It's October which means things can be spooky....or not:) in Canada we will be celebrating a thanksgiving this weekend. This means we overeat, see family we can only wish to see once a year and don't do much else. Thankfully, my hubby and I decided to just be home with each other and enjoy a nice turkey dinner. This week it's all about Witches and Warlocks which I love, mainly in comedy and, in fact, one of my favourite T.V. shows is Bewitched. Don't we all wish we could do what Samantha and Endora could do. Darrin was a real fudge actually and wanted his wife home in the kitchen.... I 'd be turning him into a chimp as well. So here are my three picks and, to see what the others have chosen, head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to enjoy more picks.
1. I MARRIED A WITCH-1942
I always liked this film despite Veronica Lake and her hair(peek-a-boo). It is sweet yet has a sense of the spookiness about it. It's all about a witch and her warlock dad who are burned at the stake by the head of the town and buried under a tree to keep their spirits captive. They condemn the head of the town and all his male descendants to marry very bad women. Now we are brought to present day and the witch and her warlock dad are released from the Tree when lightening strikes it. They meet the descendant of the man, who condemned them from way back when, and the witch wants to get even. Somehow she ends up drinking a love potion and falls for him. Mayhem ensues when she loses her powers and her dad is not at all happy with his daughter. This film was one of the inspirations for Bewitched. It is fun, bewitching and funny.
2. BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE-1958
This Stars James Stewart, my favourite actor, as a publisher who becomes involved with a witch played by the lavender blonde, Kim Novak. She is enchanted by him and decides to use a love potion on him but doesn't think that she would actually fall for him which she does. It is a fun movie which was also another inspiration for Bewitched. I love the cat in this movie and Jack Lemmon plays the warlock brother to Kim Novak. A fun film that is quite the romance as well.
3. PRACTICAL MAGIC- 1998
This is not an amazing film but it's one that I can watch over and over for some reason. It stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as 2 sisters who love each other even though they are very different from one another. Sandra is the goody two shoes and Nicole is the bad ass who gets involved with the wrong guy. There is a curse they must deal with which has any man they fall in love with die. That must be a bummer for the man. It is nicely acted and funny in parts with a really nice town I would love to visit...if it exists. It is a nice entertaining film that doesn't require much thought but is fun to watch.
Must include...
Can you think of a warlock or witch movie?
My first pick would be The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. But if you want to go old school, how about Suspiria? Now there's a really creepy film for you.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen either but they are now on my list
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll be the first to shout The Witches of Eastwick as a recommended witch movie.
Strangely, as much as I love witches, I never saw any of your featured films. I have a framed collection of vintage horror movie posters on my wall and one of my favorites is Flesh Feast (1970), the last picture Veronica Lake made:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/68/96/66/6896661a73cdbe50f8fb59e0699b1cda.jpg
I think I have expressed this before, but I was one of the few who didn't think Kim Novak was particularly attractive or sexy. James Stewart is probably my favorite actor, too.
I love Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman and would like to see Practical Magic.
Dick York was the definitive Darrin Stephens! :)
Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend BB!
poor messed up Veronica Lake ending up in a film called Flesh Feast. It sounds like those films I would enjoy though. Kim Novak seemed best with jimmy..I think he brought out the best in her. Dick York was excellent! He is the Darrin for me, Dick Sargeant always seemed a bit too pissed off and Samantha always looked scared of him.
DeletePractical Magic is the only one I've seen, I really liked that movie when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteI find it a fun movie and light-hearted.
DeleteI haven't seen any of these but I've been meaning to watch Practical Magic because I'm a huge fan of Sandra Bullock, and it doesn't sound that bad. The other two, however, sound more interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe other 2 are great and Practical magic is fun
DeleteI haven't heard of any of these movies. I liked Bewitched when I was growing up. Celebrating the holidays with just immediate family is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteBetty
Bewitched is so much fun and my favourite show growing up. I just bought the DVD boxed set
DeleteWOW we match two out of three and have the same extra!!! I adore I Married a Witch and Veronica Lake. She had such a short time at the top but having seen the majority of her films now she really was undervalued at the time. She was apparently a difficult woman behind the scenes, plagued it turns out with an untreated bipolar disorder, and so Paramount put her in projects of rapidly diminishing quality which ruined her career. But in her early batch of films, This Gun for Hire, Sullivan's Travels, The Glass Key, this and a few others she's luminous. If you can find it her autobiography called simply "Veronica" is a very good read.
