I see that they are making a remake of this movie so I expect the original will be getting some publicity and more people will be introduced to it. Whimsical fantasy movies were popular in the 1940's and this is a fine example of that genre. French Director René Clair did a few fantasy films, The Ghost Goes West, that he made in the UK and It Happened Tomorrow, his other Hollwood fantasy flick. This film has a great cast in Veronica Lake, Fredric March, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway. This is one of Lake's best movies and a good comic vehicle for her. She only made a dozen movies as a leading lady but I always liked Veronica Lake and I like her here. Fredric March who was a great actor seems a little miscast in this. It seems like he's just going through the motions to get this filmed at times and there really is no great chemistry between him and Lake. Cecil Kellaway is perfect and turns in a fine performance as Lake's father. Susan Hayward like March seems far too serious in this movie. It's a good, fun story and I've always liked this movie. I would give this a 8.5 on a scale of 10 and definitely recommend this.
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johno-2127 February 2006
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AlsExGal24 September 2016I just love this little film that was probably the inspiration for "Bewitched", the 60s TV series. Planned before Pearl Harbor, and released after Pearl Harbor, it is probably just what American audiences needed. I feel that this is a great movie because it so perfectly embodies what a movie is meant to do: Entertain! There is no social commentary, political justice or ideological discourse. It is a: "park your troubles at the door" type of film which sweeps the viewer away into a world of whimsy.
In the 17th century two actual witches, father Daniel and daughter Jennifer, are burned at the stake by Jonathan Wooley. Before Jennifer dies she curses Jonathan and all of his male progeny by declaring they will all marry the wrong woman. After their death their spirits are trapped in a tree so they cannot rise from the dead and cause more mischief.
But mischief they cause via Jennifer's curse as one Wooley after another marries a shrewish bossy woman and we see all of them being ordered about. Wow, that was a great curse! Now we come to modern day - 1942 - and Wallace Wooley (Fredric March) is about to marry the daughter of his political backer, Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward). I found Hayward unrecognizable but she is great at playing the shrew. But alas, the night before their wedding the tree holding Jennifer and Daniel's spirits is struck by lightning and they are free! Jennifer says she wants a human body again, but Daniel says that requires fire, so they decide to burn down the Pilgrim Hotel. Jennifer gets a body (Veronica Lake), but the spell provides only the body - no clothes. Wallace rescues Jennifer from the burning hotel and since she has no ID, he takes her home and puts her in his bed to rest - still with no clothes. Now this would look great on the eve of his marriage and shortly before his election for a naked woman to be found in his bed - and she is.
Now Daniel is still without a body and has run into his own troubles with modern society. In the meantime Jennifer decides to punish Wallace by making him fall in love with her and crushing his heart. But these things never go right for the inexperienced witch without dad's supervision, and the fun just goes from there. From Jennifer accidentally taking the love potion meant for Wallace, to her casting a spell so that Wallace wins EVERY vote, to Daniel not liking his new son-in-law and being rather vicious about it.
Veronica Lake was great here in a role that did not require a lot of range. Many have criticized her acting over the years, but I have never seen her in a film where she came across as a ham. Fredric March is great as a guy with Puritan pilgrim blood in him. He really makes you believe he is the stodgy offspring of generations of Puritans.
As for the perfectly cast Cecil Kellaway as the easily distracted Daniel, all I can say is that I guess it is easier to have a witch as a father in law than as a mother in law (Agnes Moorhead as Endora in Bewitched). Mothers in law can be a much more severe and long term problem apparently. -
The summary line only applies to the film, however.
This movie was intended by the studio for Joel McCrea. After making Sullivan's Travels, McCrea informed the top brass that he could not make another film with Veronica Lake. The role instead went to Fredric March, who declared "I Married a Witch" the most horrendous experience he'd ever had. It should be added that McCrea did work with Lake again 5 years later, after he had time to heal.
