Tuesday, April 21, 2009

I Married a Witch (1942).

The Scoop:
The eternally sexy Veronica Lake tries her hand at comedy (a big change of pace for her) with "I Married a Witch" and comes out a winner.

The spirits of a witch (Lake) and her father (Cecil Kellaway), burned at the stake in the 17th century, visit the 20th century to exact revenge on the descendant (Frederic March) of their persecutor (March again). Instead, the witch falls in love with the modern guy. This amusing little film with the feather-light touch of director René Clair flies by at a breezy 77 minutes. And it also served as the inspiration for the "Bewitched" television series 20 years later.

And all that would be enough to recommend this film. But it is raised a notch by Lake's presence and sex appeal, which prove that there was a lot more to her than just being a noir moll.

Best Line:
"'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?"

Side Note:
The production got uncredited help from Preston Sturges (who produced) and future blacklistee Dalton Trumbo (who co-wrote). However both men eventually left the production before it was finished.

Companion Viewing:
"Bewitched."

Links:
IMDb.

Take a Look:
She just won't take "no" for an answer:


They call it witchcraft...

1 comment:

Nomad said...

Whose the maid? She seems so familiar. Oh yeah... Mrs. Trumbull from I love Lucy! She was the complaining neighbor that fell in love with Little Ricky.