Bell, Book, and Candle Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
After teaming memorably in Alfred Hitchcock's haunting Vertigo, James Stewart and Kim Novak are together again in the whimsical Bell Book and Candle (1958), a spellbinding romantic comedy directed by Richard Quine and based on John Van Druten’s Broadway hit. Stewart plays a New York publisher entranced by a mysteriously bewitching young woman (Novak); mesmerizing supporting performances by the likes of Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold, Elsa Lanchester, and Janice Rule lend quirky comic charm to the proceedings. Cinematographer James Wong Howe gives us a glamorous vision of Manhattan, enhanced by George Duning’s sophisticated score (available here as an isolated track).
One has to assume Sol Saks must have been deeply affected by Bell, Book and Candle when he must have
seen it in 1958, though it
took the longtime television and occasional film writer a half decade or so to gestate the experience into what would
become his lasting
trademark, the long running Elizabeth Montgomery sitcom Bewitched. Like Bewitched, Bell, Book and
Candle posits a modern
day witch working her wiles on a befuddled mortal male, ultimately deciding to give up her crafty ways to settle down to
a seemingly normal
existence. Of course the major difference is that Bewitched depicted what happened after that
momentous decision (and,
truth be told, Samantha Stephens continued to twitch her nose with abandon despite her promises to husband Darrin
not to), while Bell,
Book and Candle spends its time leading up to that decision. The film was based on a moderately
successful Broadway play by
John Van Druten, and when Columbia optioned it for film adaptation, there was little question who would play the
female lead: Columbia's
somewhat brainier answer to Fox's Marilyn Monroe, one Kim Novak, who by the vagaries of the film industry would end
up co-starring with
James Stewart in two 1958 films released within months of each other, this one and Alfred Hitchcock's legendary
Vertigo. In fact the
two films ended up with Novak and Stewart as co-stars due to a prearranged trade whereby Columbia would loan
Novak to Hitchcock while
Stewart agreed to come on board Bell, Book and Candle. The film, like the play, was moderately successful in its
day, but it seemed
to disappear under the somewhat formidable reputation cast by the Hitchcock opus, which still remains the film most
people think of when
confronted by the combined names of Kim Novak and James Stewart. While there was never much public uproar about
the film's plot
utilizing modern day witchcraft (unlike brouhahas caused later by everything from Rosemary's Baby to the
Harry Potter
franchise), there may have been some slight general unease at the occult subtext of the film, something distinctly at
odds with the uptight
and circumscribed Eisenhower Era.
Novak portrays free spirited Greenwich Village shop owner Gillian Holroyd, whose ground floor store also serves as her
apartment. Living overhead on the building's second floor is the Stewart character, successful publisher Shep
Henderson. Living over him on the building's third floor is Gillian's dotty Aunt (sort of an analog to
Bewitched's Aunt Clara), Queenie, played by the inestimable Elsa Lanchester. It's obvious that Gillian is
dissatisfied with her lot in life, despite her ability to conjure spells with the aid of her Persian cat Pyewacket. She
shares with Queenie her passing desire to be a little "humdrum" once in a while, something she feels might be perfectly
acceptable if it included someone like Shep. Queenie of course casts a spell on Shep's phone putting it out of order,
requiring him to come downstairs and ask to use Gillian's.
While it might not exactly be love at first sight, there's a hint of magic in the air, but that is soon dispelled (no pun
intended) when Shep shows up with his fiancée Merle (Janice Rule) at The Zodiac, a nightclub populated by New York's
witches and warlocks. It turns out that Merle and Gillian were nemeses at Wellesley (Wellesley allows witches?), and
that realization pushes Gillian ever closer to using her crafty ways to secure Shep for herself.
The bulk of Bell, Book and Candle then plays out in a sort of odd concatenation of somewhat otherworldly
romantic drama with just a touch of whimsy and occasional comedy bits. In fact one of the reasons the film may have
never really become a blockbuster is that it doesn't seem to be easily pigeonholed into any given genre. It's part
fantasy, part romance, and never really laugh out loud hilarious, which some may be expecting it to be, especially
considering the long running sitcom it probably at least helped to inspire and which younger audiences are going to use
as their
measuring stick (wand?) against this property.