I have no idea why these actors had problems with this tiny, beautiful woman. "I Married a Witch" is a delightful light comedy which I suppose is the basis for "Bewitched." Apparently these Salem witches cursed an entire family so that they would be unlucky in love, and the movie quickly takes us through the generations of miserable men (all March in assorted wigs) until it gets to the present when March, a gubernatorial candidate, is set to marry a human witch (Susan Hayward). When lightning strikes a tree which was grown over the ashes of burned witches, Lake and her father escape. She takes human form and March "saves" her from a fire (that her father started). Then she mistakenly drinks a potion intended for him, and the situation really takes off.
Lake was 23 when this film was made; March was 45, and McCrea, had he made the movie, was 37. The very dignified March made a great politician, as the character in this film is - but he comes off as too old to be marrying Hayward or getting involved with Lake. Yes, we all know it happens. But this type of film was not March's métier. Eight years younger and ever boyish, of course, McCrea was more suited to the role in looks and acting.
My favorite scene is the botched wedding in which the soprano has to sing the beginning of "I Love You Truly" over and over as Susan Hayward becomes increasingly outraged. It's a young Hayward, but all the feistiness and strength is apparent.
Cecil Kellaway is Lake's father, and he gives a fine performance. Although her costars may not have agreed, I found Lake funny and beautiful in this movie, and it's a shame the last years of her life were spent as they were. She had a lovely screen presence. -
gmonger14 May 2014This is Veronica Lake's best movie. She is the reason to watch this movie. It is a slower paced movie than today's comedies with a more subtle humor, sometime even a dry humor. I thought it was great. She is great. Veronica makes the movie , she is a great comedian, cuter than a button, and this is the best character she plays in her career. Talk about a great cast, Susan Hayward is hilarious as the bitchy fiancée. She is stunningly radiant in her opening scene in that white dress and both are a feast for the eyes.
The scenes of the re-staging of the wedding gets funnier and funnier, the angrier that she and her dad become. Veronica has a "beauty shot" ( a shot set up perfectly, almost as a still portrait and many times an establishing shot of that actor in the film, like Rita Hayworth flinging her hair back in Gilda or John Wayne, when the camera pulls up to a close-up in Stagecoach), that is one of the best ever. Later she is in a dress that you can see through, may be worth it just for that, and she is tiny and adorable throughout. Robert Benchley is a great comedian to play off of Frederick March, and Frederick is downright dashing and perfect for the part. The maid and Veronica's father are so important, as great character actors are, and shine in the few scenes they do.
This is one of the unknown great movies. Why it isn't as popular as, It happened One Night any Katherine Hepburn movie, or The Odd Couple type of movies is a mystery. Perhaps you may notice, that is the movies I will review to start, the great unknowns. Everyone knows about Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, Casablanca etc... I hope my reviews can interest you enough to go see these lesser known films. This is one of them. Veronica's best and one of the best comedies of all time. -
Nazi_Fighter_David23 July 2005Veronica Lake's fooling, charming, biting witch (released from the trunk of a tree by a freak lightning storm, she returns to upset the household and descendants of the man who had her burnt a few hundred years earlier) was a role that suited her to perfection: she was a spry, punchy little cockerel from Broolklyn breeding ground of other feisty spirits such as Clara Bow, Barbara Stanwyck, Mae West and Susan Hayward whose beauty hid brains, and whose brains worked fast to seize a chance and make the most of it... She also had an explosive temper which she unleashed on those bigger than she, in size and power, resulting of course in the destruction of her career But in her youth these qualities supplied her an electric current that switched a lot of people on
Veronica resented being known for her long blonde hair, but fame draws on strange things to single out one person for the attention of others: with Bette Davis it was acting; with Crawford it was staring; with Hayworth it was dancing and with Lake it was her silky hair But regardless of the gimmick that drew us to her, it was the unrepeatable quality within which made a star like Veronica Lake imitated and loved not for what she may have thought she could do, but for the fact that she was there to do it at all -
funkyfry15 October 2002Pleasing comedy fantasy. There are some moments where watching Lake perform is really nice -- I love the bitchy look and how she puts her arms out when she slams the door with her magic in anger. Lake plays a witch who accidentally casts a love spell on herself, and therfore ends up domesticating herself and adopting moral attitudes her warlock father is opposed to. Fun and slightly meaningful in the Sturges mold.
