I Married a Witch is a
fantasyFantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap....
romantic comedy filmRomantic comedy films are movies with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles...
, directed by
René ClairRené Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
, and starring
Veronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model who enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, as well as her peek-a-boo hairstyle.-Early life and career:Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie...
as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Frederic March as her foil. The film also features
Robert BenchleyRobert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
,
Susan HaywardSusan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 in the hope of playing the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
and
Cecil KellawayCecil Kellaway , born in Cape Town, South Africa, was a character actor.Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned...
. The screenplay by
Robert PiroshRobert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and director.-Background:Pirosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the Baltimore City College highschool in 1928. Pirosh began his film career in 1934 as a junior writer for MGM, working with fellow newcomer George Seaton...
and
Marc ConnellyMarcus Cook Connelly was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930.-Biography:...
and uncredited other writers, including
Dalton TrumboDalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.- Career :Trumbo...
, is based on the novel
The Passionate Witch by
Thorne SmithJames Thorne Smith Jr. , was an American writer of humorous supernaturnal fantasy fiction.Best known today for his creation of Topper, Smith's comic fantasy fiction sold millions of copies in the early 1930s...
, who died before he could finish it; it was completed by Norman Matson and published in 1941.Many believe that this along the later movie is a partial inspiration for the ABC TV Series
BewitchedBewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York , Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead and David White. It is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban housewife...
.
I Married a Witch is a
fantasyFantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap....
romantic comedy filmRomantic comedy films are movies with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles...
, directed by
René ClairRené Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
, and starring
Veronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model who enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, as well as her peek-a-boo hairstyle.-Early life and career:Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie...
as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Frederic March as her foil. The film also features
Robert BenchleyRobert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
,
Susan HaywardSusan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 in the hope of playing the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
and
Cecil KellawayCecil Kellaway , born in Cape Town, South Africa, was a character actor.Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned...
. The screenplay by
Robert PiroshRobert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and director.-Background:Pirosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the Baltimore City College highschool in 1928. Pirosh began his film career in 1934 as a junior writer for MGM, working with fellow newcomer George Seaton...
and
Marc ConnellyMarcus Cook Connelly was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930.-Biography:...
and uncredited other writers, including
Dalton TrumboDalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.- Career :Trumbo...
, is based on the novel
The Passionate Witch by
Thorne SmithJames Thorne Smith Jr. , was an American writer of humorous supernaturnal fantasy fiction.Best known today for his creation of Topper, Smith's comic fantasy fiction sold millions of copies in the early 1930s...
, who died before he could finish it; it was completed by Norman Matson and published in 1941.Many believe that this along the later movie is a partial inspiration for the ABC TV Series
BewitchedBewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York , Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead and David White. It is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban housewife...
. Bewitched was a fantasy-comedy loosely based on the feature films
I Married a WitchI Married a Witch is a fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Frederic March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway...
and
Bell, Book, and CandleThe phrase "bell, book, and candle" refers to an archaic method of excommunication for one who had committed a particularly grievous sin. Apparently introduced around the late 9th century, the practice was once used by the Roman Catholic Church...
which dealt with the problems that arise when a mortal man marries a beautiful witch.
Plot
Two
witches in colonial SalemThe Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in Essex, Suffolk and Middlesex counties of colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
, Jennifer (
Veronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model who enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, as well as her peek-a-boo hairstyle.-Early life and career:Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie...
) and her father Daniel (
Cecil KellawayCecil Kellaway , born in Cape Town, South Africa, was a character actor.Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned...
), are burned at the stake after being denounced by
PuritanA Puritan of 16th and 17th-century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant...
Jonathan Wooley (
Fredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and in 1946 for The Best Years of Our Lives.-Early life:...
) and their ashes buried beneath a tree to imprison their evil spirits. In revenge, Jennifer curses Wooley and all his male descendants - they are doomed to always marry the wrong person.
