Bell, Book and Candle

Bell, Book and Candle (1958)

Getting here is half the fun...

Gillian Holroyd, a modern-day witch, becomes smitten with her handsome upstairs neighbor, Shep Henderson. Using her magical powers, she casts a love spell on him, only to face unexpected complications when genuine feelings emerge, threatening her supernatural abilities.

Date of release
1958-12-25
TMDB
6.6 / 10 (267)
Runtime
1h 46m
Genres
Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Director
Richard Quine

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 0 · Nominations: 2

Bell, Book and Candle is a 1958 American supernatural romantic comedy film directed by Richard Quine from a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1950 Broadway play by John Van Druten and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, and Ernie Kovacs. Novak portrays a witch who casts a spell on her neighbor, played by Stewart. The supporting cast features Lemmon, Kovacs, Hermione Gingold, Elsa Lanchester, and Janice Rule. The film is considered Stewart's final role as a romantic lead.

Production

David O. Selznick purchased the rights to Van Druten's play in 1953, planning to cast his wife, Jennifer Jones, in the part of Gil. At the urging of Daniel Taradash and Julian Blaustein, Columbia purchased the property from Selznick in 1956.

Taradash, who had adapted From Here to Eternity (1953) for Columbia with great success, augmented the story slightly by incorporating characters who are only names in the play (notably Mrs. De Pass, and Shep's fiancée Merle) and expanding the action to locations beyond Gil's apartment.

For the lead roles, Taradash and Blaustein hoped to get Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer, who had starred in the play, but Columbia chief Harry Cohn decided on Kim Novak for the female lead. Novak was on loan to Paramount making Vertigo and the scheduling conflict put Harrison out of consideration as well.

Early in 1957, producers also launched a somewhat promotional search for Siamese cats to play Pyewacket. According to one release, as many as 12 cats were needed to perform the number of stunts in the film. The primary cat used for the role in close-ups was owned by animal trainer Frank Inn, who reportedly gave the cat to Novak when he saw she'd formed a close bond with him.

Production began on February 3, 1958, and was completed on April 7.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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