The film never really truly catches fire, and yet there's charm aplenty in the performances. Novak has probably never
been more alluring, even if at times she's slightly sinister, especially after she decides to get her way by casting a spell
or two. Stewart felt he was too old for a romantic part such as this, and that may be true, but he brings a certain
fumbling sensibility to Shep that is well modulated and certainly never as buffoonish as, for example, Darrin usually was
on Bewitched. There are a couple of great supporting turns in addition to Lanchester's loquacious Queenie,
including a young Jack Lemmon as Gillian's brother Nicky and the always enjoyable Hermione Gingold as the head witch
of the region, Mrs. De Passe. Oddly what might have been a showcase role for Ernie Kovacs, as a hard drinking author
out to write an exposé on Manhattan's witches, is undercut by Kovacs' oddly understated performance.
Director Richard Quine (who was evidently Novak's lover at the time) offers a nicely sleek production here, one which
casts Manhattan, and Greenwich Village, as a sort of fantasyland of mid-century chic. The film received Oscar
nominations for its Art Direction – Set Decoration and Costume Design. There have been critical analyses offered that
playwright John Van Druten was really couching a subtle reference to the Village's incipient gay culture with his
portrayal of an "exiled" class of people, but that might be stretching things just a little. Bell, Book and Candle
may be better remembered not for its supposed subtext but for two extra-curricular references, one filmic and one
television. It will forever be that "other" 1958 Stewart – Novak pairing, and similarly it will certainly be seen as a
progenitor (for better or worse, and correctly or not) for Bewitched. Seeing the film now it's a quaint time
capsule that captures Novak at the height of her almost alien beauty, and which provides a field day for a number of
enjoyable character bits by a host of superb supporting players.
Bell, Book and Candle is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Twilight Time with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in
1.85:1. This is yet another solid looking high definition presentation culled from an HD master provided by Columbia – Sony.
The elements here are largely immaculate, and color is beautifully saturated and very generally accurate looking, though
skewed to the yellow side of things.. Fine detail pops
magnificently in close-ups, with textures from Novak's gorgeous costumes to Pyewacket's glistening fur clearly visible.
Some of the location shots, which were presumably second unit, are just a tad softer than the bulk of the film. The film
does have an overly grainy look a lot of the time, and a couple
of opticals have even more added grain, as should be expected, but overall this is a very nice looking transfer that should
easily please
the film's fans.
Bell, Book and Candle features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix that ably supports the film's dialogue, as
well as the very enjoyable score, which includes some spritely underscore by George Duning and some fun jazz elements by
The Candoli Brothers (along with some bongo playing by Jack Lemmon). Fidelity is excellent throughout the track, though
occasionally looped effects (like Pyewacket's cries and meows) have noticeably different ambient characteristics than the
bulk of the dialogue. Dynamic range is not especially robust here, but this is largely a dialogue driven film. The noisy party
scenes at The Zodiac maintain excellent clarity despite their "busy" sonic atmosphere, and all frequency ranges are
reproduced with very good clarity.
Bewitched, Bothered and Beautiful (SD; 9:35) is mistitled Bewitched, Bothered and Blonde on the
main menu, but both descriptions are obviously equally apt for the lovely Kim Novak, who recounts her experiences filming
Bell, Book and Candle.
Reflections in the Middle of the Night (SD; 15:03) is an interesting retrospective with Novak reminiscing
about one of her least remembered films, a 1959 Paddy Chayefsky drama costarring Frederic March.
Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:37)
Isolated Score. This supplement, which has come to define Twilight Time's releases, presents the wonderfully
lush and romantic George Duning score, as well as the swingin' contributions of The Candoli Brothers, in lossless DTS-HD
Master Audio 2.0.
Bell, Book and Candle gets by on a surplus of charm and star power, even if at its core it's curiously lacking in the
one thing it should have in abundance: magic. Novak is hypnotically beautiful in this film, and Stewart is appealing, if
admittedly a bit too old to be courting someone as relatively nubile as Novak. The film is aided immeasurably by some great
supporting turns by Jack Lemmon, Elsa Lanchester, Janice Rule and Hermione Gingold, but sadly Ernie Kovacs (who left us
too few film appearances) just seems too reined in for a role that should have been goofily over the top. While the film is
sort of a middling affair, this is yet another strong looking and sounding release from Twilight Time, and for those who are
Novak or Stewart fans, or indeed fans of this film itself, this release comes Recommended.
Next month, Twilight Time will bring both Désirée and Bell, Book, and Candle to Blu-ray. Désirée is director Henry Koster's 1954 screen adaptation of the Annemarie Selinko novel, while Bell, Book, and Candle finds director Richard Quine (Paris When It Sizzles) ...