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ccthemovieman-124 October 2006This is a fairly humorous story with decent special effects, especially considering it was made over 40 years ago. The key ingredient for success in this film was Veronica Lake. She's known more for her peekaboo blonde locks and for starring with Alan Ladd in several hit movies, but Lake was a good comedienne, too.
Susan Hayward does well playing a snotty woman and Cecil Kellaway always plays an interesting character. Frederic March plays opposite Lake and I wish I hadn't read Lake's biography in which she explains how much she hated March. In made the love scenes lose a lot of impact when I learned how "forced" those scenes were.
Oh, well. It's still a nice, lightweight comedy, nothing special but entertaining for the most part.....but it helps to be a fan of Veronica Lake, which I am. -
jjnxn-15 May 2013Utterly entrancing comic fantasy with a captivating Veronica Lake.
The film is a light as air concoction directed by Rene Clair at breakneck speed which suits the material perfectly. The brief running time doesn't allow for any superfluous characters or dialogue and the film is cast with performers that make every second on screen count.
Robert Benchley is a scream as March's increasingly befuddled best friend while Elizabeth Patterson shows up doing the flustered housekeeper that she did so well. The only other two parts aside from the leads of any importance are filled by Cecil Kellaway as Veronica's father, a basically cruel character who he makes seem more impish than mean by the jaunty air he brings to the part. Then there's Susan Hayward, in a role that really moved her forward and one that she attacks with great relish, the beauty who would be a prize where she not a total shrew.
While all those players are excellent the two who make the picture great are the leads. They are a beguiling pair seemingly completely swept away with their adoration of each other. Their chemistry is delightful which is extraordinary since behind the scenes they openly loathed each other. Veronica was a complicated woman burdened with extreme psychological problems which led her to have a prickly personality and causing her to often have conflicts with both actors and crews. However in this case she was probably justified. March although a great actor was a notorious hot pants putting the make on anything that moved, when she rebuffed him he spent the remainder of the film treating her like dirt under his talented feet. She struck back by various methods probably the best being placing weights under her dress during a scene where he had to carry her repeatedly. Be that as it may both were too professional to allow their animosity to show on screen.
This is probably the best showcase Veronica ever had, This Gun for Hire is a close second, she is at all times seductive, alluring, humorous and seems to carry a gossamer glow with her wherever she goes. A pity she didn't have a chance to do more comedies during her brief heyday since she was so adept at them.
A gem of a film, see it! -
JamesHitchcock24 March 2012The Salem Witch Trials have long had a hold on the American imagination, possibly because they offer a potential riposte to the oft-heard European jibe that America is a new country with no history to speak of. ("Whaddya mean, Bud, no history? Listen, Bud, we Americans go so far back into the Middle Ages that at one time we used to burn witches!") The trials have given rise to a number of serious works of literature, such as Hawthorne's "The House of the Seven Gables" and Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", but they have also inspired some lighter offerings, such as television series like "Bewitched", "Charmed" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (which featured a cat named Salem).
"I Married a Witch" is an earlier example of using the witch trials as a source of comedy. In seventeenth century Salem a warlock named Daniel and his beautiful daughter Jennifer are denounced for witchcraft by a Puritan minister, Jonathan Wooley, and burned at the stake. In revenge, Jennifer places a curse Wooley and all his male descendants, who are doomed to make miserably unhappy marriages.
Years pass, and generation after generation the Wooley men marry women who make them miserable. Finally, in 1942, a bolt of lightning splits the tree beneath which Jennifer and Daniel have been buried, thus freeing their spirits. They discover that history is about to repeat itself again. Wallace Wooley, the latest scion of the clan and a politician running for the governorship of Massachusetts, is about to marry the domineering and bitchy Estelle Masterson. Things take a strange turn, however, when Jennifer falls in love with Wallace, much to the disgust of her father, who wants to use his unexpected freedom as an opportunity to wreak further vengeance on the Wooley family. (The film, with its theme of a witch falling in love with a mortal, was the inspiration for "Bewitched").
