Winter of the Witch

I would say I can't tell you how excited I was to stumble upon this comment section, but it appears many of you already have. I have been googling "witch, movie, pancakes" for years and only today, did I finally find this bevy of info from like-minded souls. I'm of the group that other people thought was crazy because no one I asked had for the last several years ever heard of it. And why did everyone see this movie in elementary school and ONLY elementary school? My school was in Sacramento, CA, and this was in the 1970s, just like everyone else. And I think I had completely forgotten about The Red Balloon! Gawd, I feel so validated! Now I can't wait to run out and tell everyone how uncrazy I am!

Hooray!! I am so glad that I finally found the name of this movie!! Thank you. I saw this movie in grade school in Hudson, Ohio in the 80s and am so glad to have found the name. Does anyone remember a movie seen in grade school about a man's last thoughts before he was hung? Or, a movie about two kids watching a huge TV screen watching lions? Or, a movie about kids that came out of a test tube like apparatus which actually looked like a tar barrel? The education department showed us some weird stuff when we were younger. BTW, what is the deal with this blog that I have to have ten lines of text in order to make a comment?

i watched this movie when i was in grade school too. i've wanted to see this movie again for a long time. i've looked for it for a long time, and this is the first time i have proof that it was a real movie and not a figment of my imagination. I have told my husband about it,and i'd love to show him the movie. i've asked people if they remember it, but most haven't. My older siblings remember seeing it too, but no one could remember the title of the movie. For a long time i thought it was a lost cause. Does anyone have a copy that can be downloaded to the computer? i've seen that it is available to buy, but i'd love to see it without having to pay $20 for a 22 minute program.

.....then by all means let me know directly at the above e-mail address so that I may arrange for a copy for you. Probably the most memorable memory of off-the-wall gradeschool 16mm screenings I've ever logged. And many seem to be in the same boat as I. Who could possibly forget the unsinkable Hermoine Gingold as a sad old witch whose abode is intruded upon by a single mom and her young son in search of an alternative to urban hustle & bustle, setting into motion an irresistibly oddball tale of friendship and redemption. An inspired and unique experience; there really is nothing else quite like it, and those 'happy' pancakes are a hoot. It's enough to make you want to drop everything and embark on a pilgrimage to Goshen (NY) where this was filmed, just to see if there's anything left of the gloriously creaky old mansion depicted in the film, if not any leftover pancakes.

For about the last 10 years I'd been having vague visual recollections of what I thought was a film I must have seen sometime between grades K-2 (circa 1975-1978) at Pinecrest Elementary School in East Lansing, Mich. It involved a kid named Nicholas who had some connection with a witch who made pancakes. I also kept picturing a three-chimneyed haunted house with pink and purple polka dots flying all over the place. Since nobody else who was in grade school at the same time seemed to have a similar recollection, I figured I was either hallucinating or simply a few fries short of a Happy Meal. So I finally googled the keywords "witch" and "pancake" and came across this book, "Old Black Witch," that featured a similar-sounding setting, with a kid named Nicky (and -- according to commentators on Amazon.com -- a racist subtext). So I punch the author's name into IMDb and I'll be damned, the film actually exists! I'm not delusional after all! I don't even remember if the flick was any good (it was certainly no "Paddle to the Sea" -- the other school-library classic from the period), but I'll give it a 10 just for the fact that it's not just a figment of my imagination.

I'd give it a 20 if I could actually get my hands on a VHS or DVD version.