Bell Book and Candle (1958)

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

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Daniel Taradash (screenplay), John Van Druten (play)

Stars:

James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Stewart	...	Shepherd Henderson
Kim Novak	...	Gillian Holroyd
Jack Lemmon	...	Nicky Holroyd
Ernie Kovacs	...	Sidney Redlitch
Hermione Gingold	...	Bianca de Passe
Elsa Lanchester	...	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

Storyline

Gillian Holroyd is just your average, modern-day, witch, living in a New York apartment with her Siamese familiar, Pyewacket. But one day a handsome publisher, Shep Henderson walks into her building and Gillian decides she wants him--especially as it turns out he's marrying Merle Kittridge, an old poison penpal from Gillian's college days. So, Gillian casts a spell over Shep. But her powers are in danger of being exorcised by something stronger than the bell-book-and-candle routine: Love.

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Plot Keywords:

witch | enchantment | may december romance | romantic rivalry | witchcraft | 

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Taglines:

A bewitching comedy about an enchanting subject!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

19 December 1958 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Bell, Book and Candle

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Julian Blaustein Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was the inspiration for the television sitcom "Bewitched" starring Elizabeth Montgomery.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gillian 'Gil' Holroyd: Oh, Pye, Pye, Pyewacket. What's the matter with me? Why do I feel this way? It's such a rut. The same old thing day after day. Same old people. I know I'm feeling sorry for myself but it's true. Why don't you give me something for Christmas, Pye?
The Cat: Meow.
Gillian 'Gil' Holroyd: What would I like?
The Cat: Meow.
Gillian 'Gil' Holroyd: I'd like to do something different. I'd like to meet something different.

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Connections

Featured in To Die For (1995)

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Soundtracks

Stormy Weather
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by Ted Koehler
Performed by Jack Lemmon on drums with The Brothers Candoli, the band at the Zodiac Club

User Reviews

Puberty Catalyst

I researched this film a little and discovered a web site that claims it was actually an inside joke about the Post WWII Greenwich Village world of gays and lesbians. With the exception of Stewart and Novak, the warlocks and witches represented that alternative lifestyle. John Van Druten who wrote the stage play was apparently gay and very familiar with this Greenwich Village. I thought this was ironic because I first saw Bell, Book and Candle in the theater when I was in 5th or 6th grade just because my parents took me. It was hard to get me to a movie that didn't include horses, machine guns, or alien monsters and I planned on being bored. But, I remember the moment when Jimmy Stewart embraced Kim Novak on the top of the Flatiron building and flung his hat away while the camera followed it fluttering to the ground. As the glorious George Duning love theme soared, I suddenly got a sense of what it felt like to fall in love. The first stirrings of romantic/sexual love left me dazed as I left the theater. I am sure I'm not the only pre-adolescent boy who was seduced by Kim Novak's startling, direct gaze. It's ironic that a gay parable was able to jump-start heterosexual puberty in so many of us. I am in my late 50's now and re-watched the film yesterday evening and those same feelings stirred as I watched that hat touch down fifty years later . . .