This was one of Veronica Lake's early star vehicles. Although only 19, she had shown earlier the same year in "This Gun for Hire" that she was a gifted actress in film noir, and in "I Married a Witch" she showed that she could also turn her hand to comedy, making Jennifer a delightfully playful and sexy heroine. Another noted Hollywood beauty, Susan Hayward, plays Estelle. It is notable that although Hayward was five years older than Lake, and a more experienced actress, she was cast in an unsympathetic supporting role while it was the younger girl who took the lead. In the long run, however, it was to be Hayward who proved the more durable; Lake's career was all but over by the end of the forties, whereas Hayward was to remain a leading lady throughout the fifties and into the sixties.
There is another good performance from Cecil Kellaway as the drunken old reprobate Daniel, but the weak link is Fredric March who makes Wallace too much of a stuffed shirt for the hero of a romantic comedy film. I was disappointed in his contribution to this film, as I had previously always admired his work; possibly comedy was not his forte. March had previously called Lake "a brainless little blonde sexpot, void of any acting ability", so it is hardly surprising that they did not get on with one another and that there is little chemistry between their characters. (The relationship between the two leads in this film reminded me of that between Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe in "The Prince and the Showgirl", another film where a middle-aged heavyweight actor dismissed his younger female co-star as a lightweight, only for her to prove herself more gifted at light comedy than him).
The film might have worked better with a younger leading man closer in age to Lake, although that might have entailed some rewriting of the script. (A twenty-something state governor is hardly plausible). The original choice for Wallace was Joel McCrea, but he turned the role down, having also fallen out with Lake on the set of "Sullivan's Travels". (Lake's fiery temper and her gift for making enemies were among the reasons why her career was to be a short one).
Overall, "I Married a Witch" is one of those forties comedies which still remains watchable today, largely because of an often humorous script and a vivacious leading lady. I felt, however, that it could have been better with a different leading man. 7/10 -
planktonrules19 July 2005Veronica Lake and Cecil Kellaway are witches who have been sealed up in a tree for about 300 years. They are NOT nice witches and are thrilled when a bolt of lightning shatters the tree and releases them to do evil! The first thing they want to do is destroy the descendants of the man who persecuted them during the witch trials. His most direct descendant is Frederick March and he is about to marry the woman he loves. So, Veronica plans on meeting him and placing a love potion in his drink so he becomes attracted to her instead--with the intention of then dumping him and leaving him miserable. Of course, being a comedy, she accidentally drinks the potion and falls head over heels for March! The acting is excellent (particularly Kellaway who is uncharacteristically EVIL in this movie) and the writing superb in the short little picture.
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AaronCapenBanner16 October 2013Rene Clair directed this clever comedy that stars Frederic March as several generations of the Wooley family, starting with Jonathan Wooley, who has condemned two witches named Daniel & Jennifer(played by Cecil Kellaway & Veronica Lake) who are father & daughter. Their spirits are trapped beneath a tree, but in 1942, are freed by a lightning strike, and resume their mischievous ways by tormenting the current Wooley, named Wallace, who is running for governor. The male Wooleys were cursed into marrying the wrong women, which is certainly the case for him, as he is marrying a newspaper publisher's daughter(played by Susan Hayward), a spoiled brat. Jennifer tricks Wallace into saving her from a hotel fire her father started, and plans to ruin him, but instead mistakenly drinks the love potion he was supposed to drink! Now in love with him, she tries desperately to save him from the curse and her vengeful father...