Centuries pass. Unfortunate Wooley males - each played by March - are shown marrying shrewish women, generation after generation. Finally, lightning splits the tree, freeing the spirits of Jennifer and Daniel. They discover Wallace Wooley (March again), living nearby and running for governor, on the eve of marrying the ambitious Estelle Masterson (
Susan HaywardSusan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 in the hope of playing the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
), whose father just happens to be Wooley's chief political backer.
Initially, Jennifer and Daniel manifest themselves as white vertical smoky 'trails', occasionally hiding in empty (or sometimes not-so-empty) bottles of alcohol. Jennifer persuades her father to create a human body for her so she can torment the latest Wooley. He needs a fire to perform the spell, so he burns down a building (appropriately enough, the Pilgrim Hotel). This serves a dual purposes, as Jennifer uses it to get the passing Wallace to rescue her from the flames.
Jennifer tries hard to seduce Wallace without magic, but though he is strongly attracted to her, he refuses to put off his marriage. She concocts a
love potionLove potion may refer to:* A type of potion designed to create feelings of love such as an aphrodisiac* Lappish Hag's Love Potion, an alcoholic drink* The Love Potion, a painting...
, but her scheme goes awry when a painting falls on her; Wallace revives her by giving her the drink she had intended for him.
Jennifer's father conjures himself a body. Then he and Jennifer crash the wedding, though they are at cross purposes. Daniel hates all Wooleys and tries to prevent his daughter from helping one of them. His attempts at interference land him in jail, too drunk to remember the spell to turn Wallace into a frog. Meanwhile, Estelle finds the couple embracing and the wedding is called off. Her outraged father promises to denounce the candidate in all his newspapers.
Wallace finally admits that he loves Jennifer, and they elope.
Jennifer then works overtime with her witchcraft to rescue her new husband's political career. She conjures up little clouds of brainwashing white smoke that "convince" every voter to support Wallace, and he is elected in a landslide, where even his opponent doesn't vote for himself. The unanimous vote for him convinces Wallace that she is a witch. In disgust, Daniel strips his daughter of her magical powers, and vows to return her to the tree that imprisoned them.
In a panic, the Jennifer interrupts Wallace's victory speech, imploring him to help her escape. Unfortunately, the taxi they get into to get away is driven by her father, who takes them in an airborne ride back to the tree. At the stroke of midnight, Wallace is left with Jennifer's lifeless body, while two plumes of smoke watch. Before they return to the tree, Jennifer asks to watch Wallace's torment. While Daniel gloats, Jennifer reclaims her body, explaining to Wallace, "Love is stronger than witchcraft." She alertly puts the top back on the bottle of liquor her father is hiding in, keeping him drunk and powerless. The movie concludes years later, after Wallace and Jennifer have children, where the housekeeper enters to complain about their youngest daughter, who enters riding a broom.
Cast
- Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and in 1946 for The Best Years of Our Lives.-Early life:...
as Jonathan/Nathaniel/Samuel and Wallace Wooley
- Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model who enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, as well as her peek-a-boo hairstyle.-Early life and career:Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie...
as Jennifer
- Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Kellaway , born in Cape Town, South Africa, was a character actor.Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned...
as Daniel
- Susan Hayward
Susan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 in the hope of playing the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
as Estelle Masterson
- Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
as Dr. Dudley White, Wooley's friend
- Elizabeth Patterson
Elizabeth Patterson was an American film and television character actress remembered for her portrayal of elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on I Love Lucy....
as Margaret, Wooley's housekeeper
- Robert Warwick
Robert Warwick was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances.-Early life and career:...
as J.B. Masterson
Cast notes:
- Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated screenwriter and film director born in Chicago....
served as producer on this film, until he left due to artistic differences with the director, and some regular members of his unofficial "stock company" of character actors appear in it, including Al BridgeAl Bridge was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between and . Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy moustache....
, Chester ConklinChester Cooper Conklin was an American comedian and actor. He appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent era.-Early life:...
