Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Steineded How sad is this?

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

lasttimeisaw Served as French film pyrotechnist René Clair's second Hollywood venture when he was a hired- hand by the studios, I MARRIED A WITCH cashes in on a light-hearted script about witchcraft and head-over-heels romance, and headlined by a 20-year-old Veronica Lake (in her iconic peekaboo coiffure) and a visibly too-old-for-the-bachelor-role Fredric March.The fatuous story develops around a witch Jennifer (Lake), after miraculously awaken by a thunder striking the oak tree where she and her sorcerer father Daniel (Kellaway) were burned centuries ago, now is frivolously bent on seeking revenge from Wallace Wooley (March), the descendant of her denouncer in Salem, by seducing the latter into marry her, so that she can break his heart. But under the premise is that Wooley's family has been already inflicted by her curse that all descendants will marry the wrong woman, so their marriages have been destined for unhappiness, which only makes her punishment gratuitous.Anyway, things don't go exactly as Jennifer plans, for one thing, she accidentally drinks the philter which prepares for Wallace and gets all smitten with him instead. However, as the throwaway catchword is "love over witchery", which would been unsubtly addressed multiple times in the course of the farce, the writers (including an uncredited Dalton Trumbo as the contributing writer) seem oblivious enough to unleash her under the spell, so eventually when they reach that banal happy ending, it awkwardly sends out a mixed message in aftermath.The cast is serviceable at its best, there is a pleasant and even childlike guilelessness in Veronica Lake's cheerful insouciance, radiates from her vintage glamour out of her petite figure, a starlet made from Tinseltown banks on her looks rather than her acting range, while Oscar-winning leading man Fredric March self-consciously settles for a perpetual innocuous bewilderment, to audience's amusement, only Cecil Kellaway is whimsically glinting with a certain degree of unpredictability to make the plot thicken. Finally, it is downright offensive to see Susan Hayward is cast in a thankless role as Wallace's petulant bride-to-be Estelle, plays a second fiddler to a star far less talented than her.An utterly harmless fluff notwithstanding, the picture at least dazzles with its dexterity of handling with its fantasy tropes, two wisps of smoke represents the amorphous Jennifer and Daniel and a set piece of a flying taxi using matte legerdemain must have been quite an engrossing technique to woo its audience upon its release, a credit certainly should be attributed to Mr. Clair himself.

calvinnme I just love this little film that was probably the inspiration for "Bewitched", the 60s TV series. Planned before Pearl Harbor, and released after Pearl Harbor, it is probably just what American audiences needed. I feel that this is a great movie because it so perfectly embodies what a movie is meant to do: Entertain! There is no social commentary, political justice or ideological discourse. It is a: "park your troubles at the door" type of film which sweeps the viewer away into a world of whimsy.In the 17th century two actual witches, father Daniel and daughter Jennifer, are burned at the stake by Jonathan Wooley. Before Jennifer dies she curses Jonathan and all of his male progeny by declaring they will all marry the wrong woman. After their death their spirits are trapped in a tree so they cannot rise from the dead and cause more mischief.But mischief they cause via Jennifer's curse as one Wooley after another marries a shrewish bossy woman and we see all of them being ordered about. Wow, that was a great curse! Now we come to modern day - 1942 - and Wallace Wooley (Fredric March) is about to marry the daughter of his political backer, Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward). I found Hayward unrecognizable but she is great at playing the shrew. But alas, the night before their wedding the tree holding Jennifer and Daniel's spirits is struck by lightning and they are free! Jennifer says she wants a human body again, but Daniel says that requires fire, so they decide to burn down the Pilgrim Hotel. Jennifer gets a body (Veronica Lake), but the spell provides only the body - no clothes. Wallace rescues Jennifer from the burning hotel and since she has no ID, he takes her home and puts her in his bed to rest - still with no clothes. Now this would look great on the eve of his marriage and shortly before his election for a naked woman to be found in his bed - and she is.Now Daniel is still without a body and has run into his own troubles with modern society. In the meantime Jennifer decides to punish Wallace by making him fall in love with her and crushing his heart. But these things never go right for the inexperienced witch without dad's supervision, and the fun just goes from there. From Jennifer accidentally taking the love potion meant for Wallace, to her casting a spell so that Wallace wins EVERY vote, to Daniel not liking his new son-in-law and being rather vicious about it.Veronica Lake was great here in a role that did not require a lot of range. Many have criticized her acting over the years, but I have never seen her in a film where she came across as a ham. Fredric March is great as a guy with Puritan pilgrim blood in him. He really makes you believe he is the stodgy offspring of generations of Puritans.As for the perfectly cast Cecil Kellaway as the easily distracted Daniel, all I can say is that I guess it is easier to have a witch as a father in law than as a mother in law (Agnes Moorhead as Endora in Bewitched). Mothers in law can be a much more severe and long term problem apparently.

SimonJack Other reviewers note the career and groundbreaking work at the time of French director René Clair. The special effects in "I Married a Witch," were very well done and don't seem archaic by modern standards. But, since "The Wizard of Oz" of 1939 and this film in1942, many more movies and TV programs have aired that have witches, magic and/or sorcery. None have been more popular than the blockbusters of the early 21st century – "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the "Harry Potter" series. So, this older film is quite dated among the genre. The acting is good by all the cast, especially the leads. Fredric March has four roles as Wallace Wooley and three of his ancestors. Veronica Lake is Jennifer and Cecil Kellaway is her father, Daniel. They are the witches (or witch and warlock) of the movie. Robert Benchley is very good as Dr. Dudley White, Wooley's friend and backer. And Susan Hayward is good in her role as Estelle Masterson.The comedy here doesn't come from witty dialog or a clever script. It's mostly in situations. The plot is easy to figure out and follow, so the entertainment is just in seeing how the main characters played by March and Lake relate. In spite of the praise for the director, there's very little special about this film. I suspect that most viewers in the 21st century would find it just mildly entertaining.

PamelaShort Finally this priceless classic comedy is coming out on DVD. Veronica Lake is absolutely enchanting as Jennifer the playful, romantic witch. When I first watched this film, I was completely captivated by Lake's charming performance. This role seems to have brought out the best qualities of the very capable actress, and she easily steals the entire picture. It is a shame she wasn't offered more roles such as in this film, which showcases her versatility so well, for Veronica Lake certainly had a lot of witty comedic talent. Cecil Kellaway is equally entertaining as Jennifer's crafty warlock father. Robert Benchley adds his humorous touches. Susan Hayward performs perfectly as the snobby socialite, who impatiently waits for her flustered groom Fredric March who is continually being harassed and foiled by the beguiling blonde witch. Fredric March does his very best to keep up the pace, in the midst of the fast flowing antics. Rene Clair produced a rewarding comedy gem with I Married A Witch, a classic film that continues to reap much enjoyment. I highly recommend this movie for all Veronica Lake fans and for those just discovering the charms of the actress who enchanted audiences of the 1940s.