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IMDb > Bell Book and Candle (1958)
Bell Book and Candle
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Bell Book and Candle (1958) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   3,223 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 102% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
John Van Druten (play)
Daniel Taradash (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Bell Book and Candle on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
January 1959 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A bewitching comedy about an enchanting subject!
Plot:
A modern-day witch likes her neighbor but despises his fiancee, so she enchants him to love her instead... only to fall in love with him for real. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
User Reviews:
Puberty Catalyst more (66 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

James Stewart ... Shepherd 'Shep' Henderson

Kim Novak ... Gillian 'Gil' Holroyd

Jack Lemmon ... Nicky Holroyd

Ernie Kovacs ... Sidney Redlitch
Hermione Gingold ... Bianca de Passe

Elsa Lanchester ... Aunt Queenie Holroyd
Janice Rule ... Merle Kittridge
Philippe Clay ... French Singer at the Zodiac Club
Bek Nelson ... Tina - Shep's Secretary
Howard McNear ... Andy White - Shep's Co-Publisher
The Brothers Candoli ... Musicians at the Zodiac Club
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monty Ash ... Herb Store Owner (uncredited)
Joe Barry ... Exterminator (uncredited)
Wolfe Barzell ... Zodiac Club Proprietor (uncredited)
William Bloom ... Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Gail Bonney ... Betty - Merle's Maid (uncredited)
Don Brodie ... Cab Driver (uncredited)

Conte Candoli ... Musician - A Candoli Brother (uncredited)

Pete Candoli ... Musician - A Candoli Brother (uncredited)
Dick Crockett ... Ad-lib Bit (uncredited)
James Lanphier ... Waldo (uncredited)
Ted Mapes ... Gillian's Customer (uncredited)
Maurice Marks ... Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ollie O'Toole ... Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Joe Palma ... Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Pyewacket ... The Cat (uncredited)
John Truax ... Cab Driver (uncredited)
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Directed by
Richard Quine 
 
Writing credits
John Van Druten (play "Bell, Book and Candle")

Daniel Taradash (screenplay)

Produced by
Julian Blaustein .... producer
 
Original Music by
George Duning 
 
Cinematography by
James Wong Howe 
 
Film Editing by
Charles Nelson 
 
Art Direction by
Cary Odell 
 
Set Decoration by
Louis Diage 
 
Costume Design by
Jean Louis (gowns)
 
Makeup Department
Helen Hunt .... hair stylist
Ben Lane .... makeup artist
Rhoda Donaldson .... hair stylist (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Irving J. Moore .... assistant director (as Irving Moore)
Max Stein .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Jack Carter .... props (uncredited)
Jim Meehan .... lead man (uncredited)
Robert Pearl .... props (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Franklin Hansen Jr. .... sound
John P. Livadary .... recording supervisor (as John Livadary)
Win Hancock .... sound recordist (uncredited)
Sol Jaffe .... boom operator (uncredited)
Andy Payne .... cable person (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Albert Bettcher .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Robert Coburn .... still photographer (uncredited)
Johnny Cook .... best boy (uncredited)
John Field .... gaffer (uncredited)
Charles Franklin .... grip (uncredited)
Richard H. Kline .... camera operator (uncredited)
Pat Sutherland .... grip (uncredited)
 
Editorial Department
Eliot Elisofon .... special color consultant
Ralph James Hall .... assistant editor (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Henri Jaffa .... technicolor color consultant
Irene Mayer Selznick .... producer: play, New York
Robert E. Blair .... cat trainer (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Bell, Book and Candle (USA) (poster title)
more
Runtime:
106 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #19072) | USA:PG (TV rating) | Finland:S | UK:U | West Germany:12

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The play opened on Broadway in New York City on 11/14/50 and closed on 6/2/51 after 233 performances. The opening-night cast consisted of Rex Harrison as Shepherd Henderson, Lilli Palmer as Gillian Holroyd, Jean Adair as Miss Queeny Holroyd, Larry Gates as Sidney Redlitch and Scott McKay as Nicky Holroyd. There were no other characters in the play. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the scene in which Gil makes a pot of tea, she puts six or seven spoons of loose black tea into a small two-cup pot. This would result in tea as thick as tar and about as palatable. more
Quotes:
Shepherd 'Shep' Henderson: I may sound like a lunatic, but I'm not crazy! more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Stormy Weather more

FAQ

Why would Nicky offer to expose himself as a warlock to Sidney Redlitch?
Why does Gillian put a spell on Shep?
Where does the cat's name, Pyewacket, come from?
more
35 out of 55 people found the following review useful.
Puberty Catalyst, 18 October 2005
10/10
Author: Robert Boyce (robert48@optonline.net) from United States

I researched this film a little and discovered a web site that claims it was actually an inside joke about the Post WWII Greenwich Village world of gays and lesbians. With the exception of Stewart and Novak, the warlocks and witches represented that alternative lifestyle. John Van Druten who wrote the stage play was apparently gay and very familiar with this Greenwich Village. I thought this was ironic because I first saw Bell, Book and Candle in the theater when I was in 5th or 6th grade just because my parents took me. It was hard to get me to a movie that didn't include horses, machine guns, or alien monsters and I planned on being bored. But, I remember the moment when Jimmy Stewart embraced Kim Novak on the top of the Flatiron building and flung his hat away while the camera followed it fluttering to the ground. As the glorious George Duning love theme soared, I suddenly got a sense of what it felt like to fall in love. The first stirrings of romantic/sexual love left me dazed as I left the theater. I am sure I'm not the only pre-adolescent boy who was seduced by Kim Novak's startling, direct gaze. It's ironic that a gay parable was able to jump-start heterosexual puberty in so many of us. I am in my late 50's now and re-watched the film yesterday evening and those same feelings stirred as I watched that hat touch down fifty years later . . .

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Bell Book and Candle (1958)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
My favorite part Sorcerersbroom
White hair dvbar1
The Christmas Tree jessicaviscariello
French song performed in the Zodiac cajundancr
What is the music and who performs it in the Zodiac Club? boliver-4
Does anyone know... le-fantome
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