Bitten by Devils, a film made by evangelist Lester Sumrall nearly 50 years ago.
Lester went all the way to the Phillippines to find a devil possessed young woman. Heck, I've seen a few at the local Wal-Mart! The actress is referred to in the brochure as a "comely Visayan maiden whose experiences in prison triggered medico-religious investigations and front-page news."
Could Lester act as well as he cures and preaches? I think so, as he is shown here twisting the comely young woman's neck into salvation.
Lester received his evangelistic training from Smith Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth? THAT bodes well for my story.
Several years after filming this apparent "documentary" of a woman possessed by the devil, or rather multiple devils, Lester obtained a permit to broadcast sermons on the radio. That didn't seem to convince enough folks into believing the devil had teeth. So he obtained the first license for a 24-hour Christian television network. 24 HOURS a day!
How the hell do you fill 24 hours a day with religious programming? They didn't..sometimes they showed Bozo, My Three Sons and Tennessee Tuxedo.
The station still exists, thus being the "longest continuously-operated Christian television station in the nation." I hope their sound engineer does better work than the promotional clip for Lester's films below.
Lester met his maker in 1996, but like all of us, his website lives on digitally. In the unfortunate last chapter "Good-bye Planet Earth" Lester assumes God had the time to "give a smooth transition for my successors" as he waves from the door of a small airplane.
A list of Lester's books follows. I am not sure if these prices are current.
Bitten by Devils Souvenir Pictorial by Lester Sumrall 1966 Collection Jim Linderman
See also OLD TIME RELIGION the BOOK (Faith Healers, Miracle Men, Radio Preachers and Evangelists! Graphics of Revival, the Apocalypse and the Afterlife) HERE on Blurb.com
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Lester Sumrall was the mentor for Rod Parsley, so clearly his legacy goes on.
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