Veronica Lake was perfectly cast here, stunningly beautiful and alluring, aided by a witty script and effective direction. Just don't think about logic too much(it doesn't apply here!) -
PamelaShort21 September 2013Finally this priceless classic comedy is coming out on DVD. Veronica Lake is absolutely enchanting as Jennifer the playful, romantic witch. When I first watched this film, I was completely captivated by Lake's charming performance. This role seems to have brought out the best qualities of the very capable actress, and she easily steals the entire picture. It is a shame she wasn't offered more roles such as in this film, which showcases her versatility so well, for Veronica Lake certainly had a lot of witty comedic talent. Cecil Kellaway is equally entertaining as Jennifer's crafty warlock father. Robert Benchley adds his humorous touches. Susan Hayward performs perfectly as the snobby socialite, who impatiently waits for her flustered groom Fredric March who is continually being harassed and foiled by the beguiling blonde witch. Fredric March does his very best to keep up the pace, in the midst of the fast flowing antics. Rene Clair produced a rewarding comedy gem with I Married A Witch, a classic film that continues to reap much enjoyment. I highly recommend this movie for all Veronica Lake fans and for those just discovering the charms of the actress who enchanted audiences of the 1940s.
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rmax3048236 October 2010If you like the TV series "Bewitched," you'll like this whimsical Thorne Smith comedy because the TV series is a direct rip off.
Veronica Lake and Cecil Callaway are witches in colonial New England consigned to live inside a tree by the Wooley family of Puritans. They do what they can from their prison to make life miserable for the family over the centuries.
Released from the wood by a bolt of lightning, they assume human form and torment the latest member of the Wooley family, Frederic March, who is running for governor and is about to marry a society girl, Susan Hayward.
Complications ensue. Lake falls in love with March. Callaway is imprisoned in a bottle of brandy and stashed away forever, happily, in a locked cabinet. The witches have disrupted the marriage in a dozen ways and March finally falls for Lake. The two elope. It's a scandal and March will not be elected governor, except that Lake bewitches everyone in the state and he receives every vote. His opponent doesn't even vote for himself.
But in the end, Lake is forced to give up her supernatural powers and she and Governor March settle down to a happy bourgeois life with a couple of children, one of whom shows witchy tendencies.
In the 1920s and 30s Thorne Smith wrote a series of novels, including the Topper series, about ghosts, witches, and playful spirits. They were all cast from similar molds but were sometimes hilarious, in the understated and slightly patrician ways that other writers of the period -- S. J. Perelman, Robert Benchley, James Thurber, and E. B. White -- could be. But Smith pounded a lot of booze and died at 42. "I Married a Witch" is based on his last book, published posthumously.
I enjoyed his stories enormously when I was a kid. They were both funny and racy. But I read "Topper" again recently and found it a little repetitious and not quite so outrageous. Everything is more outrageous now than when I was a kid. Nobody rolls hoops or smokes corn silk behind the old barn anymore. Where did it all go? (Sob.) This movie, too, isn't as impressive now as it must have been when it was released. The special effects are of the period. The gags that might have been shocking then -- a girl in pajamas spends the night in a stranger's chaste bed -- are not only not shocking. They're not in the least amusing. I'm afraid culture has out-distanced both Smith and the films made from his work.
Not to suggest this is a complete loss. It has its moments. The performers are engaging, Lake is cuddly, and Benchley is funny. -
abooboo-21 November 1999This movie really lacks the whimsical charm of say "Topper" or "The Bishop's Wife". The lighting is murky and depressing - all wrong for this kind of film. Frederick March is just too sour and dour an actor for what's supposed to be a light-hearted romp. There are a few laughs and it does provide a showcase for the breathtakingly beautiful Veronica Lake, but the whole thing is too daffy and clunky to work as well as it should.
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Veronica Lake and Cecil Kellaway seem to get into the spirit of this whimsical comedy about witchcraft--while Fredric March (who reportedly disliked working with Lake whom he considered an inferior actress) does not come off well in comedy. Lake plays a witch whose ancestors burned her at the stake 300 years ago. March is engaged to Susan Hayward, but with the entry of Lake into his life, everything goes haywire. March is a gubernatorial candidate whose election to office is threatened by Lake's dexterity with broomstick magic.
Based on an unfinished novel by Thorne Smith (creator of "Topper"), the film emerges as a screwball romantic comedy well directed by Rene Clair and benefits from some good trick photography. The video print I have is on the murky side--I'm sure the original print featured better overall photography than the video version. With a cast that includes Robert Benchley among the supporting players, this is a comedy treat ideal for viewing on Halloween.
