I Married a Witch (1942)

A beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.

Director:

René Clair

Writers:

Robert Pirosh (screen play), Marc Connelly (screen play),

Stars:

Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Robert Benchley

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fredric March	...	Jonathan Wooley / Nathaniel Wooley / Samuel Wooley / Wallace Wooley
Veronica Lake	...	Jennifer
Robert Benchley	...	Dr. Dudley White
Susan Hayward	...	Estelle Masterson
Cecil Kellaway	...	Daniel
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Margaret
Robert Warwick	...	J.B. Masterson

Storyline

In 1672, two witches (Jennifer and her father Daniel) were burned by puritan Jonathan Wooley. In revenge, Jennifer cursed all future generations of the Wooley family, that the sons will always marry the wrong woman and be miserable. In the 20th century, a bolt of lightning frees Jennifer and her father from the tree that had kept their souls imprisoned. Jennifer assumes corporeal form and decides to make up-and-coming politician Wallace Wooley, then unhappily engaged, even more miserable by getting him to fall in love with her before his wedding. Wallace is a straight arrow, though, and Jennifer has to resort to a love potion. As we all know, love potions tend to backfire, with comedic results.

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Plot Keywords:

potion | puritan | wedding | tree | revenge | 

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Taglines:

She's a witch (and we do mean witch) who gets what she wants with hex appeal!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Me casé con una bruja

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rene Clair Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several cast members listed in studio records did not appear in the movie. These were (with their character names): Reed Hadley (Young Man), Jan Buckingham (Young Woman), Florence Gill (Woman Playing Chess) and Walter Soderling (Man Playing Chess).

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Goofs

The film opens with a scene of Puritans in the Massachusetts colony burning witches. No-one was ever burned for witchcraft in America. The accused witches of Salem, Massachusetts, and its environs were hanged, with the exception of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death with rocks.

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Quotes

Jennifer: 'Twould be nice to have lips... lips to whisper lies... lips to kiss man and make him suffer. Father, why cannot I have lips, and eyes, and hair?

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Connections

Referenced in Un, dos, tres, al escondite inglés (1970)

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Soundtracks

"The Battle Cry of Freedom"
(1862) (uncredited)
Music by George Frederick Root
In the score at the start of the 1861 scene

User Reviews

Haunt Me, Please Haunt Me!!

I'm sure there are many women just as beautiful as Veronica Lake. I'm sure there were, and will be, directors as gifted as Rene Clair. And I'm sure there are Irish mischief makers as amusing as Cecil Kellaway. And politicians as stuffy and pompous as Frederic March. But the combination here in this wonderful fluff is without equal.

Some Hollywood ace, befuddled and benumbed on a steady diet of coke and guacamole, has decided to remake this amazing film. Perhaps we will be shown a flash of real naked witch. But it will never be as sensual as the imagined view of Lake, as she appears in a smoke-filled hotel room. Perhaps in the re-make we will be shown the two characters locked together in a passionate embrace. But it will never equal what we imagine as we see the two ascend the stairs in this wonderful original.

It's not that Hollywood is doomed to produce banality in this new century; it's just that they seem to like it. There are very few films as good as I Married A Witch and there are very few directors who can call on studios like Paramount to supply them with gifted artists and craft persons to equal this witty and wonderful confection. Why even Susan Hayward, who did well with her strident image of bitchiness, is just right here. I suspect that new generations of filmgoers will never see this lovely film, for it is now OOP - out of print. But the horror of it all is I suspect those who made the new film never bothered to screen the old one, being convinced that they had nothing to learn about the craft of cinema.

That they were wrong becomes more obvious as the distance between the old and the new is measured in financial disaster. Perhaps next they might try to remake Sous Les Toits de Paris.