I MARRIED A WITCH
US, 1942, 82 minutes, Black and white.
Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Cecil Kellaway, Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward, Elizabeth Patterson, Robert Warwick.
Directed by Rene Clair.
I Married a Witch is a delightful fantasy from the World War Two period. It was directed by celebrated French director Rene Clair while in America in the early '40s. It takes up some history of New England, its history of witchcraft - and then turns it to good-humoured satire. Veronica Lake and Cecil Kellaway as her father are entertaining witches. Fredric March is a suitably stern New Englander, who is eventually mellowed by his love for a witch. Susan Hayward, early in her career, is imperious as March's fiancee. There are comic touches by Robert Benchley.
The film is done with delightful tongue-in-cheek style, a touch of Gallic humour blending with American satire.
1. An entertaining comedy? Fantasy? Satire? Delightful entertainment? Comment on the American way of life?
2. The film as a film of the early war years? Americana? Black and white photography? Periods? Contemporary style? for the ghosts? Musical score? Special effects?
3. The work of Rene Clair? His films in France? Reputation? Fantasy and the light touch?
4. America in the 17th century? Puritan society? The burning of witches? Fredric March and his hostility? The curse? The impact of the Puritans in the U.S.? The Puritan heritage - in the 20th century, in business, politics?
5. The portrait of the descendants over the decades and centuries: the family, the curse? Good witches and bad pomposity in flew England?
6. Fredric March and his style as hero? the family background, politics, his in-laws, his fiancee, the election campaign, the encounter with the witch, his infatuation with her, the accidents, home, his friends and advice, the servants, compromising situations, the media, public opinion, reaction? His falling in love? His being changed?
7. Veronica Lake as a witch: being burnt at the stake, surviving, her relationship with her father, their ethereal conversations? Over the centuries? Materialising? Causing mischief? Fantasy and comedy, effects? Falling in love, her antagonism towards the fiancee, compromising Wally, her coping with the situation, the humour about the drinking? The mysterious woman? The servants and their support? Falling in love, marrying - and becoming human?
8. Her father and his ghostliness, conversation, in the bottle, the drunk sequence? The change from the 17th to the 20th century? His reaction to his daughter, trying to save her?
9. Susan Hayward's haughty style as the fiancee, power and beauty, her family, her demands on Wally? Her come-uppance?
10. Robert Benchley and his comic style? Contribution as character? For humour?
11. American dilemmas: politics, career, love, romance? The happy ending? The resolving of the curse? The delightful, fantastic touch?
