With Halloween fast approaching our minds are drawn to all things spooky, wicked and witchy. Who says that witches should be bent up old crones toiling over cauldrons and making potions with eyes of newts and the like?We have had our young glamorous witches, such as Elisabeth Montgomery in Bewitched in the past, however who can not forget the gorgeous Kim Novak in Bell Book and Candle whom I believed the creators of Bewitched based their Samantha on.
This is one of my all time favourite movies based on the stage name of the same name by John Van Druten. Starring Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart as the romantic leads with a host of others including Jack Lemon, Hermione Gingold, Elsa Lancaster and 19 Siamese cats who all played the witch’s familiar Pyewhacket, this is Witchcraft with the ultimate in Savoir Faire.
Kim Novak plays Gillian, a rather free spirited Greenwich Village witch who runs an art gallery for Primitive African art. After an initial chance meeting with Shep (Jimmy Stewart) she learns that Shep is to marry an old nemesis, and thus begins a rather intriguing plot where Gillian takes her revenge. Casting a love spell on Shep, she begins to fall for him herself. She must eventually make a stark choice, as witches who fall in love lose their supernatural powers. Gillian's cat and familiar, Pyewacket, becomes agitated and leaves her when she decides in Shep's favor. That is all I am going to reveal as this is a wonderful movie and I do not want to spoil it all.
There are some interesting side plots involving members of Gillian’s family that add to the whole movie on a lighthearted level.
For Savoir faire this cannot be beat. Kim Novak is wonderfully costumed by Jean Louis, and looks fabulous all throughout the movie, everything a modern day witch should look like. Also the movie gives a rather candid peek into New York in the 1950’s,especially around the emerging art scene located in the area.
So while not necessarily spooky in the Halloween sense, witches have never looked better! So for some Halloween Savoir Faire see the movie and enjoy.