ReplyDeleteBell, Book and Candle is a charmer and so perfect for Kim Novak, it was originally set to star Jennifer Jones who would have been a disaster with her awkward, stilted acting style. Love both Elsa Lanchester and Jack Lemmon in it.
Haven't seen Practical Magic.
I had intended to use The Wicker Man today but it got such heavy play last week I plucked it out and substituted my third pick which I watched especially.
I Married a Witch (1942)-Condemned to being burned at the stake along with her father 17th century witch Jennifer (Veronica Lake) puts a curse on her accuser Jonathan Wooley (Fredric March) that he and all his descendants will marry the wrong women. Their spirits captured in a tree they’re unexpectedly freed 250 years later to discover the curse is still working with the latest Wooley (also March) engaged to marry a shrew (Susan Hayward). Full of mischief and revenge the troublemaking duo decide to raise even more of a ruckus by way of a love potion but complications ensue. Supported by an excellent cast the two leads make the picture, their extraordinary chemistry remarkable since behind the scenes each bitterly hated the other. You’d never guess from what’s on screen, they seem completely swept away. A light as air concoction directed at breakneck speed.
Bell, Book and Candle (1958)-Modern day witch Gillian (Kim Novak) and her cat Pyewacket, live in 50’s Greenwich Village along with her Aunt Queenie (Elsa Lanchester) and impish cousin Nicky (Jack Lemmon). She meets publisher Shep (James Stewart) and on a lark, partly because he seems immune to her and partly because Shep is engaged to her old college rival Merle (Janice Rule), she decides to make him hers by casting a love spell. Trouble starts brewing though when Gillian finds herself actually falling for Shep. That’s more than a little problem since Gill will lose her powers if she falls in love with a human. What to do? The film suits Kim’s languid style and she looks a million.
Black Sunday (1960)-In the diametric opposite of I Married a Witch cult star Barbara Steel is Asa, a 16th century high priestess of Satan executed, along with several of her followers, by having a spiked mask hammered into her face. As punishment is meted out she vows vengeance of her accusers returning 200 years hence to inhabit the body of her doppelganger and reap bloody retribution. Trendsetting Italian Gothic horror movie is loaded with atmosphere and style though short on actual frights, excepting those opening scenes, but is permeated with creepy dread.
Unmissable Bonus-Bewitched (1964-1972)-Beautiful blonde Samantha Stevens lives on Morning Glory Circle in quaint Westport with her often exasperated adman husband Darrin and their adorable kids Tabatha and Adam, plus nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz, while her zany, often difficult family drop in frequently unannounced causing no end of troubles. Big troubles too since Samantha and all her relatives are witches who strongly disapprove of her marriage to a mere mortal. A monster TV hit in its day with a cast full of expert comic actors chief among them Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha/and her swingin’ cousin Serena, Agnes Moorehead as her firebrand of a mother Endora, Paul Lynde as jokester Uncle Arthur and Marion Lorne as the befuddled Aunt Clara this is often considered a subtle metaphor for interracial marriage at a time when that was causing much upheaval.
