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BELL BOOK AND CANDLE
The 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle is a darkly delicious romantic comedy that still enchants effortlessly due to a clever and original story, solid production values, and a terrific cast.
This is the story of Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak) a witch who resides in 1958 Manhattan who is feeling restless about her life until she meets Shepherd Henderson (James Stewart), a soon to be married book publisher who lives in her apartment building. Gillian's attraction to Shepherd is so swift and so immediate that she decides to cast a spell on him in order to make him fall in love with her, but her plan becomes complicated by an alcoholic writer obsessed with witchcraft (Ernie Kovacks) and Gillian's warlock brother, Nicky (Jack Lemmon) whose own agendas could put a permanent dent in Gillian's plan.
It's been documented that this film was one of the inspirations for Sol Saks when he created the ABC sitcom Bewitched, but Daniel Taradash's intricate screenplay (based on a play by John Van Druten) goes several places where the sitcom never did. In this story, Gillian and Shepherd only get together because of Gillian's spell, which is further fueled by Gillian's long dormant rivalry with Shep's fiancee, Merle (Janice Rule). On the television show Darrin and Samantha fall in love with each other completely unaided by witchcraft. Samantha doesn't confess about who she is until their wedding night. Here, this reviewer found mixed emotions about what is happening here because it initially seems wrong for Gillian to get what she wants through witchcraft and we're wondering whether or not this character is supposed to be sympathetic and for the first third of the film, she isn't...as a matter of fact, the Gillian character made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I felt like that wasn't really the intention.
That's why Taradash's screenplay is so effective, because it allows the viewer to form their own opinion about what Gillian is doing even though we realize that the only way we really want these two characters to be together is without outside influence. I also love the way certain things attributed to witches, such as the inability to cry, blush, or float are integrated into the story giving this story an added layer that Bewitched never had.
Richard Quine's direction is detail-oriented and imaginative, utilizing some effective location Big Apple photography and some stunning art direction/set direction to help tell this special story. I loved Gillian's shop and the Zodiac Club, the witches' jazz hangout where Nicky plays the bongos, but I couldn't help wondering, considering the stars and subject matter, what an amazing film this could have been under the direction of Hitchcock, but this is probably Quine's best work. A big bouquet is also owed to George Duning's terrific music score.
James Stewart and Kim Novak proved that the chemistry they created in Vertigo was no fluke...though having never been a big fan of either, I have rarely enjoyed the two of them onscreen more. My first exposure to the comic genius of Ernie Kovacs was pure pleasure and, as he always did, Lemmon made every moment he had onscreen as Nicky count. Nicky and Elsa Lanchester's Aunt Queenie definitely conjured images of Bewitched's Uncle Arthur and Aunt Clara. Also loved the fabulous Janice Rule as Shepherd's snooty fiancee. A true film classic that lived up to its reputation.
The 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle is a darkly delicious romantic comedy that still enchants effortlessly due to a clever and original story, solid production values, and a terrific cast.
This is the story of Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak) a witch who resides in 1958 Manhattan who is feeling restless about her life until she meets Shepherd Henderson (James Stewart), a soon to be married book publisher who lives in her apartment building. Gillian's attraction to Shepherd is so swift and so immediate that she decides to cast a spell on him in order to make him fall in love with her, but her plan becomes complicated by an alcoholic writer obsessed with witchcraft (Ernie Kovacks) and Gillian's warlock brother, Nicky (Jack Lemmon) whose own agendas could put a permanent dent in Gillian's plan.
It's been documented that this film was one of the inspirations for Sol Saks when he created the ABC sitcom Bewitched, but Daniel Taradash's intricate screenplay (based on a play by John Van Druten) goes several places where the sitcom never did. In this story, Gillian and Shepherd only get together because of Gillian's spell, which is further fueled by Gillian's long dormant rivalry with Shep's fiancee, Merle (Janice Rule). On the television show Darrin and Samantha fall in love with each other completely unaided by witchcraft. Samantha doesn't confess about who she is until their wedding night. Here, this reviewer found mixed emotions about what is happening here because it initially seems wrong for Gillian to get what she wants through witchcraft and we're wondering whether or not this character is supposed to be sympathetic and for the first third of the film, she isn't...as a matter of fact, the Gillian character made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I felt like that wasn't really the intention.
That's why Taradash's screenplay is so effective, because it allows the viewer to form their own opinion about what Gillian is doing even though we realize that the only way we really want these two characters to be together is without outside influence. I also love the way certain things attributed to witches, such as the inability to cry, blush, or float are integrated into the story giving this story an added layer that Bewitched never had.
Richard Quine's direction is detail-oriented and imaginative, utilizing some effective location Big Apple photography and some stunning art direction/set direction to help tell this special story. I loved Gillian's shop and the Zodiac Club, the witches' jazz hangout where Nicky plays the bongos, but I couldn't help wondering, considering the stars and subject matter, what an amazing film this could have been under the direction of Hitchcock, but this is probably Quine's best work. A big bouquet is also owed to George Duning's terrific music score.
James Stewart and Kim Novak proved that the chemistry they created in Vertigo was no fluke...though having never been a big fan of either, I have rarely enjoyed the two of them onscreen more. My first exposure to the comic genius of Ernie Kovacs was pure pleasure and, as he always did, Lemmon made every moment he had onscreen as Nicky count. Nicky and Elsa Lanchester's Aunt Queenie definitely conjured images of Bewitched's Uncle Arthur and Aunt Clara. Also loved the fabulous Janice Rule as Shepherd's snooty fiancee. A true film classic that lived up to its reputation.