WINTER OF THE WITCH is one of my favorite movies from childhood. Along with a wide array of films aimed at children such as JOHN & JULIE (1955), THE RED BALLOON (1956), THE FIVE Chinese BROTHERS (1958), THE DOUGHNUTS (1963), RED LIGHT / GREENLIGHT - MEETING STRANGERS (1965), MR. HORATIO KNIBBLES (1971), and ANGEL AND BIG JOE (1975), this was a regular short shown on 16mm at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Plainfield, NJ during the 1970's.
CONTAINS SPOILERS: A film adaptation of OLD BLACK WITCH by Wende and Harry Devlin and narrated by Burgess Meredith, WINTER OF THE WITCH is about a woman (Anna Strasberg) and her son Nicky (Roger Morgan) who leave their city apartment for a home in the country. They stop at a real estate agent who sells them a house he is desperate to unload for $400. They purchase the house sight-unseen and when they arrive at their new home they discover the reason behind the inexplicably low selling price: the attic houses an amicable old witch who has a recipe for making magic pancakes. The pancakes have the power to make people happy, as evidenced by the psychedelic freeze-frame on the faces of those who have just consumed a bite, accompanied by wacky music. The movie is corny to be sure, and smacks of the "make love, not war" 1960's Zeitgeist. But, it's great for young children.
I have fond memories of seeing these films, although I could have done without ME AND YOU, KANGAROO (1974), CLOWN (1969), and THE ANIMALS ARE CRYING (1971). They were traumatic to a young child.
I have been looking for the following three movies for as long as I can remember, and if anyone has any information on them, such as a title or a known place to purchase them, please email me at: consumer237 at yahoo dot com:
CONTAINS SPOILERS: A film adaptation of OLD BLACK WITCH by Wende and Harry Devlin and narrated by Burgess Meredith, WINTER OF THE WITCH is about a woman (Anna Strasberg) and her son Nicky (Roger Morgan) who leave their city apartment for a home in the country. They stop at a real estate agent who sells them a house he is desperate to unload for $400. They purchase the house sight-unseen and when they arrive at their new home they discover the reason behind the inexplicably low selling price: the attic houses an amicable old witch who has a recipe for making magic pancakes. The pancakes have the power to make people happy, as evidenced by the psychedelic freeze-frame on the faces of those who have just consumed a bite, accompanied by wacky music. The movie is corny to be sure, and smacks of the "make love, not war" 1960's Zeitgeist. But, it's great for young children.
I have fond memories of seeing these films, although I could have done without ME AND YOU, KANGAROO (1974), CLOWN (1969), and THE ANIMALS ARE CRYING (1971). They were traumatic to a young child.
I have been looking for the following three movies for as long as I can remember, and if anyone has any information on them, such as a title or a known place to purchase them, please email me at: consumer237 at yahoo dot com:
- UNKNOWN TITLE, live action: I want to say that this film is European and was made in either the 1960's or 1970's. A young boy gets a brown teddy bear for Christmas and is disappointed because instead he wanted a white teddy bear. He takes the bear with him on a train ride and tells the bear that he wants the white one instead. He gets to the North Pole and asks Santa for a white teddy bear, and when Santa gives it to him, he is told that he has to hand over the brown teddy bear. He can only have one. He leaves, and the brown teddy bear is seen at the end with a tear in his eye as the boy goes home without him. This film is not animated.
- UNKNOWN TITLE, stop-motion animation: A film about two germs that live in a person's mouth and they wreak havoc on the person's teeth - the film was made to point out the dangers of not brushing one's teeth. I saw this circa 1977.
- UNKNOWN TITLE, cartoon - a man commits a crime and his punishment is to cut four branches off of a tree. He laughs at this prospect, but soon realizes that the branches keep regrowing and he must cut off the branches for eternity without stopping. Might be based on a Greek tale - sounds a little like Sisyphus perhaps? I saw this about 1978.