, Robert GreigRobert Greig was an Australian-American actor who appeared in over 100 films between and , usually as the dutiful butler.-Career:...
, Esther HowardEsther Howard was a film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in over 100 movies in her 23-year film career.-Career:...
, Charles R. MooreCharles R. Moore was an African-American actor who appeared in over 100 films in his acting career, and was sometimes credited as Charles Moore or Charlie Moore Moore played small parts such as servants, bootblacks, elevator operators, menial laborers, and, especially, railroad porters and...
, Emory ParnellEmory Parnell was an American vaudevillian and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36 year career. Nicknamed "The Big Swede", Parnell was married to Effie Laird, and they had two children together, one of whom, James Parnell, also became an actor.Parnell trained as a musician at...
and Robert Warwick.
Production
I Married a Witch was produced by
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
, and had the working title of
He Married a Witch. Director
Rene ClairRené Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
was looking for a new project after his first American film,
The Flame of New OrleansThe Flame of New Orleans is a romantic comedy film directed by René Clair. It was nominated an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by Martin Obzina, Jack Otterson and Russell A. Gausman...
and his agent sent him a copy of
The Passionate Witch. Clair took it to
Preston SturgesPreston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated screenwriter and film director born in Chicago....
, then in favor at Paramount, who convinced Clair and the studio that it would be a good vehicle for Veronica Lake, with Sturges as producer.
A number of writers contributed to the script, including
Dalton TrumboDalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.- Career :Trumbo...
who left the project after clashing with Sturges. Sturges himself left the film before it was completed due to artistic differences with director Rene Clair, and did not want to receive a screen credit. Clair, who also contributed to the dialogue, apparently worked closely with writer
Robert PiroshRobert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and director.-Background:Pirosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the Baltimore City College highschool in 1928. Pirosh began his film career in 1934 as a junior writer for MGM, working with fellow newcomer George Seaton...
.
Joel McCreaJoel Albert McCrea, was an American actor and film star whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
was originally slated to play the male lead, but declined because he did not want to work with Veronica Lake again, after not getting along with her on
Sullivan's TravelsSullivan's Travels is a American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It is a satire about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that comedies are his more valuable contribution to society. The film features one...
. March and Lake also had problems, beginning with March's pre-production comment that Lake was ""a brainless little blonde sexpot, void of any acting ability", to which Lake retaliated by calling March a "pompous poseur". Things did not get much better during filming, as Lake was prone to playing practical jokes on March, like hiding a 40-pound weight under her dress for a scene in which March had to carry her, or pushing her foot repeatedly into his groin during the filming of a from-the-waist-up shot.
Patricia MorrisonPatricia Morrison is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She worked with The Bags, The Gun Club, The Sisters of Mercy, and The Damned.-Biography:...
was considered for the role of Estelle, and
Walter AbelWalter Abel was an American stage and film character actor.Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in Forbidden in 1919...
for Dudley.
Margaret HayesMargaret Hayes was an American film and television actressBorn in Baltimore, Maryland, she is perhaps best known for her role as Lois Judby Hammond in the film Blackboard Jungle...
was considered for the film as well, and was screentested.
I Married a Witch was in production from 15 April through 27 May , and was one of a number of films sold by Paramount to
United ArtistsUnited Artists Entertainment LLC is an American film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company...
in September, when UA did not have enough and Paramount had a surplus. The film was released by UA on 30 October that year. It was marketed with the tagline, among others:
She's a witch (and we do mean witch) who gets what she wants with hex appeal! The movie was released on video in the U.S. on July 18 .
One historical inaccuracy is that no one accused of witchcraft was ever burned in Massachusetts; they were generally hanged, though one was pressed to death by rocks during his trial.
Awards and honors
I Married a Witch was nominated for a 1943 Academy Award for "Best Music (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture" for composer
Roy WebbRoy Webb was a film music composer.Webb has hundreds of composing credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures, and while most of the movies he scored were fairly light in content, he is today best known for his dark horror and film noir scores...
.