I Married a Witch

I Married a Witch was a film released in Oct. of 1942 starring Veronica Lake and Frederick March. Directed by Rene Clair. Written by Thorne Smith and Norman Matson.

Based on a story by Thorne Smith who died halfway through the project, the book was finished by Norman Matson. Titled: The Passionate Witch, the book was a kind of pulp novel of the 1940's.

The movie's scenes from the past take place in the fictional town of Rocksmith, MA, and the cast clearly wears Salem Puritan garb. The rest of the film is set in the 1940's.

Veronica Lake casts a seductive spell as a charmingly vengeful sorceress in this supernatural screwball classic. Many centuries after cursing the male descendants of the Salem puritan who sent her to the stake, this blonde bombshell with a broomstick finds herself drawn to one of them—a prospective governor (Fredric March) about to marry a spoiled socialite (Susan Hayward). This most delightful of the films the innovative French director René Clair (Le million) made in Hollywood is a comic confection bursting with playful special effects and sparkling witticisms.

The LA Times called the film a "gay amusing film fantasy, in its best moments is contrived with enough hearty laughter."

See Also

Cinema Salem by Peter Mac, p. 100-104.