Warning: More enjoyable if the print quality is good! -
bkoganbing3 August 2006I Married a Witch was a good fantasy/comedy that could have been a great one if it were not for the fact that the leading man and lady couldn't stand each other.
Fredric March thought Veronica Lake was a no-talent studio creation and Lake thought March a would be rake who was put out because she wouldn't give him a tumble. Both to some extent were right.
March's peccadilloes have been reported on by a number of people. Doesn't take away from the fact he was a great player. It is clear though he wasn't really interested in the project and it shows in his performance.
In her memoirs Lake spoke very highly of Joel McCrea with whom she had worked well together in Sullivan's Travels and later in Ramrod. Also of Sonny Tufts who certainly had the New England Yankee background for this part. But March, she went on for several pages about how much she loathed him.
Lake and her father Cecil Kellaway are a pair of New England witches condemned and burned around 1670 and whose spirits become part of a tree. When lightning strikes around 1940 those spirits are freed to resume practicing their trade, specifically on Fredric March's family who denounced them back in the day.
As it turns out March is running for governor and when Lake gets a body she steals him away from his fiancé Susan Hayward. Through some manipulating of the votes when March looks like a sure loser, he wins by a miracle.
A joke that might be lost on today's viewers is the way Veronica Lake spins her magic on the state as the voters keep shouting 'we want Wooley' which is March's name, Wallace Wooley. Two years earlier, the American public heard through several ballots at the Republican convention in Philadelphia, Wendell Wilkie nominated for president with an incessant cry coming over the radio, 'We Want Wilkie'. Another example of mass psychology that's never really been duplicated.
Cecil Kellaway easily steal the film from the disinterested leads. He's at his best in the local jail, suffering from a hangover trying to remember any kind of spells that can help him. Rene Clair does the best he can with his feuding leads and maybe this would have been a classic if the two leads had at least liked each other.
It just occurred to me. Did George Bush become president in 2000 through witchcraft? Veronica Lake shows us its possible. -
HotToastyRag17 July 2018My goodness, what a silly movie! I can imagine it's fun for children or preteens to watch, but for grown-ups? It makes Sabrina the Teenage Witch seem as serious as Gone with the Wind. If you're in for a good laugh, go for it; just know what you're getting into.
Veronica Lake, a witch, and her father, Cecil Kellaway, have been tormenting a particular family since the Salem witch trials. In present day 1942, political candidate Fredric March is about to get married to Susan Hayward. Veronica transforms her smoky witch essence into a human body and uses her magical powers to distract Fred from his betrothed. Ruin his engagement and the curse will continue, she thinks. But when he resists and she accidentally drinks the love potion intended for him, hilarity ensues.
Well, for children it will be hilarious. But I found it rather silly, and it weren't for Fredric March, I probably would have turned it off. Veronica was a terrible actress, and I was never charmed by her trademark hairstyle. If you absolutely love movies about witches, try watching Bell Book and Candle instead. The plots are similar but it's much cuter, and the girl is infinitely prettier. -
Prismark1013 February 2014A satirical screwball comedy that pokes fun at political spin doctors of the time.
It starts out very much around the Massachusetts witch trials when a witch is burned at the stake. However she places a curse on her accusers that they will always find misery in love.
The witch aided by her despicable father returns in the present day as a beautiful woman (Veronica Lake). She plans to take revenge on the descendants of one of her accusers (Fredric March) who is about to get married and is also running for political office.
However in this comedy by Rene Clair, the curse goes awry and she ends up falling in love with him.
This is a charming film, rather risqué in places with sharp insights about politics.
Both March and Lake make the most of their roles as they have a topsy turvy relationship but Cecil Kellaway is the scene stealer as Lake's father who uses magic to cause mayhem. -
lilamendezes126 March 2017I have to say, I really enjoyed this film. Veronica Lake is funny and charming in a role that really showcases her skills as a comedienne- in my opinion, it's a shame she didn't get the chance to do more comedies, since film noir seems to be what she is best remembered for today.
