I Married a Witch (1942)
Directed by René Clair

Film Review

During his self-imposed exile from his native France during World War II, René Clair found a new lease of life in Hollywood.  Although not all of the films he made during this period can be described as cinematic triumphs, a few have some merit, and one in particular proved to be enormously successful and is widely regarded as a classic.  This film is I Married a Witch, a cosy mix of comedy and fantasy which was so good that it inspired a popular television situation comedy, "Bewitched".

The special effects and quality of the script writing are impressive for a film of this period, but it is the pairing of Veronica Lake with Fredric March which makes the film so special.  Lake is both visually stunning (it is not hard to see why she is often referred to as the pre-WWII Marilyn Monroe) and a very capable actress, and she manages to rise above the film noir roles for which she was best known at the time.  Her character, Jennifer, is as malevolent as she is bewitching, a perfect complement to March's no-nonsense Wally Wolley.  There is also an impressive appearance from Susan Hayward who plays the strong-headed bruised bride Estelle Masterson, the first in a series of second roles that soon led her to stardom.

Although the comedy is a little strained in places, the quality of the acting and Clair's playful direction keeps the film moving at a fair pace.  Most of the pleasure of the film lies in its unpredictability, which stems from an original plot and Lake's exuberant performance.

Film Synopsis

During the Salem witch trials of the early 1690s, Massachusetts landowner Jonathan Wooley has an alleged witch, Jennifer, and her father Daniel burned at the stake for witchcraft.  Before she dies, Jennifer places a curse on Wooley, promising marital misfortune to all of his male descendents.  The mortal remains of the supposed sorcerers are then buried beneath an oak tree.  Sure enough, over the next two and a half centuries, Wooley's progeny prove to be unlucky in matrimony.  In 1942, Wallace Wooley, the latest in the line, looks set to continue this unhappy trend, by marrying Estelle Masterson, the selfish daughter of a newspaper magnate.  This he intends to do whilst running for the office of governor in state elections, his campaign financed, naturally, by Estelle's wealthy father. 

During a storm, the oak tree imprisoning Jennifer and her father is struck by lightning and burns down, releasing their malevolent spirits.  Determined to make life Hell for the latest in the Wooley line, Jennifer coerces her father into creating a human body for her.  This Daniel duly does, with the help of a blazing building.  It is Wallace who pulls Jennifer's body from the flames, but despite her best efforts to beguile him he proves impervious to her womanly charms.  To force the hated man to love her, Jennifer resorts to witchcraft, but she only ends up drinking the love potion intended for her enemy.

The improbable then happens.  After Daniel and his daughter have put the kibosh on Wallace's wedding to Estelle, Jennifer and Wallace realise they are in love and decide to elope and get married at once.  Thanks to his new wife's magical powers, Wallace manages to win the election unopposed.  This result outrages Daniel.  Far from cursing the latest Wooley his daughter has done nothing but good for him!  Overtaken by fury, he takes away Jennifer's powers and threatens to return her to the tree where she was imprisoned.  Realising her father's intentions, Jennifer persuades her husband that they must run away together or be parted forever...