Ma femme est une sorcière

Veronica Lake and Cecil Kellaway are witches who have been sealed up in a tree for about 300 years. They are NOT nice witches and are thrilled when a bolt of lightning shatters the tree and releases them to do evil! The first thing they want to do is destroy the descendants of the man who persecuted them during the witch trials. His most direct descendant is Frederick March and he is about to marry the woman he loves. So, Veronica plans on meeting him and placing a love potion in his drink so he becomes attracted to her instead--with the intention of then dumping him and leaving him miserable. Of course, being a comedy, she accidentally drinks the potion and falls head over heels for March! The acting is excellent (particularly Kellaway who is uncharacteristically EVIL in this movie) and the writing superb in the short little picture.

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.

This is a fairly humorous story with decent special effects, especially considering it was made over 40 years ago. The key ingredient for success in this film was Veronica Lake. She's known more for her peekaboo blonde locks and for starring with Alan Ladd in several hit movies, but Lake was a good comedienne, too.

Susan Hayward does well playing a snotty woman and Cecil Kellaway always plays an interesting character. Frederic March plays opposite Lake and I wish I hadn't read Lake's biography in which she explains how much she hated March. In made the love scenes lose a lot of impact when I learned how "forced" those scenes were.

Oh, well. It's still a nice, lightweight comedy, nothing special but entertaining for the most part.....but it helps to be a fan of Veronica Lake, which I am.

I see that they are making a remake of this movie so I expect the original will be getting some publicity and more people will be introduced to it. Whimsical fantasy movies were popular in the 1940's and this is a fine example of that genre. French Director René Clair did a few fantasy films, The Ghost Goes West, that he made in the UK and It Happened Tomorrow, his other Hollwood fantasy flick. This film has a great cast in Veronica Lake, Fredric March, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway. This is one of Lake's best movies and a good comic vehicle for her. She only made a dozen movies as a leading lady but I always liked Veronica Lake and I like her here. Fredric March who was a great actor seems a little miscast in this. It seems like he's just going through the motions to get this filmed at times and there really is no great chemistry between him and Lake. Cecil Kellaway is perfect and turns in a fine performance as Lake's father. Susan Hayward like March seems far too serious in this movie. It's a good, fun story and I've always liked this movie. I would give this a 8.5 on a scale of 10 and definitely recommend this.

Rene Clair directed this clever comedy that stars Frederic March as several generations of the Wooley family, starting with Jonathan Wooley, who has condemned two witches named Daniel & Jennifer(played by Cecil Kellaway & Veronica Lake) who are father & daughter. Their spirits are trapped beneath a tree, but in 1942, are freed by a lightning strike, and resume their mischievous ways by tormenting the current Wooley, named Wallace, who is running for governor. The male Wooleys were cursed into marrying the wrong women, which is certainly the case for him, as he is marrying a newspaper publisher's daughter(played by Susan Hayward), a spoiled brat. Jennifer tricks Wallace into saving her from a hotel fire her father started, and plans to ruin him, but instead mistakenly drinks the love potion he was supposed to drink! Now in love with him, she tries desperately to save him from the curse and her vengeful father...

Veronica Lake was perfectly cast here, stunningly beautiful and alluring, aided by a witty script and effective direction. Just don't think about logic too much(it doesn't apply here!)