Bell, Book and Candle (1958)

70% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
67% of users liked it
(5,515 ratings)

John Van Druten's stage comedy Bell Book and Candle starred Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer on Broadway. The 1958 filmed version stars James Stewart and Kim Novak, fresh from their successful teaming in Hitchcock's Vertigo. Novak plays Gillian Holroyd, a genuine, bonafide witch. Falling in love with… More John Van Druten's stage comedy Bell Book and Candle starred Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer on Broadway. The 1958 filmed version stars James Stewart and Kim Novak, fresh from their successful teaming in Hitchcock's Vertigo. Novak plays Gillian Holroyd, a genuine, bonafide witch. Falling in love with publisher Sheperd Henderson (Stewart), Gillian casts a spell on him, obliging him to dump his fiancee and rush to her side. All of this goes against the grain of Gillian's mentor Mrs. De Pass (Hermione Gingold), who does her best to counterract the love spell. Meanwhile, Gillian's wacky warlock brother Nicky (Jack Lemmon) courts disaster by coauthoring a book on black magic with pompous, bibulous novelist Sidney Redlitch (Ernie Kovacs). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Richard Quine
Written By: John Van Druten, Daniel Taradash
Genres: Romance, Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1958 Wide
On DVD: Mar 28, 2000
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
The airy Novak makes a strong impression, Stewart's comic chops remain in fine fettle, and the distinctive supporting cast can't be beat... [Blu-ray]
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Realizado no mesmo ano de Um Corpo que Cai, traz Stewart e Novak sem um pingo da intensidade exibida no longa de Hitchcock. E por mais que Lemmon seja divertido, o filme soa como um ensaio mal-sucedido de A Feiticeira.
Staci Layne Wilson, StaciWilson.com
Yep, I'm going to say it: Bewitching!
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Expert film version of the play with gay subtext for days.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...a pleasant diversion from much of the raunch that passes for humor today.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...a charming bit of whimsy.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Interesting idea ("there be witches among us!") given a weak treatment. Stewart and Novak, together again after Vertigo earlier in the same year, cannot overcome the 25 years of age difference between them this time given a script without substance. Lemmon refuses to let… More
Interesting idea ("there be witches among us!") given a weak treatment. Stewart and Novak, together again after Vertigo earlier in the same year, cannot overcome the 25 years of age difference between them this time given a script without substance. Lemmon refuses to let the material overcome him though, and the cat, one Pywacket by name, seems to fare well. Eventually developed into the old teevee series, Bewitched.
AJ V

This movie is so fun, and was probably the inspiration for the show Bewitched. It has a great cast too. The movie is pretty good, but it could've been better.
jay n

Enchanting comedy with a nice sense of whimsy. Jimmy and Kim are well matched and the supporting cast is perfect. The casting director was spot on the day they cast Elsa Lanchester, Hermione Gingold and Jack Lemmon, with his mischievious grin, as witches and warlock. Kim Novak was at… More
Enchanting comedy with a nice sense of whimsy. Jimmy and Kim are well matched and the supporting cast is perfect. The casting director was spot on the day they cast Elsa Lanchester, Hermione Gingold and Jack Lemmon, with his mischievious grin, as witches and warlock. Kim Novak was at the peak of her beauty here and her clothes not only compliment her character she looks amazing in them.
First L

A light romantic comedy with supernatural undertones starring the two leads from Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo"? "Bell, Book and Candle" comes off like a light-hearted "Rosemary's Baby" or an adult version of Harry Potter. Jimmy Stewart stars as… More
A light romantic comedy with supernatural undertones starring the two leads from Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo"? "Bell, Book and Candle" comes off like a light-hearted "Rosemary's Baby" or an adult version of Harry Potter. Jimmy Stewart stars as Shep, a book publisher living in a building full of witches (only he doesn't know they're witches). The pretty blonde witch, Gil (Kim Novak) decides she wants to use Shep as her personal love slave, and decides to seduce him away from his fiance (a girl who vexed her back in their school days). They all meet at christmas down in a cellar nightclub that's actually a haven for witches and warlocks. She casts a love spell on him and soon he's breaking off his engagement and pursuing the witch. Ernie Kovaks comes up from mexico as a novelist who specializes in books about witchcraft, and he explains that witches can't cry or blush, unless they fall in love, but then they lose all their power. It's a silly enough plot, but I read somewhere online that the nightclub and the witches and warlocks are all supposed to represent the homosexual community scene of Greenwich village in the late 50s. Whether this was the intention of the filmmakers or not, I don't know. There is, however, a lack of comedy here. There's just not alot of comedy here. It's a pleasant enough film though, and certainly enjoyable for what it is.
xGary X

Enjoyable old fashioned fantasy that reunites the stars of Vertigo in a far more light hearted way. Probably the inspiration for TV show Bewitched, it has similar wicca based laughs with great support from the legend that is Jack Lemmon.
Sunil J

Kim Novak really is magical in this movie. Funny and very cute.
Moe E

A stoic, older Jimmy Stewart is bewitched by a very sultry Kim Novak.