Rating: 3.5/5
Criterion Challenge 2022 | 47/52 | Sean Baker’s Closet Picks
Long, long ago, when people still believed in witches…
1672 In the township of Roxford, a preacher stands before a heaping pile of ash, where he reads a condemnation from the book of exorcism, cursing the witch Jennifer and her warlock father, Daniel, to hell and damnation. He takes a brief intermission, during which a fellow walks the crowd selling popped maize. The man who condemned the two, puritanical pilgrim, Jonathan Wooley, confides in his mother the curse that Jennifer places on him—that he and all of his descendants will be unhappy in love, doomed to disastrous marriages until… Before he can finish, his fiancée, the dour Purity Sykes, chastises him for leaving her alone. Then, the preacher brings an oak tree, which he will plant over the two witches’ ashes to hold their evil spirits.
We watch the next 270 years as Wooley’s descendants marry cruel women and suffer for it.
1942 Wallace Wooley sits outside with his fiancée, Estelle Masterson, at a Roxford County Social Club party where he has announced his bid to run for governor. Wooley suspects his father-in-law-to-be, newspaper mogul J.B. Masterson, intends to use the marriage for political gain. Down the way, lightning strikes that old oak tree, freeing the spirits of Jennifer and Daniel.
'Twill be sweet to plague the human race again! […] 'Twould be nice to have lips—lips to whisper lies, lips to kiss a man and make him suffer.
Though only smokey spirits, they concoct a plan to conjure a human body for Jennifer, which she will use to torment and seduce Wallace. What torments a man more than his wife, if not a woman he cannot have? However, things may not go according to Jennifer’s plan.
The film is a lighthearted screwball comedy that whizzes by with terrific pacing and comedic timing. It has a decent practical and visual effects budget and pulls off some fun bits. While this movie didn’t lead to more like it, it did inspire the creation of the TV show Bewitched.
Of course, coming from this period, much of the humor has sexist undertones, especially with all the depictions of “shrew” wives. Thankfully, it doesn’t harp on that for too long, but it was enough to prevent a higher rating.
Veronica Lake is perfect as the faux-ditzy witch with a scheme. Her gowns are all stunning. She’s so charming!
Susan Hayward gets plenty of laughs as the “shrew” fiancée. Her best moments are her small bits of physical comedy and facial expressions.
I love the minor key wedding march motif in the opening credits!
The film is silly, but it packs a lot of fun into a small package.