I Married a Witch (1942) - Stars shine in Clair's bubbly screwball fantasy magic

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A sexually charged and very elegant poster for René Clair's I Married a Witch

A refined gentleman, who is poised to marry a fine woman, has his plans altered when he rescues a strange blond out of a burning hotel. This alluring female turns out to be a centuries old witch, who wants to change his life drastically!

 

I Married a Witch is written by Marc Connelly (Reunion in France (1942)) and Robert Pirosh (A Gathering of Eagles (1963)), with André Rigaud (Bright Eyes (1929)), Dalton Trumbo (Hawaii (1966)) and co-writer/producer/director, great French filmmaker René Clair (Paris Asleep/Paris qui Dort (1925)) contributing lines. It is an adaptation of The Passionate Witch (1941) by Thorne Smith (Rain in the Doorway (1933), finalized after his death by Norman H. Matson.

With a stunning visual energy (cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff (I Want a Divorce (1940))) and a splendid special effects tangent, I Married a Witch is an atypical screwball comedy that waltzes right into your heart and activates your laugh muscles. Fredric March (The Buccaneer (1938)) is a joy as usual, and he is wonderfully matched here with Veronica Lake (Isn't It Romantic (1948)), who is almost superhumanly lovely, - and a bit eerie, - as a cute housewife with allure and frighteningly huge power. A prime example of the 'monstrous female' on film.

Cecil Kellaway (Spinout (1966)) who plays Lake's father in the film is also delightful. Witty dialog, a rapidly flowing plot, and a beautifully carried out production, I Married a Witch is cheeky fun all the way. A bright favorite. 

 

Related post:

 

René Clair: Entr'acte (1924, short) - Clair's creative experiment in movement

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Approximately 2.75 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain but likely a huge hit (projected return of 6.5 times its cost)

[I Married a Witch was released 30 October (North America) and runs 77 minutes. Shooting took place from April - May 1942 in Los Angeles, California. Hostilities ran between March and Lake during the shoot. Variety reported that the film earned a 1.1 mil. $ rental figure in North America, coming to approximately 2.75 mil. $ in box office. The foreign release was impeded by WWII and went slow over the next several years, likely with similarly stunted results. A 3.25 mil. $ final gross projection takes this into account, while a projected cost of 500k $ belies March, - the film's leading star's salary level of 100k $ per picture at the time. This would make the film a huge hit. It was nominated for one Oscar, for Best Music, Drama/Comedy (Roy Webb (Top Secret Affair (1957))), lost to Max Steiner for Now, Voyager. Clair returned with a segment in Forever and a Day (1943) and with an entire feature with It Happened Tomorrow (1944). March returned in The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944); Lake in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942). I Married a Witch is fresh at 96 % with a 7.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of I Married a Witch?

Flesh Feast (1970) - Veronica Lake's madcap maggot exploitation swansong

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An appropriately ghastly, sensational poster for Brad F. Grinter's Flesh Feast

Two villainous doctors conduct dubious science with maggots and stolen corpses in a cellar laboratory with the aim of rejuvenating an expat top Nazi! - Yikes!

Flesh Feast is written by Thomas Casey (Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things (1971)), who also photographed the film, and co-writer/co-producer/director Brad F. Grinter (Blood Freak (1972)). It is a schlocky, ultra-cheap grade Z film, - but it has a certain attraction, if you approach it with low expectations, (or none.)
Psychedelic elements and hot ladies are combined with maggots, dangling, putrefying body parts and former major Hollywood star Veronica Lake (Sullivan's Travels (1941)), whose infamous last film this is, (she even co-produced it.) She plays a grotesque part, which she nevertheless pitches into full throttle. Lake seems genuinely mad in Flesh Feast.
The script is almost terrible, and the film bores in stretches. SPOILER Its Hitler/maggot end scene has to be seen to be believed!

Watch a short trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[Flesh Feast was released 20 May (USA) and runs 72 minutes. Shooting took place in Miami Beach, Florida on a tiny budget. Rice was used to pass off as a sea of maggots in closeup shots. Despite its R rating, it was shown with 'GP' and 'PG' ratings printed on it in parts of the US, where it also continued playing on double and triple bills all the way up to 1983, likely accruing a very healthy gross over the years. Grinter returned with Devil Rider! (1970). Lake never acted again and died from hepatitis at age 50 in 1973. 513 IMDb users have given Flesh Feast an average 2.2/10 rating.]

What do you think of Flesh Feast?