Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me (2001)

Portrait of an important American musician through the testimonies of fellow musicians and people from his environment, but also through archival material and documents from various stages of his life and career.

Director:

Nicholas Triandafyllidis

Writer:

Nicholas Triandafyllidis

Stars:

Frank Ash, Arthur Brown, Eric Burdon

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Frank Ash	...	Himself
Arthur Brown	...	Himself
Eric Burdon	...	Himself
Bo Diddley	...	Himself
Diamanda Galás	...	Herself
Monique Hawkins	...	Herself
Screamin' Jay Hawkins	...	Himself
Henry	...	Himself
Jim Jarmusch	...	Himself
Milan Melvin	...	Himself
Michael Ochs	...	Himself
Rudi Protrudi	...	Himself
Andre Williams	...	Himself
Peter Zaremba	...	Himself

Storyline

Portrait of an important American musician through the testimonies of fellow musicians and people from his environment, but also through archival material and documents from various stages of his life and career.

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Plot Keywords:

apostrophe in title | character name in title

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Country:

Greece

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 2001 (Greece)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Astra Show Vision and Sound, Ideefixe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Mystery Train (1989)

User Reviews

The Godfather of theatrical rock is finally shown the respect he deserves.

Before Marilyn Manson, David Bowie and Alice Cooper there was Screamin' Jay Hawkings. If you haven't been introduced to the strange, strange world of Screamin' Jay, then this film is a good place to start. For the first time Screamin' Jay is shown as much more than just a gimmick, but as the original and flamboyant artist who invented "theatrical rock".

The film however is not just a straight rock-bio. Although it does have the familiar "rise and fall" factor (how an performer can go from playing concert halls one day to playing "All you can eat rib" joints the next), we also learn about how Jay's loyal following re-discovered him and tried to get him the recognition he deserved, (which he final finds in Greece and Europe).

Although it's a shame that there aren't many of Jay's 50's recordings played on the soundtrack, there still is same amazing live footage from the 50's to his final performances in 2000.

This film isn't just for the fans, it's a truly great look at a man who introduced theatre to rock much longer before it was acceptable or appreciated by the main-stream.