BELL, BOOK & CANDLE

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: themes of witchcraft

Rated:

Around the same time Jimmy Stewart played a man obsessed with the memory of a woman in Vertigo, he appeared with the same costar in Bell, Book and Candle. Once again, he is fascinated by a character played by Kim Novak ... but it's her Novak time that is pulling the romantic strings! (Well, her and an enchanting Siamese cat by the name of Pyewacket...)

There is nothing more Gillian (Novak) wants than to be seen as normal. Her life running a small shop on the lower floor of an apartment building is full of meaningless nothings, and the single interesting aspect of her day is every evening when her upstairs neighbor, Shep Henderson (Stewart) passes by after a long day at his publishing house. Her only true companion is her sleek cat named Pyewacket. It seems an ordinary existence ... except for the fact that Gillian and her aunt Queenie (Elsa Lanchester) and even her brother Nicky (Jack Lemmon) are all witches... or warlocks, in Nicky's case. They tamper with love spells, open locked doors without keys, and spend most of their evenings with the rest of their kind at the club known as the Zodiac. 

Gillian wants her upstairs neighbor to fall in love with her without the use of magic, but she cannot help using it when she learns that Henderson is engaged to her arch-nemesis from former days at boarding school. Her love spell causes him to fall head over heels for her, but if it's one thing witches cannot do, it's learn to love back. The film is rather sweet and clever and even at times amusing, for it follows the antics of two very different people caught up in the same madcap situation. 

Stewart and Novak have surprisingly chemistry despite the difference in their ages, and it was a delight for me to see them interact, flirt, and fight as most couples are prone to doing when magical mayhem is involved. I must also comment on the remarkable animal training that must have been involved behind the scenes. Pyewacket hangs over Gillian's shoulder like a fur collar, purring loudly, leaping lightly to and from different pieces of furniture, and even disturbs Henderson once or twice with his antics. It may be the most charming feline I've seen in a film since That Darn Cat became so popular a number of years later.

There is not much actual content but there is a heavy use of magic, or as the characters call it, "witchcraft" involved in the film. Gillian uses Pyewacket to cast her spells -- this is done by either holding him and focusing his attention on what she wants (Henderson, for example) while humming an enchanting little melody, or by staring into his eyes for long periods of time. Nicky puts out streetlights with a wave of his hand, or turns their bulbs blue for a bit of fun. Queenie enchants doors open. When Henderson learns he has been bewitched, he goes to another witch to have the spell removed, and is forced to sit with a shawl around his shoulders and drink some foul-looking goop. Green fire spits from an urn when Gillian and the others perform a summoning spell. Various characters act without knowing the reason why.

Audiences uncomfortable with any use of magic at all might find it spiritually troubling, but fans of Bewitched, which it is rumored was inspired by this film and the Broadway production on which it is based, will enjoy it. If you are wondering about the title, it refers to an old excommunication ritual of the Catholic church: "Ring the bell, close the book, quench the candle."