess.  An angered Henry orders Boris to get them and to the song “Goin’ Down” there’s wild chase all over the pad which ends with Henry and Boris being placed in the coffin by the Monkees.

Mrs. Weatherspoon thanks the guys for their help thwarting her scheming nephew  and heads out.  Then the guys get a phone call for Micky from the boy scouts who wants to offer him an officer’s commission.  The others continue to praise Micky for his plan to expose Henry including playing the trumpet to pretend to be Elmer and suggest he use it in the group.  Micky mentions that he didn’t play the trumpet and suddenly they  see the coffin opening as a hand rises playing the trumpet in which all the guys begin coughing in fear.

This episode ends with a rendition of “Daydream Believer”.

Trivia Notes

This episode was a reference to the 1946 play “A Phoenix Too Frequent"

by British playwright Christopher Fry.

This was the last filmed episode to feature Mike’s wool hat.

Comedian Ruth Buzzi (Mrs. Weatherspoon) did numerous roles in TV

and films including portraying Margie “Pete” Peterson in the classic

sitcom “That Girl” and was regular roaster in “Dean Martin’s Celebrity

Roasts” and “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”.  In 1993 she appeared as

regular in the children’s series “Sesame Street” as Ruthie.

The Director David Winters also choreographed the Monkees during

their first tour in December 1966.

The CBS Saturday morning repeat of this episode revised the soundtrack

to include the song “Oklahoma Backroom Dancer”.