Kids and Classics Series- Bell Book and Candle!

You may think of this as a Halloween movie, but it’s also a Christmas movie! Now I know what you’re thinking.. Bell Book and Candle, a Christmas movie? Well, sort of. It did come out on Christmas Day in 1958 and the holiday is within the movie even though it’s a story about witches.

Synopsis:
Gillian, a witch, decides to make the fiancee of old college classmate, Merle, fall in love with her as a sort of revenge for Merle’s treatment of her. It works well until Gillian falls in love with him.

The Players:

Kim Novak
What a bombshell sexpot she is in this movie! This has to be my favorite character that she’s played. She’s strong, funny and plays it so well! Gillian is such a great part too…a witch, who it turns out, has a heart!

Jimmy Stewart
Jimmy thought he was too old to play another love interest. This was the last time he did so. He turned 50 during the filming of this movie while Kim was just 25. It seems ridiculous that they were that far apart in age because they work for me in this movie. They also had a great friendship off the set and Kim has spoken of him fondly.

Cary Grant apparently really wanted this role, but lost out to Jimmy.

Jack Lemmon
Jack has a supporting role as Gillian’s brother, Nicky. This was just a year before his awesome performance in Some Like It Hot.

This French singer, Philippe Clay, is just awesome.

Why you should check it out:
This is a great, albeit nontraditional, sort of Christmas/Halloween movie. Great performances by Kim Novak, Jimmy Stewart and Jack Lemmon. It’s a fun movie that shows how powerful love can truly be..it can steal the powers of witches.

What’s in it for kids?

My daughter was sold on watching it because of the kitty! Animals are always a hit!