Look how much we matched! Poor Veronica was a real mess and, I think, even if she did have the right meds, she would have been a handle to deal with. Yes March and her hated each other with a passion and i think that passion shows on screen. Novak, I think, appeared best when paired with Jimmy Stewart because he brought out the best in her. Did you see her at the Oscars...AAAAGGHH! Scary. Leave it to Barbara Steele to be in all these flesh horror films that always were a bit eerie and bosomy. Bewitched. the series, is one of my favourites and I loved the first 5 the most because of Dick York and Elizabeth's chemistry. I loved Aunt Clara and Uncle Arthur. It's amazing how many cast changes occurred on the show without any question and how they never did..or couldn't deal with the death of the people like Marion Lorne or the great Agnes Pierce (Gladys Kravitz)
DeleteI think so much of Veronica Lake's troubles were tied to that bipolar disorder and the shame associated with such things at the time, and had it been treated she would have lived a much happier life. She had actually been diagnosed with what was then called manic depression in her teens but her mother refused to have it treated out of the embarrassment it would cause the family and kept the knowledge of it from her daughter for years. Later when the pressure of sudden fame started to get to Lake she began to self medicate with alcohol and by the time she found out the actual problem it was too late and she was a hopeless alcoholic which would lead to her death. She unfortunately also had terrible taste in men and all of her husbands were dreadful men, all the worse since she had several children all of whom she was estranged from at the time of her death. A very sad story.
DeleteI'm in complete agreement that Dick York was the better Darrin. He and Elizabeth Montgomery had a sexy chemistry that she and Dick Sargent couldn't approach. Loved the entire cast, not just Sam's relatives but the Kravitzs and Darrin's parents, Mabel Albertson was perfect as his human witch of a mother but I have a special place in my heart for Endora, Serena and particularly the endearing Aunt Clara-the only one of Samantha's relations that Darrin liked and who liked him.
You are so right about Veronica Lake and how she never got the right treatment...in so many ways. Often, women, with bi-polar disorder and just lack of self esteem pick the wrong man. She also dies too young and she really was quite the beauty. I enjoyed her in this film, Sullivan's Travels, and the films she made with Alan Ladd. I loved Mabel's answer, "Frank, I'm getting a sick headache" . When mi would see Dick Sargeant kiss Elizabeth, he always moved his head back and forth and I always wondered why. I bet he was uncomfortable kissing her because, not only was she a Friend but he was gay and it was not normal for him to kiss a woman...it was unnatural for him to do so. I also loved Larry Tate.
DeleteMy first thought was The Witches of Eastwick. Then, The Wizard of Oz. Loved Bewitched when it was on TV. I've seen B,B and C but neither of the others.
ReplyDeleteI almost picked Witches of Eastwick but I never liked that movie. Wizard of Oz is perfect and never even came into my head for some reason.
DeleteLOVE Bell Book and Candle (what a cast!), but haven't seen the other two. I Married a Witch is on my list, though. I ADORE Veronica Lake!
ReplyDeleteVeronica is really good in this film. Hope you see it.
DeleteThe only thing from Practical Magic I remember is the rhyme, witch witch you're a umm you know. Bewitched was a fun show indeed.
ReplyDeleteBewitched is a very fun show and wish I could twitch my nose.
DeleteI was an even bigger fan of Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha than I was of Barbara Eden as Jeannie. And luckily for me, Bewitched started getting a bit sexier as I entered adolescence.
ReplyDeleteI always loved Bewitched more and Elizabeth Montgomery was a stunner.
DeleteI know what you mean about Practical Magic. I can watch that over and over and over again. I've never seen the first one, I think. It doesn't look familiar. (Get it? Familiar?)
ReplyDeleteYup...got it:) pussy cats are often with the witches.
DeleteHappy Thanksgiving!!!!
ReplyDeleteSame to you...my hubby made a wonderful turkey
DeleteI love the way Kim Novac talks in that dreamy bewitching voice of hers. She lures Shep right in whos actually hooked up with another woman, Merle. It weakness isnt it? He just hadn't a chance. I don't think I could resist Novacs advances but then being a witch she has the upper hand.
ReplyDeleteShe does have the upper hand but she was a looker n her day
DeleteLike just about everybody else I loved Bewitched! Endora was always infuriating and Aunt Clara was a dear.
ReplyDeleteEndora was a great character and how I love Aunt Clara
DeleteI Married A Witch looks like fun:)
ReplyDeleteIt is a lot of fun even though Frederic March and Veronica Lake hated each other off screen, it shows passion in their acting.
DeleteHocus Pocus, The Witches of Eastwick, The Blair Witch Project, Rosemary's Baby, The Wizard of Oz--I'm all witchy and bitchy today. I've seen your first two choices. When I was in middle school, a teacher told me I looked like Veronica Lake. I didn't know who she was, but when I found out . . . I assure you I bear no resemblance to Veronica Lake. James Stewart is my favorite actor, too.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Yes you have picked a great many films! I have to see some of these still.
