I Married a Witch (1942)

February 27, 2024 11:39 AM

[TRAILER] Just as she is about to be burned at the stake for witchcraft, 17th century witch Jennifer (Veronica Lake) casts a curse on the family of her accuser, dooming all the men of future generations to marry the wrong women. Freed from her ethereal prison some 250 years later, Jennifer decides to make the most recent descendant of her accuser (Fredric March) even more miserable by using a love potion on him that makes him fall in love with her, a plan that has unexpected results.

Also starring Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward, Cecil Kellaway, Elizabeth Patterson, Robert Warwick, Georgia Backus, Charles Bates.

Produced and directed by René Clair. Screenplay by Robert Pirosh, Marc Connelly. Based on the 1941 novel The Passionate Witch by Thorne Smith and Norman H. Matson. Cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff. Edited by Eda Warren. Music by Roy Webb. A Paramount Pictures production.

95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Max and Criterion. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (6 comments total)

This is a very fun movie and Veronica Lake is a terrific, still-underrated actor.

And with that established, here are some more photos of Veronica Lake in this movie.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:45 AM on February 27 [7 favorites]

I had a really fantastic Halloween costume one year, based on Jennifer the Witch. tragically no one got a good photo of me, it was so fun. I love this movie!
posted by supermedusa at 11:54 AM on February 27

Partner and I just watched this a couple weeks ago! A really fun movie. Interesting take on the traditional witch (and her "sorcerer" dad) and Veronica Lake is indeed really great in this. I wasn't too thrilled with the male lead actor... he was unfortunately forgettable. But give this one a watch, it really surprised both of us. Happy to see it here.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:59 AM on February 28

Fun fact: in one of those classic Hollywood renaming situations, "Veronica Lake" was born "Constance Ockelman."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:42 AM on February 28 [3 favorites]

The podcast You Must Remember This had a great episode about Veronica Lake as part of the "Dead Blondes" series, in case anyone's interested in learning a bit about her. An icon of 1940's Hollywood for sure.
posted by bcwinters at 7:38 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]

Another movie in the same "witchy" vein is Bell, Book and Candle (1958) starring Kim Novak and James Stewart, with Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, and Elsa Lanchester (yt). Not as funny but gorgeous to look at.
posted by jabah at 5:22 AM on February 29 [1 favorite]