"I Married A Witch" Review

 

by Daniel White

1942's I Married A Witch stars the diminutive, dishy sexpot Veronica Lake as Jennifer, a 17th-century witch. Released from the roots of the tree where she's been entrapped along with her father (the truly devilish Cecil Kellaway), the pair waste no time in tormenting Wallace Wooley (Frederic March). Wooley is a descendant of the puritan family responsible for burning the two at the stake.

Directed by famed French artist Rene Clair, the movie is a clever, sprightly comedy that unspools at a brisk 77 minutes. Robert Benchley is amusing as March's addled best friend, but poor Susan Hayward gets stuck with the thankless role of Freddy's shrewish fiance. The flick belongs to March, Lake, and Kellaway and each of them keeps the spirited shenanigans humming along. Especially March who is an accomplished farceur and Kellaway, an ace comedian.

As for Miss Lake, she holds her own and at the tender age of 19, admirably keeps up with her more experienced co-stars. And though she doesn't ignite the screen with the same comic brilliance of a Carole Lombard or Irene Dunne, she is still quite compelling. She is a young, extremely competent performer who possesses a feline sensuality. But a comedy genius? Nope, not quite yet. Luckily for Lake, she appeared in Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels with Joel McCrea the year before this winner. In fact it was director Sturges who recommended her for the role of Jennifer (he was the movie's producer until creative conflicts with Clair forced him to leave). She was supposed to reteam with McCrea as well but he bowed out. Our itsy bitsy starlet was a great big pain in the tokhes, and McCrea swore he would never work with her again (though eventually he did, in 1947's Ramrod).

An alcoholic with serious mental health issues, Veronica Lake made a handful of decent flicks before her luck and career fizzled out. Her four film-noir pairings with Alan Ladd are especially revered by fans of that genre. Who knows what more she would have accomplished if she hadn't been so ill? It's amazing she managed to turn out what she did, despite her personal troubles.

I Married A Witch was produced by Paramount and released by United Artists, which needed product to distribute (Paramount had a surplus). It boasts an above-average screenplay, cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff, and gowns by Edith Head. But most of all it has March, Lake, and Kellaway, who deftly deliver the goods. With the always welcome Elizabeth Patterson as Wooley's perplexed housekeeper, I Married A Witch is available on YouTube.