Frederic March, although I like him as an actor in other films, is somewhat miscast here. He simply seems too old for the part of Veronica's love interest. However, I suppose it doesn't really matter who played Wally in the film- make no mistake about it, this is Veronica Lake's film, all the way. She's the driving force behind the film, March is just along for the ride.
The supporting cast is also great, especially Susan Hayward who is quite good as "the shrew." I also enjoyed seeing Elizabeth Patterson, Mrs. Trumball on "I Love Lucy", as March's long- suffering maid. -
gizmomogwai13 August 2012I saw Sullivan's Travels (1941) for the first time recently, and one of its most irresistible features was Veronica Lake, who played the street-smart, attractive "Girl," commanding attention in her every scene. In I Married a Witch she's front and centre again, this time as a playful, mischievous and exasperating witch named Jennifer. She appears impossibly care-free when protagonist Wallace Wooley tries to rescue her from a burning building, and is odd and attention-grabbing in telling strangers that she had no clothes prior to the fire. Wooley keeps trying to get rid of her only for her to keep appearing again and again. People see her with him in awkward positions. The scandal may cost Wooley an election- just like Charles Foster Kane, he is "exposed" as having an affair with the girl.
Jennifer soon falls in love with Wooley after drinking her own love potion. She magically gives him every vote in the election. (Indeed, it's kind of disturbing to see the democratic process subverted like that). Jennifer's sorcerer father also tries to make Wooley look like a murderer. Beyond dark moments like these, I Married a Witch is mainly light-hearted, colourful and often amusing. The film, mainly because of Lake, never lacks charm. -
aesgaard4117 June 2001I love this movie! It's mystically enchanting and irresistably charming. It's probably the greatest movie which Veronica Lake ever did, and probably one of the best classics to come out of the heyday of Hollywood.As captivating as Marilyn Monroe was to become,Lake is wonderfully demure and waif-like in her appearance, and Fredric March shows great range between befuddled and charmed by lake as she enraptures him. The movie's appeal lives on in the romances of Bewitched and Dark shadows !
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BandSAboutMovies25 April 2022Thorne Smith died before he could finish The Passionate Witch, which was completed by Norman H. Matson. Smith was a lifelong drinker who still turned out some incredibly popular books, like the first two Topper novels, which is a much sexier story than the movies that were made from it.
Director René Clair was looking for a new project and shared the book with Preston Sturges, who thought that it would be a good vehicle for Veronica Lake. Dalton Trumbo was signed to write the script, but the final film had numerous writers, including Robert Pirosh, Marc Connelly, André Rigaud and Clair.
Frederic March plays numerous members of the Wooley family, all of whom have been cursed by Jennifer (Lake) and her father Daniel (Cecil Kellaway), who were burned at the stake for witchcraft. Before death, Jennifer has cursed the Wooleys to all marry the wrong woman for all time.
Hundreds of years later, lightning splits the tree where their ashes were buried, freeing them to continue to haunt the Wooleys, this time in the form of Wallace, who is running for governor and about to marry the rich and spoiled Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward). The trouble is that she soon falls in love with Wallace, causing no small matter of scandal, as his would-be father-in-law J. B. Masterson (Robert Warick) is funding his political campaign.
Obviously the inspiration for Bewitched, this movie succeeds because of Lake, who was as charming and hilarious as she was gorgeous. Here's how weird Hollywood is. During World War II, Lake changed her trademark peek-a-boo hairstyle -- which covered one eye -- at the urging of the government, as they wanted to encourage the women working in factories to have safer hairstyles. Her career never recovered to the same level of fame she had before the hairstyle switch.
By 1951, on the verge of a nervous breakdown and bankruptcy, Lake ran away, left her husband and flew alone to New York. In 1969 she told the New York Times, "They said, "She'll be back in a couple of months." Well I never returned. Enough was enough already. Did I want to be one of the walking dead or a real person?"
