Bell Book and Candle (1958)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

John Van Druten (play)
Daniel Taradash (screenplay)

Release Date:

January 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Fantasy

Tagline:

A bewitching comedy about an enchanting subject!

Plot:

A modern-day witch likes her neighbor but despises his fiancee, so she enchants him to love her instead... only to fall in love with him for real.

Plot Keywords:

Witch | Publisher | Neighbor | Spell | Crying

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

James Stewart	...	Shepherd 'Shep' Henderson
Kim Novak	...	Gillian 'Gil' Holroyd
Jack Lemmon	...	Nicky Holroyd
Ernie Kovacs	...	Sidney Redlitch
Hermione Gingold	...	Bianca de Passe
Elsa Lanchester	...	Aunt Queenie Holroyd
Janice Rule	...	Merle Kittridge
Philippe Clay	...	French Singer at the Zodiac Club
Bek Nelson	...	Tina - Shep's Secretary
Howard McNear	...	Andy White - Shep's Co-Publisher
The Brothers Candoli	...	Musicians at the Zodiac Club

Also Known As:

Bell, Book and Candle (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #19072) | USA:PG (TV rating) | Finland:S | UK:U | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Julian Blaustein Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Virtually all reviews use the original title of the play, "Bell, Book and Candle," instead of the title of the movie, which omits the comma.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the Zodiac Club, when the Candoli Brothers begin playing "Stormy Weather", the soundtrack features trumpets with cup mutes, but the performance on screen is without mutes.

Quotes:

Shepherd 'Shep' Henderson: She used a cat.
Parrot: Cat!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Jack Benny Program: Ernie Kovacs Show (#9.10)" (1959)

Soundtrack:

Stormy Weather

this is a great film

this is a wonderful film, makes the 1950'S look beautifully stylish. Kim Novak is intriguing and compelling as a modern-day witch with one foot in Manhattan and another in infinity. All the supporting performances are terrific, from Jack Lemmon as her bother Nicky to Ernie Kovacs as the author of Magic in Mexico who is working on Magic in Manghattan, to Elsa Lanchester as the slightly batty as well as witchy Aunt Queenie. And then there is the cat- I have no idea how many witches (besides me) have named a cat Pyewacket but suggest a zillion. Jmes Stewart looks out of place, but only just as much as his character is out of p;ace in this weird sub-world of magic and witchcraft. Perfect. And it has the perfect romantic happy ending, which we believe in because movies of this vintage do have those happy endings. Gillian and Shep certainly have as much chance to be happy ever after as Rose and Charlie Allnut in The African Queen (another great film)