Bell, Book and Candle [Blu-ray]

Director: Richard Quine Richard Quine

Overview

John Van Druten's stage comedy Bell Book and Candle starred Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer on Broadway. The 1958 filmed version stars James Stewart and Kim Novak, fresh from their successful teaming in Hitchcock's Vertigo. Novak plays Gillian Holroyd, a genuine, bonafide witch. Falling in love with publisher Sheperd Henderson (Stewart), Gillian casts a spell on him, obliging him to dump his fiancee and rush to her side. All of this goes against the grain of Gillian's mentor Mrs. De Pass (Hermione Gingold), who does her best to counterract the love spell. Meanwhile, Gillian's wacky warlock brother Nicky (Jack Lemmon) courts disaster by coauthoring a book on black magic with pompous, bibulous novelist Sidney Redlitch (Ernie Kovacs).

Product Details

Release Date:	01/28/2020
UPC:	0043396564053
Original Release:	1958
Rating:	NR
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	17,468

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Stewart	Shepherd 'Shep' Henderson
Kim Novak	Gillian 'Gil' Holroyd
Jack Lemmon	Nicky Holroyd
Ernie Kovacs	Sidney Redlitch
Hermione Gingold	Bianca de Passe
Elsa Lanchester	Queenie
Janice Rule	Merle Kittridge
Philippe Clay	French Singer
Bek Nelson	Secretary
Howard McNear	Andy White
Wolfe Barzell	Proprietor
Joe Barry	Exterminator
Gail Bonney	Merle's Maid
Monty Ash	Herb Store Owner
Don Brodie	Cab Driver
James Lanphier	Waldo
Ollie O'Toole	Elevator Operator
John Truax	Cab Driver
George Duning	Composer

Technical Credits

Daniel Taradash

Richard Quine	Director
Daniel Taradash	Screenwriter
Julian Blaustein	Producer
Charles Nelson	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

The attitudes in this comic fantasy are very much those of a 1950s establishment mindset: Kim Novak's character loses her supernatural powers when she falls in love, and she doesn't mind losing her wiles if it means marriage and a placid domestic life with beau James Stewart. Nonetheless, the film has excellent production values, charismatic performances, and sprightly dialogue. It represented a change of pace for Novak and Stewart after their previous teaming, earlier that year, in the decidedly non-comic Vertigo. Much of the film's strength comes from their screen chemistry, though some of the witty sophistication of John Van Druten's stage play is lost in the translation to the big screen. Supporting performers Ernie Kovacs and Jack Lemmon have fine moments, as does Hermione Gingold.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam