"You Know What It Says on Love Potions... Shake Well but Don't Tell" - Bell, Book and Candle
Happy Halloween! Today, I'm looking at why being a witch from Bell, Book and Candle would be the best type of witch.
via tumblr, source unknown
Confession: I didn't like Bell, Book and Candle the first time I watched it. I thought the premise was too out there, which, in hindsight, seems a little funny for a spooky movie. That's the point, right? Oh, and also it's kind of a Christmas movie, too, which sells me on it again. This period each year, October to December, is my absolute favourite.
I sat down and watched it again to prepare for this blog post and had the realization that I would be a perfect witch within this universe, and today I'm going out outline all the reasons why it'd be great to be a witch from Bell, Book and Candle.
1. THEY STILL CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
via tumblr, source unknown
Christmas, to me, is the superior holiday. It's the most wonderful time of the year. The fact that Gillian still celebrates Christmas, invites her kooky family over, and has a chic mid-century modern Christmas tree is all the proof I need that being a witch in this universe is awesome.
Seriously, look at that Christmas tree!
2. WITCHES ARE EXTREMELY FASHIONABLE
Gillian swans around in outfits ranging from stylish to super-stylish, but this leopard print cape is easily my favourite from a wardrobe designed by costume designer Jean Louis.
3. YOU GET TO LIVE IN GREENWICH VILLAGE WITH YOUR FAMILIAR WHILE YOU PLOT YOUR WITCHCRAFT
Gillian lives in Greenwich Village and runs a shop for African art, and she lives with her Siamese cat and familiar, Pyewacket (fun fact: that's Kim Novak's real cat). While she plots what she's going to do next, she gets to live in the best neighbourhood at the height of '50s culture.
4. YOU CAN FALL IN LOVE, IF YOU WANT TO
In the Bell, Book, and Candle universe, witches only have powers until they fall in love. I mean...that sounds like a win-win to me. Keep your powers, do your magic and only lose your powers if you're truly in love, so none of this running around with the wrong men until you find your knight in shining armour. Think of all the time you'll save searching for Mr. Right!
5. YOU CAN'T CRY!
Oh, and witches can't cry at all, until they lose their powers. As someone who cries when she's sad, when she's angry, when she's happy and absolutely hates to cry, this would be one of the best things about being a Bell, Book and Candle witch.
Beyond all the reasons why it'd be great to be a witch like Gillian, who also casts a love spell on Jimmy Stewart just to spite the mean girl at her college who got her thrown out, there are other reasons to love this movie. The acting is superb: Kim Novak, Jimmy Stewart, Elsa Lancaster, and Jack Lemmon all shine.
Whether you watch this for Halloween or for Christmas, you can't argue that it's a fun movie!
What are your thoughts on Bell, Book and Candle? Let me know in the comments!
Great review! I agree - being a witch in this world would rock. I love this movie. Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart together are so fun and have such great chemistry. Much better relationship overall than the one in Vertigo (yikes!). While Vertigo is a great movie, it can be difficult to watch in my opinion. This movie is just fun :) Thanks for participating!
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