ClassicAndCampFilmReviews
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Note de ClassicAndCampFilmReviews
"Born To Be Bad" is basically a really bad variation on the classic Bette Davis film "All About Eve", without the theater background, and it is not a good movie. It's a really bad film in fact, but bad in a great way. It's a cheesy 1950's B-film, hilarious without intending to be - the best kind of classic camp.
"Born To Be Bad" has a surprisingly stellar cast, including Joan Fontaine (in the lead as the conniving Christabel Caine), Zachary Scott, Robert Ryan (at his hunky bad-guy best), Joan Leslie, and Mel Ferrer. The story centers around Christabel Caine, who seems innocent on the outside...but is pure opportunistic bitch on the inside.
That's about all the plot line you need.
Joan Fontaine is her usual melodramatic self, complete with her signature eyebrow antics - her left eyebrow always seemed to have a mind of its own - also apparent in her performances in films such as "Rebecca", "Suspicion" and well, every film she was ever in, come to think of it), but her role in "Born to Be Bad" suits her mannerisms well. She makes a great little sweet-faced bitch. The dialogue is completely over-the-top, and coupled with the melodramatic mannerisms of most of the cast (Robert Ryan and Joan Fontaine's scenes together are some of the best), makes for a very entertaining camp film.
Nicolas Ray (who 5 years later directed the classic "Rebel Without A Cause") has created a total bomb, a classic of camp film that is worthy viewing for lovers of the genre.
"Born To Be Bad" has a surprisingly stellar cast, including Joan Fontaine (in the lead as the conniving Christabel Caine), Zachary Scott, Robert Ryan (at his hunky bad-guy best), Joan Leslie, and Mel Ferrer. The story centers around Christabel Caine, who seems innocent on the outside...but is pure opportunistic bitch on the inside.
That's about all the plot line you need.
Joan Fontaine is her usual melodramatic self, complete with her signature eyebrow antics - her left eyebrow always seemed to have a mind of its own - also apparent in her performances in films such as "Rebecca", "Suspicion" and well, every film she was ever in, come to think of it), but her role in "Born to Be Bad" suits her mannerisms well. She makes a great little sweet-faced bitch. The dialogue is completely over-the-top, and coupled with the melodramatic mannerisms of most of the cast (Robert Ryan and Joan Fontaine's scenes together are some of the best), makes for a very entertaining camp film.
Nicolas Ray (who 5 years later directed the classic "Rebel Without A Cause") has created a total bomb, a classic of camp film that is worthy viewing for lovers of the genre.
"Bell Book And Candle" is a classic romantic comedy starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. The film bears similarities to the 1942 Veronica Lake film, "I Married A Witch", and most likely inspired the hit 1960's TV show "Bewitched", which was produced by Columbia's television division.
Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak) is a modern-day witch who lives with her Siamese cat familiar, Pyewacket, in a Greenwich Village apartment building where she owns a small gallery that offers primitive art.
Book publisher Shep Henderson (James Stewart) lives upstairs, and when she discovers that Shep is engaged to her old nemesis from college, Merle Kittridge (Janice Rule), Gillian casts a spell to make him be in love with her instead - only to fall in love with him herself.
The predictability of this does nothing to spoil the fun - skillfully directed by Richard Quine, based on the Broadway play written by John Van Druten, screenplay by Daniel Taradash - "Bell Book And Candle" is wonderfully written, full of playfulness and poignancy throughout, in addition to being a visual delight.
Novak at her prime is showcased in outfits designed by Jean Louis, all gorgeous - some of them backless - Novak had a beautiful back, so was often dressed in open-backed clothing in her films. She is first seen in a red jacket over a black pullover and slacks, barefoot, and she moves with a feline fluidity befitting her role and her clothing.
"Bell Book And Candle" boasts a solid co-starring cast: Jack Lemmon as Gillian's brother Nicky Holroyd, a mischievous bongo-playing (Lemmon played the bongos himself) warlock; Elsa Lanchester as Queenie Holroyd, their somewhat addled aunt and fellow witch; Janice Rule as the snooty fiancé, Merle Kittredge; Ernie Kovacs as Sidney Redlitch, the boozy author of a book on witchcraft; and Hermione Gingold as Bianca de Passe, another witch.
This was Stewart's last film as a romantic lead, as he felt that at age 50 he was becoming too old to be convincing in that category. He and Novak do however exhibit the same chemistry that was evident in their other on-screen pairing ("Vertigo", one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, released earlier the same year). "Bell Book And Candle" was originally written as a serious play; however it was revised to a light romantic comedy when audiences kept unexpectedly laughing during try-outs. The revised play, starring Rex Harrison and Lili Palmer, was a Broadway hit. The film "Bell Book And Candle" was honored with two Academy Award Nominations: Art Direction and Costume Design.
Trivia - to stock Gillian's art gallery, $75,000 worth of African and South Seas island primitive art was borrowed from New York's Carlebach Gallery. Also, as the actress spent much of her time barefoot for her role, Columbia hired an attendant whose sole responsibility was to provide blankets for Novak's feet to keep them warm in between takes.
Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak) is a modern-day witch who lives with her Siamese cat familiar, Pyewacket, in a Greenwich Village apartment building where she owns a small gallery that offers primitive art.
Book publisher Shep Henderson (James Stewart) lives upstairs, and when she discovers that Shep is engaged to her old nemesis from college, Merle Kittridge (Janice Rule), Gillian casts a spell to make him be in love with her instead - only to fall in love with him herself.
The predictability of this does nothing to spoil the fun - skillfully directed by Richard Quine, based on the Broadway play written by John Van Druten, screenplay by Daniel Taradash - "Bell Book And Candle" is wonderfully written, full of playfulness and poignancy throughout, in addition to being a visual delight.
Novak at her prime is showcased in outfits designed by Jean Louis, all gorgeous - some of them backless - Novak had a beautiful back, so was often dressed in open-backed clothing in her films. She is first seen in a red jacket over a black pullover and slacks, barefoot, and she moves with a feline fluidity befitting her role and her clothing.
"Bell Book And Candle" boasts a solid co-starring cast: Jack Lemmon as Gillian's brother Nicky Holroyd, a mischievous bongo-playing (Lemmon played the bongos himself) warlock; Elsa Lanchester as Queenie Holroyd, their somewhat addled aunt and fellow witch; Janice Rule as the snooty fiancé, Merle Kittredge; Ernie Kovacs as Sidney Redlitch, the boozy author of a book on witchcraft; and Hermione Gingold as Bianca de Passe, another witch.
This was Stewart's last film as a romantic lead, as he felt that at age 50 he was becoming too old to be convincing in that category. He and Novak do however exhibit the same chemistry that was evident in their other on-screen pairing ("Vertigo", one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, released earlier the same year). "Bell Book And Candle" was originally written as a serious play; however it was revised to a light romantic comedy when audiences kept unexpectedly laughing during try-outs. The revised play, starring Rex Harrison and Lili Palmer, was a Broadway hit. The film "Bell Book And Candle" was honored with two Academy Award Nominations: Art Direction and Costume Design.
Trivia - to stock Gillian's art gallery, $75,000 worth of African and South Seas island primitive art was borrowed from New York's Carlebach Gallery. Also, as the actress spent much of her time barefoot for her role, Columbia hired an attendant whose sole responsibility was to provide blankets for Novak's feet to keep them warm in between takes.