She was arrested more than once for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct while living far from her famous past in the all-women's Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan, working as a waitress in a cocktail lounge as Connie de Toth. She lived in the Bahamas, did summer stock, wrote an autobiography -- in which she said that she wasn't a sex symbol but instead a sex zombie -- and made Flesh Feast before dying of acute hepatitis and acute kidney injury, the result of years of drinking.
She deserved better. This film is glorious and magical proof.
Leslie Caron, an actress who knew Clair, said that he spoke with affection when remembering Lake, saying "The trouble with her is she didn't have confidence in herself. Nothing could convince her that she was beautiful. It was a fight every morning to get her to face the camera." -
pipster10130 May 2001After reading many film books such as the Hurrell one and "The image makers" I had really started to wonder about Veronica Lake. Having never seen any of her films I really wanted to see her in something...and to be honest to see if she was as gorgeous as in her photo's. Not being available in the UK my flat-mate picked me up a copy of this on a shopping-trip to NY.
Well-what can I say?! Veronica is more than I ever expected, BUT I really DO like the film too. I think it's funny, just the right length and the story has a certain charm and warmth to it that just leaves me smiling. Other viewers have complained about the darkness of it due to the film quality, but I find the beginning vaguely similar to Whale's Frankenstein. Okay, the start and indeed the whole film are slightly silly, but that's its naive charm. Lake has this naughty but loveable air about her that bounds around the screen - I love it and her! I'm really glad I own it, can't wait to both watch it again and see Veronica in something else... -
classicsoncall9 September 2018I wonder how many guys who pick up this film are inspired by the title and how it might apply to their own situation. Now, now, it's just a thought that crossed my mind, let's not get carried away.
This was my first glimpse of Veronica Lake in a comedy role and she made it work quite nicely. She's every bit as sultry as her portrayals in "This Gun For Hire" and "The Blue Dahlia", and was a worthy successor to Jean Harlow as a talented comic actress. Too bad she was paired against Fredric March in this light comedy, as their chemistry wasn't readily apparent, due in no small measure to their real life discord. I tried picturing Cary Grant in the Wooley role but he would have towered over Lake. Don't laugh, but Bob Hope might have been a good choice to go opposite Lake in this one. He became a legitimate leading man in 1939's "The Cat and the Canary" with Paulette Goddard, and did a nice job opposite Martha Raye in "Never Say Die". So it might have worked.
Anyway, you have a quickly paced story here with a curious premise, as a fifteenth century witch (Lake) and her father (Cecil Kellaway) return to life after being imprisoned in the roots of a tree and set free by a lightning strike. The Wooley curse backfires when a potion designed to make gubernatorial candidate Wallace Wooley (March) fall in love with Jennifer has the opposite effect when she drinks the potion instead. Some of what occurs in the story does come across as rather nonsensical, but things move along in a whimsical vein with humor provided by Kellaway and Robert Benchley as Dudley White, Wooley's flustered campaign manager. The actress who got the short end of the stick here was Susan Hayward, cast as Wooley's bride to be and then ditched at the altar, but with her mean spirited temper and overbearing father (Robert Warwick), she's easily overlooked in the proceedings. -
Uriah435 October 2018Having been tried and convicted for practicing witchcraft in the 17th Century, a warlock by the name of "Daniel" (Cecil Kellaway) and his daughter "Jennifer" (Veronica Lake) are summarily executed. However, right before they are put to death Daniel casts a spell on the descendants of the lead prosecutor named "Jonathan Wooley" (Fredric March) which causes misery to every marriage each male enters into for the rest of time. Not only that, but upon being put to death the spirits of both Daniel and Jennifer escape into a nearby tree from which will supposedly imprison them for all time. But this all changes 200 years later when lightning strikes the tree and releases their spirits back into the world of the living-and the first place Daniel and Veronica go is to the house of a man named "Wallace Wooley" (also played by Fredric March) who is a direct descendent of Jonathan Wooley-and he is soon to be married to a woman named "Estelle Masterson" (Susan Hayward). Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, although it may have been somewhat popular when it was initially released, I didn't think it aged very well and for a comedy I didn't find much humor in it either. For those reasons I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.