The Monkee's Paw
Written by Coslough Johnson
Directed by James Frawley
Produced by Ward Sylvester
Song: "Words" by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart
Guest Appearances
Mendrek Hans Conried
Manager Henry Beckman
Daughter Meri Ashley
Taxman Jack Fife
Premiered on January 29, 1968
Summary
After performing "Goin' Down" at a club for an audition, the manager hires the Monkees on the spot then fires Mendrek, the magician who's been employed there for twelve years.
Later that day, the Monkees offer Mendrek sympathy as he's packing up his things. When Micky notices a monkey's paw, Mendrek tells them that it's a charm that will grant them three wishes. Then in flashbacks, explains how he came to have it with Micky as a young Mendrek climbing the mountains in Tibet in the snow searching for the unknown to find the High Llama, only to come across the Regular Llama (Mike) since the High Llama is sleeping it off. Then Regular Llama ends up giving in him Monkey's paw. Back in the present, Micky decides to buy the it from Mendrek for $0.25. Back at the pad, Micky has been on the phone talking to the union who say they can't work unless they pay their dues, but the problem is they need to work in order to get the money. Micky wishes on the Monkey's paw for a way for them to get the money and soon the manager storms in their pad offering to pay their dues and take it out of their first week's pay but he insists on a 142% interest in exchange. At Mendrek's place, the magician informs his daughter that he sold the Monkey's paw to the quartet and she reminds him of the curse which convinces him that his luck will change now is rid of it and soon wins a million dollars on a over the phone contest. Meanwhile, the guys complain of hunger so Micky wishes for spaghetti causing a bunch of spaghetti dropping on Micky. Later backstage at the club, Micky still has the Monkey's paw trying to think of another wish and as they're prepared to go on, Micky inadvertently wishes that he can stop talking about the paw causing him to stop talking altogether. When they perform "Goin' Down" again, Micky isn't able to sing and the crowd starts booing them. They try to cover for Micky explaining that he's singing with his feet but the manager warns that if Micky isn't singing by tomorrow, they're finished.
At the pad, the guys try to convince Micky that he can talk as he tries to recite the Gettysburg Address but he remains speechless. Remembering that the trouble all started when Mendrek sold them that monkey's paw, the guys head over to his place. There they find the now rich magician is answering several phones at desk over business deal. They question them about the Monkey's paw while assisting him in answering the phones but he avoids there questions by continuing to busy himself with the phones until they all give up. Back at the pad again, the guys try to analyze what is wrong with Micky and believe him to be sick and the solution is chicken soup (in which they bathe him in!). Twelve hours later of non-speaking, they're convinced he's just forgotten how to talk and decide to teach him. Soon Micky is given lessons in speech by trying to make him to say pencil but the only word he can say is cranyon. Next, they conclude Micky has a mental problen and take him to a psychiatrist. However, when he attempts to give Micky a Rorschach test, the guys keep interfering with their opinions causing the impatient psychiatrist to end up going crazy and kicks them all out. That night, the guys try to show the manager their new act dressed as the Marx Brothers with Mike as Groucho, Micky as Harpo and Peter as Chico but the manager unimpressed fires them on the spot.
Then they decide to see Mendrek again who no longer has phones on his desk since he's giving up show business and is devoted to helping the needy. The guys explain to him about Micky’s problem, so he sends Davy and his daughter to go to the library to find the book of mystery in order to break the spell while he works on Micky using the pocketbook edition. Davy and the manager’s daughter look through the book where Davy is briefly distracted by her beauty, while Mendrek uses different kinds of torture to break the curse from tickling him with feathers then from using a gong but there's no use. Finally, Davy and the daughter find the solution in the book that reveals that Micky has to sell the Monkey’s paw to somebody else but Mike tries to think of someone deserving of the charm (someone nasty) when the manager shows up to offer Mendrek’s job back. Mendrek tries to convince him to buy the monkey’s paw revealing the magic powers it has which he can use to do all his magical tricks and demonstrates to the musical romp “Words”. Impressed, the manager buys it for a quarter and then wishes for a million dollars causing cash to flowd own all over him. Then the taxman comes to arrest the manager for not paying tax on the money and drags him off. Micky’s voice is restored and he talks non-stop until stopped by Mike just as the Monkees give a wrap-up to the audience by singing the Monkees theme sing.
This episode ends with an outtake showing actor Hans Conreid (Mendrek) frus-trations to the guys comical antics and with an interview where Peter talks about the demise of the hippie’s movement. Click here____for transcripts.
Trivia Notes
This episode was based upon William Wymark Jacobs’ classic horror
novel “The Monkey’s Paw (1902).
The character of Mendrek the magician is a rip-off of Lee Falk’s comic
hero “Mandrake The Magician.
The late Hans Conreid(Mendrek) appeared as the voice of Captain Hook
in Disney’s 1953 animated film “Peter Pan” and the voice of Snidely Whiplash
in ABC’s 1969 animated series “Dudley-Do-Right”.
The late Severn Darden from the “Monkee vs. Machine” episode cameos here
as the psychiatrist.
Monkees stand-ins David Pearl and David Price both cameo as a nightclub patron
and the janitor.
The original storyline for this episode concludes with Peter finding a small box and
being warned by Mendrek that he’ll turn into a fox if he opens it which Mike scoffs at
and then Peter is turned into a frog.
Two deleted scenes had Mike, Davy and Peter moving Micky’s face with their fingers
while bathing him in chicken soup and the crazy psychiatrist being removed in a straitjacket.