DeleteLooks like the best ones have been mentioned. I'll throw The Craft out there.
ReplyDeleteOthers have picked Ten Craft as well.
DeleteOMG, you and Joel must be related. In other words, the only thing I've seen here is the Bewitched TV show. Thinking seriously about taking a look at I Married a Witch.
ReplyDeleteI know! Joel and I were definitely on the same wavelength this week. I hope you give that movie a try.
DeleteI like the sound of BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE, has a cracking cast list.
ReplyDeleteIt does have a great list and it s. Fun film.
DeleteI Married a Witch sounds cute. I'd like to see that one. When I was a kid I came across Bell, Book and Candle on TV and it spooked chicken me so I have yet to see it. You almost have me convinced that I can handle it now. After all I did see Practical Magic and liked it, mostly because of Aidan Quinn.
ReplyDeleteI think you can handle BELL, Book and Candle since Jimmy Stewart is in it and Jack Lemmon is a great comedian. I hope you give it a try.
DeleteThese are all new to me. Might have to check out the first two, especially Bell, Book, and Candle because of Jimmy Stewart. Practical Magic might not be my cup of tea, but it is spooky how Sandra Bullock practically looks the exact same today as she did 20 years ago... OOOOoooOOOOooo...
ReplyDeleteShe hasn't really aged so maybe she is a witch...
DeleteI absolutely loved watching Bewitched as a child and used to fantasise that I could make things happen by the mere twitch of my nose! Thanks for bringing back some great childhood memories, Birgit.
ReplyDeleteSusan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Glad you have great memories. I too would day dream about being able to travel to Europe for lunch or go through walls.
DeleteHahahaha love that Bewitched theme tune - used to watch that when I was younger and I was confused as to why no one at school knew what I was talking about.
ReplyDeleteNot seen the first two picks but the james stewart one has caught my interest.
I love that theme song...sounds so sophisticated.
DeleteBewitched is still one of my favorite shows. I wanted to twitch my nose just like Samantha. I still try sometimes. :)
ReplyDeleteI can watch Practical Magic over and over again too. Just something about it. The others are new to me and I will have to check them out.
~Jess
Hoe you can check out those films. Wouldn't it be great to twitch ones' nose and be able to fly somewhere.
DeleteBell and Book was fun:) Jimmy Stewart has got to be one of the best actors ever!
ReplyDeleteJimmy Stewart is the best:)
DeleteHow about Throne of Blood?
ReplyDeleteI don't know that film so will have to look it up.
DeleteBIRGIT ~
ReplyDeleteWell, this theme is way outta my wheelhouse. But of course I'll go with (again) 'THE WIZARD OF OZ'.
And I'll also go with the movies 'CLINTON CASH' and 'HILLARY'S AMERICA: The Secret History Of The Democratic Party'.
Uhm. ...Oh, wait. Is that "Witches"?
I thought it said "Bitches".
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
You are such a bad boy:) despite the bad crap she may have done or did do, I'd take her over Trump who is a narcissist and just a horrible person. Too bad it isn't Cruz vs Sanders.
DeleteTrump never had any human beings murdered. The Clintons... have you seen the list?
DeleteDid you know Hellary withheld military support for the Americans in Benghazi so that they would be (deliberately) killed there, and then lying, she blamed it on an anti-Muslim video? And then later said, "What difference, at this point, does it make?"
On a scale of 1 to 100, in terms of evil, Trump is at 25 and Hellary Clinton is at 125.
Cruz was working for the International Banking establishment and Sanders is a pure Marxist.
But YOU DO KNOW MOVIES!!! (The politics you can leave to me.)
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Yes..I have heard of these things which is horrible to say the least but Trump is still worse in my mind but, regardless, I love your passion and your beliefs because you hold on to them and you never sway which is rare. I truly respect that.
DeleteYay to Practical Magic. And you too mention Bewitched...love that show too.
ReplyDelete